KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – A limping Serena Williams often found
herself out of position and forced to hit awkward shots. Between
points she grimaced, hopped or bent over in pain. She iced her left
thigh during changeovers and twice received treatment from a
trainer.
|  | | A trainer checks out Lindsay Davenport's injured right knee, which forced her to retire while trailing Elena Dementieva. |
But Williams kept playing, because she knew she had no choice.
Quitting her quarterfinal match Wednesday against Jennifer Capriati
at the Ericsson Open was not an option.
Her sore thigh and some stinging forehands from Capriati spoiled
a potential final Saturday between the Williams sisters. The
fourth-seeded Capriati won 6-1, 7-6 (5) and advanced to her semifinal match Friday.
Injury forced an early end in the day's other quarterfinal. Second-seeded Lindsay Davenport retired with a bone bruise in
her right knee several hours later while trailing No. 7 Elena
Dementieva 6-3, 1-0. Davenport
suffered the injury earlier in the tournament. Dementieva will meet Capriati in the semifinal.
"It was really hurting a lot out there," Davenport said. "You can't
win at this level when you're not 100 percent."
The Williams siblings were supposed to play in the Indian Wells
semifinal March 15, but Venus pulled out with knee tendinitis,
prompting speculation she ducked the match. The crowd booed the
family, and the sisters' father, Richard, alleged the jeers were
racially motivated.
"We got some bad press for that," Serena Williams said, "so I
decided to go all out."
Her gimpy but gallant performance Wednesday left little room for
debate regarding the legitimacy of her injury, even though it
wasn't previously disclosed. The WTA Tour confirmed she has been
receiving daily treatment since straining her thigh en route to the
Indian Wells title.
"I have just been going on like a solider," Williams said. The
injury has been getting progressively worse, she said, but she
expects to be fine with a few days' rest.
Williams started poorly, but her injury didn't become evident
until the opening game of the second set, when she pulled up
limping after a point. She called for a trainer during the
changeover leading 2-1 and again at 5-4. Capriati tried not to
notice.
"She still came out playing some great points," Capriati said.
There were no jeers for Williams, but the crowd was firmly
behind Capriati, a native Floridian, reigning Australian Open
champion and sympathetic figure because of her teen-age travails.
Early in the second set, the stadium erupted in cheers when
Capriati chased a ball into the corner and lunged to smack a
forehand winner down the line. The scrambling save left her
standing next to Richard Williams, seated in the front row, and
even he grinned at the shot.
"She was playing very well," said Serena, who was seeded
fifth. "Sometimes it's kind of hard to play someone who is on the
other end limping and grimacing, but she handled it very well."
Only some shaky serving by Capriati kept the second set close.
She had to overcome two set points at 4-5 and another at 5-6. On
match point Williams hit a weak second serve, and Capriati pounced
with a thunderous forehand return to close out the victory.
"I am just very determined," she said. "It is just a real
belief in myself."
In the other semifinal Thursday, No. 3-seeded Venus Williams
renews her rivalry with No. 1 Martina Hingis. Their most recent
match came in January in the semis at the Australian Open, when
Hingis won with shocking ease, 6-1, 6-1.
"I don't like playing Lindsay, and I don't necessarily like
playing Serena," Hingis said. "I always have an easier time
playing Venus. She gets tighter than the other two girls. She's
more emotional on the court. She tends to double fault every now
and then and miss the easy ones."
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ALSO SEE
Wednesday's results
Hingis says pressure on Venus in their Ericsson semifinal
Agassi advances to quarters without stepping on court
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