THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, NO. 67

Annacone picked Henman over Capriati because
he needed a 'cleaner situation
'With Tim, it's very cut and dry;' Jen needs to make a plan; Sampras teeing it up,
fielding biz opportunities

By Douglas Robson
Special to tennisreporters.net

© Mark Lyons

Capriati needs to decide what she wants to do with her career.

FROM THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN – At the WTA Championships in Los Angeles two months ago, Paul Annacone spent the week working with Jennifer Capriati. The coaching arrangement was on a trial basis, but it looked like an excellent fit. Even the cautious Capriati was hopeful.

But on Saturday at the Australian Open, Annacone will be in Britain's Tim Henman's box when the veteran takes on the tough Argentine, Guillermo Cañas. Pete Sampras' former coach decided to take an offer from his friend Henman instead of Capriati, partly because he couldn't see himself dealing with the looming presence of Jennifer' father, Stefano, who has coached her most of her 27 years.

"It's definitely something I considered," Annacone told tennisreporters.net in a thoughtful interview in the media lounge on Thursday. "When you get involved in a situation like that you look at all the variables. I think that I wanted as clean a situation as I could."

Annacone is well respected and knows a thing or two about the rising and falling fortunes of elite athletes. The veteran coach and former USTA Player Development chief helped guide Pete Sampras most of his record 14 majors, including his '02 US Open triumph after almost two years without a title of any kind.

Capriati's career, meantime, has been in stasis, if not in slight regression. The 27-year-old, who climbed back from considerable adversity to reach the No. 1 ranking in 2001, has not won a major in two years. Jen captured only one title in 2003 in New Haven when Lindsay Davenport retired in the final. While she's a dogged competitor and came won over a lot of fans with her spectacular near-miss against Justine Henin-Hardenne in the '03 US Open semis, there's clearly something separating Capriati from the game's true elite.

That now injured Capriati even gave Annacone a try-out was a clear indication that she knows she needs to make a change. She even said that hearing a fresh voice would be beneficial. But for Annacone, it wasn't the perfect scenario.

"We got to know each other really well," Annacone said. "We had a great time. It was nice to at least start that relationship. The practice sessions were terrific, she's open-minded and a bright, unbelievably talented young lady."

Still, Capriati has some major challenges to face, he said. While he wouldn't go so far as to say Capriati is confused, Annacone suggested the three-time Slam champ is struggling to figure out how to proceed in her career.

Paul Annacone

"I think it's very simple," said Annacone. "She needs to first of all decide what she wants to accomplish. Does she want to be the best player in the world? Which is different than trying to just win a Slam. At the end of Pete's career, he was more concerned about just giving himself a chance to win a Slam or two. So, she needs to decide what she wants to do and then she has to come up with a path of how to do it."

'With Tim, it's very cut and dry'
When Henman called, the pieces fell together.

"It was very clear what he wanted to do and what I was looking for professionally. It made a lot of sense. It was a lot less to deal with extraneously. With Tim it's very cut and dry."

Annacone is convinced that Capriati can still win majors. Though a bad back kept her out of Australia, she's had no major injuries. She strikes the ball as well as any player, and moves better than most. But like fellow American Davenport, also 27, the window of opportunity is quickly closing. Which is why Capriati is at another crossroads in her topsy-turvy career.

To Annacone, the key is one of individuation.

Capriati has never quite separated her work life from the influence of her parents. Sampras, for one, established a firm work-family barrier early. Annacone did the same with his 16-year-old son, an aspiring basketball player in East Hampton, N.Y.

"Some of the players have done it early all through their careers," said Annacone. "Look at Pete. He made a conscious decision when he was younger to talk to his folks about it and say, 'You're my parents and I love you, but these are my tennis people over here.' It's tough when they crisscross. I wouldn't want to have that conversation with my parents, I can tell you that."

Siggi Bucher

Henman's stability was draw for Annacone.

According to Annacone, that is one of the most critical tasks in an athlete's life.

"The most difficult thing in all athletics is the ability to make objective decisions without getting emotions involved, and to look at career short-term and long-term goals and figure out the best way to attack those objectively."

Can Capriati?

Annacone said that the cocooning love and support she has received from her parents and her small circle of advisors has made it easy for her to lean on them for decisions. Now, it may be time for the sixth-ranked Floridian to take her maturity to a new level.

"The key is to address what she wants to do and then make a plan to do it," he said. "If she thinks she can get there with her dad, then great, commit to that. If she thinks she needs somebody else, she needs to get her dad on board, her mom on board and say this is what I'm going go do."

Annacone concluded by saying that Capriati will have to sort it out in her own way, which she's very capable of doing. "She's a great player and there's no reason she can't win a number of more Slams, but it's up to her. She just has to go forward with some conviction," he said.

Sampras teeing it up, fielding biz opportunities
Annacone said Sampras is still sorting out his next move in life, but is quite content to spend time with his family and on the links. Annacone said Sampras is renovating a home in Beverly Hills, participating in events such as the celebrity pro-am at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in La Quinta, Calif., this week, and fielding various business proposals.

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA

Sampras enjoys time away from the game.

"He's just enjoying his life, taking a step away from tennis as far as he can for a while and enjoying being a dad and going through the completion of the transition into his real world," said Annacone. Part of that is "trying to sit back and let all of this get out of his system to figure out what he wants to do next professionally."

Annacone, who has jumped back into the fray with Henman, is careful to give the quietly intense Californian his space. They are only in periodic contact, but remain close. "I really try to stay away and let him decompress," he said. "He's got enough going on in his life."

Annacone said the remarkable thing about Sampras, who he has known since he was a teenager, was not only his self-confidence but also his uncanny ability to know exactly what he needed to succeed.

"I've never met an athlete who wavered less about his or her own abilities and worried less about what everyone else was saying," he said. "And I never met someone at such a young age that was so confident in what they needed to do for themselves to get the most out of themselves – and was right. A lot of people think they know what they need to do, but they don't. He was really good at that at an early age."

Will Sampras be seen in a tennis context soon? Not likely. "He's happy and healthy and glad that he's not practicing four hours a day," said Annacone.