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American Morning

Can Jennifer Capriati Win Wimbledon?

Aired June 25, 2001 - 11:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: With a 105 mile-per-hour serve and some serious determination, Jennifer Capriati has started her quest for a Wimbledon title. She just won her opening round match moments ago.

And John Haylett, who is of deputy editor of Britain's "Ace Tennis" magazine, joins us now on the phone from London to kind of fill us in on how things are going.

Thank you for talking to us about all of this.

How did she look this morning?

JOHN HAYLETT, "ACE TENNIS": Jennifer looked very good indeed. She looked very solid off the ground. She looked relaxed. She was smiling. And she was probably enjoying the weather, which is absolutely glorious here. It's in the mid-80s and it's beautifully hot and sunny.

HARRIS: That's great. No rain this year, huh?

HAYLETT: Not yet. But give it time.

HARRIS: There's always a chance, we understand that.

HAYLETT: Yes.

HARRIS: Well, what do you make of what she's shown so far? Any chance that she can pull this off against either of the Williams sisters?

HAYLETT: I don't see why not. She has a very good record, particularly against Serena. And she's in the same quarter of the draw as Serena. So they may come up against each other the quarter finals. But one thing that is very interesting right at this moment is that Martina Hingis, the top seed, is down a set and 3-love to the unseated Spanish player Virginia Pascual.

So it could be that Hingis will be out of the reckoning, which may make it easier for Jennifer.

HARRIS: That's very interesting. We'll have to watch that one.

Now, of course, many here in the U.S. are mindful of the fact that, if she does this, this takes her a step closer to completing the grand slam.

HAYLETT: Correct.

HARRIS: What is the British press there writing about that?

HAYLETT: Well, the British press is very interested in all this because we see Jennifer as definitely one of the most interesting players in the world. She, after all, has been around for a long time.

And then she very famously went off the rails and she had all her problems the early '90s. And now she's come back. And it's such a good story. And she won the Australian Open and she won the French Open. And I think the British would dearly love to see her take the Wimbledon title as well.

As you know, we don't have too many good British women players ourselves, so I think Jennifer is the one that we would most like to see win it.

HARRIS: I know she has got to be tired of the press making much of her coming back...

(CROSSTALK)

HAYLETT: Yes.

HARRIS: ... if you will.

But it's such an amazing story, it's hard not to talk about that.

HAYLETT: That's right.

HARRIS: What do you make of the crowd's treatment of her? Are they treating her as something special there?

HAYLETT: Oh, very much so. She's very popular. She's a lovely girl. She smiles. She -- she lets her personality come out. And she is very popular, I would say, probably of all of the higher-ranked players.

Possibly the only other player who would have been as popular would be Monica Seles. But she is not playing this year because she has an injury. So I would definitely think that Jennifer is the popular favorite.

HARRIS: All right. You are talking to a rather unabashed Capriati fan. I must confess, in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm one of those guys who's been waiting to see her pull this off, because she has been showing some great flashes of late. And her performance in the French was just incredible. She seems like she is on a roll and Wimbledon could be going her way.

HAYLETT: I think you are right. I would think that if you were a betting man, then I would definitely put a few dollars on her. HARRIS: John Haylett, Britain's "Ace Tennis" magazine, thank you very much for the update. We sure appreciate it. And we will be watching how things turn out over there during the next fortnight. Take care.

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