May 16, 2004 Mauresmo Captures Second Straight Title ROME, Italy - A new champion was crowned at the Telecom Masters Italia, a champion that now holds 12 career titles to her name. With both No.2 seed Amelie Mauresmo and No.5 seed Jennifer Capriati owning one set each at the same score of 63 and tied at 6-all in the third set, the two point difference in the tiebreaker proved to be the grandiose difference between winning the crown and becoming runner up. Mauresmo battled her way to victory, 36 63 76(6). Capriati led 4-2 in the third set and again 5-4, when Mauresmo saved one match point. Mauresmo also held one match point in the tiebreaker at 6-5 that was saved by Capriati. "This match couldn't have been any closer. The level from both of us was unbelievable right from the first point," eventual champion Mauresmo stated. Capriati lost to Mauresmo last week in Berlin winning only two games throughout the match. Capriati was pleased with her performance in Rome, saying, "I didn't lose, she had to win the match. The difference between last week's score (62, 60 to Mauresmo in Berlin SF) and this week's was I am a different player now. I was on a roll here and really wasn't ready to play her at that level last week. You have to bounce back from those losses. I made her really earn it today." Mauresmo was appearing in her fourth final at the Telecom Masters Italia, losing in the finals in all three previous years. She lost to Monica Seles in 2000, Jelena Dokic in 2001 and Kim Clijsters in 2003. Mauresmo overcame all of those losses capturing her second title of 2004. Mauresmo looks to be a favorite heading into Roland Garros, as she has won her last nine consecutive matches on clay, earning the championship titles these past two weeks. She won the Ladies German Open (also a Tier I event) in Berlin last week due to a walkover by Venus Williams. "I feel perfectly prepared for Roland Garros now with these two tournaments," Mauresmo claimed. Winning both Tier I titles of Berlin and Rome in consecutive weeks has proved to be a difficult feat, as only two other players have recorded the accomplishment. Steff Graf won both titles in 1987 and Monica Seles in 1990. Mauresmo now adds her name to that elite list. Both Graf and Seles went on to claim the Roland Garros title in that same season. Capriati was appearing in her first final of the year and first since winning the New Haven title in July of 2003. She is playing some of her best tennis, defeating heavily favored and No.1 seed Serena Williams in the semifinals. Capriati was appearing in her first final in Rome, 14 years after making her debut. In doubles action, the dominating team of Nadia Petrova and Meghann Shaughnessy won their fourth consecutive title of the year. With a 26 63 63 defeat over No.1 seeds Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez, Petrova and Shaughnessy earned their fifth title together and fourth of the year. The winning streak began in Miami whereafter they won Amelia Island, Berlin and now Rome. The duo holds an impressive 20-3 record for the year. http://www.wtatour.com/newsroom/stories/NewsArticle_4311_rx.asp -- "L'avenir du rock a un nom : Muse" (Les inrockuptibles) --

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