Tennis: Capriati meets Williams in Miami final

Jennifer Capriati and Venus Williams will clash in the final of the Ericsson Open in Miami after both secured semi-final wins.

Capriati is not inclined to be fazed by the Wimbledon champion, as the two Americans meet for their first time in four years.

"I'm not going to think, 'Oh, she's like this goddess,"' Capriati said.

"Everyone kind of makes her seem that way. We will see when I go out there. She is just another player on the other side. I'm not going to have any fear, that's for sure."

Number four seed Capriati beat number seventh seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-2 6-0 on Friday, setting the stage for the tournament's version of Super Saturday.

With the schedule scrambled by a thunderstorm on Thursday, the women's final will be followed by an intriguing men's semi between Andre Agassi and eighth seed Patrick Rafter of Australia.

The women's tour is blessed with plenty of strong personalities, and these days Capriati and Williams the elder are the most assertive.

Their only previous meeting occurred at the 1997 Key Biscayne tournament, when Williams was just 16 and Capriati was struggling to bounce back from drug and personal problems.

"We're two different players at that time," said Capriati, who turned 25 on Thursday. "It'll be like playing for the first time. I'm looking forward to it."

The two finalists have won the past three Grand Slam tournaments. Williams claimed the Wimbledon and US Open titles last year, and Capriati capped her heart-warming comeback in January by winning the Australian Open.

She has played well since, reaching the final at Oklahoma City and the semi-finals at Scottsdale.

"After the Australian win, I liked the feeling so much I wanted to keep it going and win as many as I can," Capriati said.

She's one of the few players who hits hard enough to match the power of the third seed Williams, who clubbed 51 winners to beat top seed Martina Hingis of Switzerland on Thursday.

Dementieva posed little resistance against Capriati, her frequent practice partner. The Russian's forehand repeatedly sent shots sailing long, and Capriati showed her improved agility and fitness by chasing down the balls that landed in.

"I'm playing the greatest I ever played," Capriati said. "I gain more confidence with each match."

She eliminated Serena Williams in the quarters, spoiling a potential all-Williams final and temporarily quelling the controversy about fixed matches between the sisters.

But Saturday's match-up is just as juicy.

Venus and Jennifer were both steered by their fathers as teenage prodigies but took completely different paths to become champions.

Williams did not play juniors tournaments and waited until age 17 to join the tour. Capriati turned pro at 13 and left the tour three years later, her career in shambles.

But Williams refused to offer much sympathy for the early decline of Capriati's career.

"I think Jennifer is an isolated case as far as what happened to her," Williams said. "Maybe she was tired. Maybe she decided, 'I'm going to lay off and play tennis a little later in life.' I don't think it was anything exactly so tragic."