Jennifer Capriati Very Deserving of International Tennis Hall of Fame Nod

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at Internationaled.org

Published: April 30, 2012

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A few weeks ago, it was announced that Jennifer Capriati, my favorite sports athlete of all time, will be inducted this July in Newport, R.I.

They began announcing this year's class, one at a time several moths ago, and, of course, saved Capriati for last (and nearly gave me a nervous breakdown in the process).

Capriati's selection into the Hall is well deserved, but I admit I wasn't sure everyone would see it that same way as I do.

The Floridian had a great, albeit short, career. Most everyone knows her story. When she turned pro at 14 in 1990, she was supposed to be the next Chris Evert. The hype was out of this world. For a while, it looked like she might deliver.

She reached the top 10 in 1990. In 1991, she defeated Martina Navratilova to reach the Wimbledon semifinals. She also made the semifinals at the U.S. Open that year, losing to Monica Seles in a three-set thriller.

That match is still one of my favorites of all time, as the two went toe-to-toe from the baseline. Many, including myself, believe that match led to a wave of hard-hitting baseliners that still dominate the game today.

In 1992, Capriati won an Olympic gold medal in Barcelona at the age of 16. She beat Steffi Graf on clay for the title. However, things went downhill from there.

All the fame and hype began to take its toll on Capriati, and her game began to falter. She dropped off the tour, and in 1994 she was arrested for possession of marijuana.

She returned to the WTA Tour in 1996, but her game wasn't the same. She struggled for several years, and her ranking dropped into the 200s.

Finally in 1999, Capriati slowly started to get her game back and finished the year ranked 23rd. In 2000, she reached the Australian Open semifinals and ended the year at No. 14.

The following year, Capriati finally put it all together again and won the Australian Open. She then won the French Open...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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