NEW YORK (AP) – For good or bad, tennis players’ fortunes change as quickly as the direction of the swirling wind at the U.S. Open.

Just ask major champions Jennifer Capriati, Roger Federer and Carlos Moya, who all dealt with shaky starts Monday before winning first-round matches. Or ask Mario Ancic and Karolina Sprem, who marked themselves as stars-to-be at Wimbledon but were one-and-done at the next Grand Slam.

Frustrated by a strong breeze, her opponent’s superb play and her own miscues, Capriati trailed 54th-ranked Denise Chladkova by a set, then put together a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory.

“It was a little bit scary there in the beginning,” the eighth-seeded Capriati said. “I had to make some adjustments, trying to find my range a little bit, and the wind was pretty difficult. One side, you would hit the ball, and it seemed like it would go 10 feet out. On the other side, you couldn’t get it past the service line.”

To compensate, Capriati used different rackets at different ends of the court, and whether the edge that provided was real or perceived, it eventually worked.

Federer struggled, too, but got past 2002 French Open champion Albert Costa 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. Third-seeded Moya had his problems against 19-year-old Brian Baker but came back to win 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 after Baker was hit by what he called “nervous cramps.”

Sprem, meanwhile, looked little like the player who upset Venus Williams en route to the quarterfinals at the All England Club: The 18th-seeded Croatian lost to countrywoman Jelena Kostanic 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. And No. 27 Ancic, also from Croatia, was beaten by Olivier Rochus of Belgium 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2). It was a step back for Ancic, who appeared to make a career-changing breakthrough by reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, then won an Olympic bronze medal in doubles.

The only other seeded loser Monday afternoon was No. 32 Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States, beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Marion Bartoli of France. Also into the second round: No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo, No. 6 Elena Dementieva, Olympic silver medalist Mardy Fish, and Olympic semifinalist Taylor Dent, who advanced when Younes El Aynaoui quit in the second set with a right foot injury. “You see upsets all the time. Everyone can play now,” said Ancic, ranked 71 spots higher than Rochus. “He had all the answers for my game.”

Capriati might have felt that way early in her match. The former No. 1 made nine unforced errors in the first set, then six the rest of the way. Chladkova, never past the second round in seven Open appearances, went the other way: She made just seven errors in the opening set, then 22 the last two.

“I didn’t expect her to play so well,” said Capriati, who pulled out of the Olympics with a leg injury. “I’m very relieved. I feel like I dug deep.”

She hasn’t had a superb run at a major since last year’s Open, when 10 times she was two points from beating eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals.

Henin-Hardenne won an Olympic gold medal after playing one tournament in the previous four months while battling a viral illness, and Capriati was surprised at how fit the top-ranked Belgian is.

“The only thing I question is that maybe she was working a little more than what she had said,” Capriati said. “She doesn’t seem to have lost any muscle tone at all. When you’re not playing, when you’re sick, it looks like you would have atrophy in different places. It doesn’t look like that at all.”

When her match ended, Capriati heaved a sigh, then applauded the crowd. She was supported throughout by the fans, including one woman who yelled, “Woooo!” after each point Capriati won.

Capriati won the Australian Open twice, and the French Open once, but she’s never been to a U.S. Open final, despite plenty of fan support.

“I’m happy that they’re mostly on my side. I wouldn’t want them to be against me, you know,” she said, adding that winning the Open “would just be definitely the icing on the cake for me.”

After missing the Australian Open with a back injury, Capriati was routed in the French Open semifinals by Anastasia Myskina and in the Wimbledon quarterfinals by Serena Williams. Capriati and Williams – in action later Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium – could meet in the quarters at the Open.

Federer could have a quarterfinal showdown against Andre Agassi, but he’ll want to play better than he did Monday. His 30 unforced errors were two more than Costa’s, and Federer was broken in the first game, then twice in the last set.

The Swiss star, bidding to become the first man since 1988 to win three majors in a year, looked particularly befuddled while serving for the match at 5-3. The clouds that caused a 20-minute rain delay at the start of the day suddenly parted, and the sun was in Federer’s face on his ball tosses.

Add in the wind that blew strands of hair in his eyes, and the roar of jets overhead, and it made for some miserable moments. Federer double-faulted twice, helping Costa break him at love. Quickly, though, Federer righted himself, flicking a “How’d he do that?” passing shot on the run, and a forehand winner to close the match.

Federer has won three of the past four Slams, but he’s never been past the fourth round at the Open.

“I’ve just been maybe losing the big ones,” Federer said with a shrug.

AP-ES-08-30-04 1941EDT