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The battle for supremacy at the Sanex Championships

© Michael Cecilio

The story of this week’s Sanex Championships will be the race to the #1 ranking. What had shaped up to be a close four-way race after the US Open between Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis and Venus Williams has been slimmed down to two. Due to the respective injuries of both Hingis and Williams, they are unable to compete and thus stake their campaigns for the #1 ranking. The heat is therefore on Capriati and Davenport. As the top two seeds they are slated on opposite sides of the draw, however Davenport will likely require Capriati to lose before the finals to have a chance at ending the year #1, while she must win the tournament. Capriati has had a remarkable season, it is safe to say that there were few who could predict the breakthrough she would have in 2001 – few predicted it but Capriati had stated her intentions well before making her mark. After beating Serena Williams at Miami last year, she stated that she had the ability to be as good, or even better, than the current big-hitting crop and that she also had the ability to get to #1. While many passed it off as an over-confident statement, Capriati put in the hard yards on and off the court, and the work has finally paid off. Putting to rest her detractors, she went on a tear during the first half of the season and won the Australian Open and Roland Garros, while also reaching the semi finals of Wimbledon and the US Open. Her Grand Slam showings this season, together with a tier I title at Charleston, four other finals appearances and her season-long consistency propelled her to the #1 ranking on October 15 for the first time in her career.

However, just as Hingis had been put down as the #1 “on paper only” during her tenure at the top without holding a Grand Slam, Capriati is also getting her fair share of question marks and asterisks alongside her ranking. For sure, Capriati has the best record this season, she has had the best Grand Slam record of any player on tour and has played with remarkable consistency over the whole season. Despite this, it seems that the debate will linger on until Venus Williams, considered the best player on the court, gets to #1. Venus has also won two Grand Slams, but has also won four other titles this season. Her record over the top players is unsurpassed, holding a 3-0 record over both Capriati and Davenport this year.

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