PARIS — Jennifer Capriati hasn't gotten around to watching a tape of one of the most thrilling French Open finals in history.
She was there, of course, for the live version — one she hopes to recreate in two weeks by retaining her title at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
Picking up where she left off in Paris, the top-seeded Capriati practiced Sunday morning with Kim Clijsters, the Belgian who lost that 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 marathon for the 2001 championship. The 22 games were the most in a third set of a French Open women's final, and the most in a third set of a major women's final since the 1948 U.S. Open.
"I really haven't seen it again. I only remember playing it," Capriati said. "I'm sure maybe they'll show it a couple of times on TV or something, some highlights. But I think I have a few things to look at to get me inspired to play some good tennis."
Indeed. Watching just about any of her matches from the past 1 1/2 years would give Capriati reason to smile, given how low she had fallen and how high she's risen.
The French Open gets under way Monday on center court with No. 2-seeded Venus Williams playing Bianka Lamade of Germany, followed by three-time men's champion Gustavo Kuerten against Ivo Heuberger of Switzerland.
No. 4 Clijsters and No. 6 Monica Seles also play first-round matches Monday, as does the top-seeded man, U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt, along with Pete Sampras, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Australian Open winner Thomas Johansson.
Intermittent rain disrupted play in Sunday's charity event and Monday's forecast calls for more showers.
Capriati is scheduled to play Tuesday against Marissa Irvin, a first-round loser at the last three Grand Slam events. Also off until Tuesday are No. 4 Andre Agassi (vs. Eric Prodon, a French qualifier ranked 270th) and No. 3 Serena Williams (vs. Martina Sucha, a Slovakian who's lost her opening match in eight of 13 tourneys this year).
Off the WTA Tour completely in 1995, Capriati has won three of the past five Grand Slam tournaments (Venus Williams claimed the other two) and is ranked No. 1.
Tremendous stamina has fueled her renaissance.
An ability to play and play and play at a high level was evident when she outlasted Clijsters here last year, just as it was when she overcame a Grand Slam final-record four match points to beat Martina Hingis in January's Australian Open.
"Everyone, I think, plays with pain," said Capriati, who figures she was completely injury-free for only about half a dozen matches this year. "But fitness is a big part of why I've had no major injuries or anything to keep me really out."
That's a rarity these days.
Hingis had ankle surgery this month, forcing her out of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since she turned pro in 1994. Former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport has been sidelined since November with a knee injury, while men missing from the French Open include Goran Ivanisevic (shoulder), Marcelo Rios (knee), and Greg Rusedski (neck).
And several top players who are here have been ailing, including Kuerten (hip), No. 2 Marat Safin (back), Venus Williams (wrist), and Serena Williams (leg).
"It just seems like a lot of players are injured," Capriati noted. "So you get used to them not all being there."