and comment about Jennifer Capriati:
<<When we hear of media stars, professional
athletes, etc., who take the
unhappy nose dive that ruins their careers, we
shake our head and wonder
why it happened.
When Jennifer Capriati sank into an abyss, the
press found it easy to pass
the blame on to her Italian born father, Stefano
Capriati, who could be
characterized as the "typical patriarchal Italian
father."
Now that Jennifer has been performing in the top
ranks of women's tennis,
some of the writers still persist in passing
the image of Stefano as a villain.
Jennifer Capriati should be complimented by anyone
who shares an interest
in the culture of the Italian/Italian-American
family. Not only has Capriati made
a fantastic comeback. Capriati makes a point
of refusing to discuss her slide,
and she insists that she appreciates the positive
aspects of her relationship
with her father -- no matter how much the press
pushes her.
Jennifer, you are one classy lady, and we wish
you continued good fortune into
the future, and particularly as you once again
head into the finals of the
Australian Tennis Open, to capture that Cup for
the second time in a row.>>
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Scoop's Editorial
January 31, 2001
[NOTE: Written just after Capriati won the Australian Open Last Year ]
Once upon a time, before Tiger Woods, another child prodigy took the
sporting
world by storm. Although Jennifer Capriati was barely 14, the
rules of tennis
were fairly lax, and the tennis elders, smelling big Benjamins, even
bent the
rules to allow little Jennifer to play competitively.
Feeling used and smelling a rat, little Jennifer rebelled against her
family and
the sporting establishment, and immediately became “Big Jennifer.”
As in
“Big, Fat, Out-Of-Shape Jennifer.” As in “Partying Jennifer,”
who, of course,
became “Reefer-Madness Jennifer.”
Time out!
As in “Time Out—Time To Take Some Time Off” Jennifer, to “Get Her Shi*,
errrr, Act Together Jennifer.” You see, “Little Jennifer” was
burned out by the
age of 16, yikes!, literally and figuratively. And as you know,
little people,
when acting bratty, are forced to take time outs. Which Jennifer
did, uh,
without being forced.
Hey! This might be a fairy tale, but after all, when big bucks
are involved,
nobody wants the child to take a time out…are you crazy???!!!
*
* *
* *
* *
*
It was not a pretty fairy tale ending. In real life, it never
is. Raised by a
demanding tennis father, Jennifer Capriati had to quit the sport she
was raised
to dominate—almost before she began. At 17, Capriati could no
longer keep
up with the pace that a touring pro’s lifestyle demanded.
Rebellion and restlessness set in. Making fairy tale money that
the rest of us
beggars could only dream about, Capriati used some of the cash for
sinning.
It was a cry for help. And finally, the “adults” figured it out:
Jennifer should
live life for herself, not for them.
Slowly Capriati got better. First emotionally, then mentally.
And finally
physically. Improving physically as a tennis pro is misleading,
however.
You see, for the 30 months while Jennifer slept sweet dreams, the other
gals,
especially the brat pack of Hingis, Serena and Venus Williams, Davenport,
and Kournikova practiced and got better and better.
And so Capriati struggled to get back into tennis for four or five years.
Attempting a comeback was difficult; it was much harder than anybody
imagined. For a couple of years, Capriati barely won matches,
let alone
tournaments. Once in awhile, she went a little further in match-play,
but a
tournament final? Not even close.
Time to bring back her father…yeah, the same one she rebelled against…as
her coach. Father and daughter worked hard. And harder.
And even harder.
And finally, Jennifer got back into great tennis shape.
Winning the Australian Open last week was the end result of that hard work.
Not really. That would be for fairy tales. In truth, last
week was only the
beginning. Father and daughter would have it no other way.
http://www.sportscartoon.com/january_31,_2001.htm
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Unofficial Jennifer Capriati Fan Site with Statistics
http://capriati.topcities.com/fanmail.html
