TENNIS Mauresmo beats Capriati again in Italian Open; Williams next

It was the fourth straight time she had beaten the American.
ROME (AP) -- Jennifer Capriati lost to Amelie Mauresmo for the fourth straight time, beaten 6-3, 7-6 (10) Friday in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.
Mauresmo will next play defending champion Serena Williams, who defeated Conchita Martinez 7-5, 6-2 in this $1.3 million clay-court tuneup for this month's French Open.
Second-seeded Kim Clijsters will face 13th-seeded Ai Sugiyama of Japan in today's other semifinal. The two play doubles together.
Clijsters downed eighth-seeded Anastasia Myskina of Russia 6-2, 6-2 for the Belgian's third straight rout in three days. Sugiyama stopped Slovak qualifier Tina Pisnik 6-1, 6-3.
The top-ranked Williams improved to 26-1 this season after beating an opponent who won the Italian Open four consecutive times between 1993 and 1996.
Overwhelmed Martinez
Williams overwhelmed Martinez and is 5-0 against the Spaniard. Martinez stayed with Williams until 5-5 in the first set. Williams then broke serve and closed the set with two aces. Williams had no trouble in the second set.
Mauresmo, seeded fourth, saved four set points in the second set of a match that ended in a drizzle. The Frenchwoman won on her fourth match point.
"I just try to stay in there even though sometimes I was set point down, and it worked out for me today," Mauresmo said.
The fifth-seeded Capriati benefited from two errors and a net-cord winner to save Mauresmo's first three match points. On the fourth -- Mauresmo's first while serving -- she hit a forehand long.
"I definitely could have done things a little bit differently -- been more aggressive," Capriati said.
Capriati's displeasure became apparent in confrontations with a fan whose cell phone rang -- drawing a language warning to Capriati from the chair umpire -- and a TV cameraman positioned in front of her on a changeover.
"There was a lot of tension in the match," Capriati said. "I got myself fired up and angry so I would try to play with more force."