The United States overcame injuries to advance to the semifinals of the Federation Cup, beating Austria 3-2 behind Mary Joe Fernandez' heroics on Sunday.
Fernandez beat Barbara Paulus 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), then teamed with longtime partner Gigi Fernandez to beat Judith Wiesner and Petra Schwarz-Ritter 6-0, 6-4.Jennifer Capriati, a last-minute surprise choice to replace injured Chanda Rubin and Lindsay Davenport, was beaten 6-2, 6-4 Saturday by Paulus and 6-1, 6-1 Sunday by Wiesner. Capriati failed to hold a single service game.
"I knew going in it would be close, 50-50," U.S. captain Billy Jean King said. "Mary Joe played up to her potential. She was definitely the star."
The United States next plays Japan, a surprise winner over Germany.
At Tokyo, Kimiko Date beat Steffi Graf 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 12-10 in 31/2 hours as Japan advanced to the semifinal for the first time.
The semifinal will be played in Japan, meaning Monica Seles, currently sidelined with a shoulder injury, may be available. Seles, stabbed during a tournament at Hamburg in 1993, said she would not travel to Germany.
Date gave Japan a 2-1 lead, but Anke Huber evened the match by beating Naoko Sawamatsu 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Ai Sugiyama and Kyoko Nagatsuka then beat Graf and Huber 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
"I had so many chances to win in the first set, but then I grew a little bit tired and nervous, and just made too many errors on important points," Graf said. "I started playing a little better in the second set but still I didn't feel comfortable. Then in the third set, she played great tennis."
At Murcia, Spain, the host nation beat South Africa 3-2,. And France beat Argentina 3-2 at Amiens.
At Monte Carlo, Monaco, Thomas Muster needed three hours and five sets to beat Alberto Costa 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Sunday to win his second consecutive Monte Carlo Open. It was his seventh straight victory in a clay court tournament.
"I probably used my power better at the end, and when it was necessary, I put more pressure on him," Muster said. "He was tired at the end, I think."
Muster joined Ilie Nastase and Bjorn Borg as the only three-time Monte Carlo winners since the open era began in 1968.
It was the third consecutive time Muster and Costa played five sets. Costa beat Muster at Kitzbuehel, Austria, and Muster won at the French Open quarterfinals.
Costa had the last victory over Muster on clay, last August at Kitzbuehel, ending Muster's clay-court final streak at 24, a run that began in 1990.
"My game doesn't suit him," Costa said. "I play a lot of points on his backhand. I mix the game. and I win many points and that bothers him. I got him into a fifth set and I couldn't do any more."
In a match that lasted 3:08, the pair held serve just 27 times in 48 games: Muster 15 and Costa 12.
The 20-year-old Spaniard had trouble getting started in the first set, committing 11 to just one for Muster before getting back into the match.
The turning point of the match came at 2-2 in the fifth set. A double fault and an unforced error put Costa behind 0-30. A winning lob gave Muster a break chance and he capitalized on it with a winning volley after getting to a weak drop shot by Costa.
Of Muster's 39 tournament titles, 37 are on clay.