Tennis: Capriati's success

JENNIFER CAPRIATI beat Anke Huber, of Germany, 6-1, 6-4 yesterday to win the New South Wales Open tennis tournament, a warm-up for the Australian Open.

Capriati, 16, was the calmer of the two teenagers in the sweltering heat of the White City complex in Sydney, and completed her victory in 70 minutes.

Afterwards, the American said her form was the best it had ever been going into a Grand Slam tournament: 'I'm confident, I'm thinking more on court, my serve has improved and I'm moving better.'

Capriati, the No 4 seed, broke Huber in the first game and kept up the pressure throughout the set, allowing the German to hold serve only once. But Huber, seeded No 5, characteristically rallied, and started finding the lines in the second set. She broke Capriati in the fifth game and appeared on the verge of forcing a third set before the Olympic gold medallist won the last four games.

The win completed an American double: Pete Sampras, seeded No 1, had beaten Thomas Muster, of Austria, 7-6 6-1 in the men's singles the day before.