"It puts everything into perspective" - When Jennifer Capriati had a heartfelt message for ill colleague ahead of French Open QF against Serena Williams
Jennifer Capriati paid tribute to her fellow tennis player Corina Morariu before her French Open quarterfinal against Serena Williams in 2001. Morariu, who is a former doubles World No.1, was battling leukaemia at the time.
Capriati entered the 2001 French Open seeded fourth. She reached the quarterfinals following wins over Emile Loit, Tathiana Garbin, Mirjana Lucic, and Meghan Shaughnessy.
In the last eight she was up against Serena Williams, who was seeded sixth. Capriati entered the court carrying a paper that read:
"Get well soon Corina."
Capriati beat Williams 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to book her place in the semifinals of the French Open. The then-25-year-old later said that she wanted to do something special for Morariu.
"It puts everything into perspective. I really wanted to do something special for her," Jennifer Capriati said.
Capriati eventually went on to win the 2001 French Open, beating Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 in the final. The American dedicated her victory to Morariu.
"I'd like to dedicate this victory to Corina. I hope everyone prays for her recovery. I just wanted to show that my heart is with her. We're all players, it really hits home when something like that happens," Capriati said.
Corina Morariu eventually made a full recovery from leukaemia and returned to action thereafter. She also reached a Grand Slam doubles final with Lindsay Davenport at the 2005 Australian Open, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alicia Molik.
Jennifer Capriati and Serana Williams locked horns on 17 occasions
Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams faced each other on 17 occasions, with the latter leading the head-to-head 10-7.
The first match between the two took place at Berlin in 1999, with Williams winning 7-6(3), 6-3. Capriati then won the next four meetings between the two, which included two Grand Slam quarterfinals - at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati never locked horns in a Grand Slam final but faced each other in four title clashes, with the former coming out on top in all of them. These included two Miami Open finals and the 2003 Canadian Open final (then known as the Rogers AT&T Cup).
The last match between the two came in the quarterfinals of the 2004 US Open, with Capriati winning 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. The American then lost 6-0, 2-6, 7-6(5) to eventual runner-up Elena Dementieva in what turned out to be the last Grand Slam match of her career.