KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Jennifer Capriati will make an attempt for a breakthrough victory today against top-ranked Serena Williams in the final of the Nasdaq-100 Open.
Capriati is 0-4 against Venus Williams and has lost six matches in a row to Serena, all of them close. This time, Capriati will play on her 27th birthday against Serena, who is 16-0 this year.
"Maybe she'll feel generous and give me a birthday present and let me win," Capriati said with a laugh. "I figure one of these times it has got to go my way."
In 11 tries, Capriati has never won the Key Biscayne title, but by beating Chanda Rubin, 6-2, 6-4, Friday, she earned a berth in the final for the third year in a row. She lost to Venus in 2001 and to Serena in 2002.