|
Seles wins Toyota Princess Cup 1998 Posted: September 27, 1998 For Monica Seles, overcoming Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in a championship match has a familiar feel. Seles' quest to regain her former No. 1 ranking, however, is "uncharted territory." "No other player has had to stop halfway in their career," Seles said Sunday after beating Sanchez-Vicario for the Toyota Princess Cup title for the third year in a row. Sanchez-Vicario rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the first set, and threatened to rebound from 3-1 and 5-3 deficits in the third before Seles won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours, 17 minutes Sunday. Fitness and consistency have been major concerns for Seles, who held the top ranking most of the time from March 1991 until being stabbed in the back by a spectator at a tournament in Germany in April 1993. She returned to the tour in 1995, but then spent more time away because of injuries and, during this summer, the illness and death of her father. She now is ranked No. 6. "I have to practice and hit a lot of balls," she said. "I lost a lot of consistency. "To do well in the Grand Slams, I have to improve a lot of things in the next few months." As for No. 1, "I can get there" with the proper amount of work and sacrifice. In Sunday's final, "I felt I played some great tennis at key times but I also at times let Arantxa back into the match," Seles said. Seles has won 17 of her 20 matches against Sanchez-Vicario, a former No. 1 who currently is ranked No. 4. Ten of those meetings have been tournament finals, and Seles has won eight of them, although she lost to the Spaniard in this year's French Open final. "She's a fighter. She never gives up and she keeps improving," Seles added. "I'm a fighter, too, and it brings out the best in both of us." Sanchez-Vicario was in her fifth consecutive Toyota final. She won in 1994, but since has lost four in a row -- one to Mary Pierce and three to Seles. "My serve was probably less effective than hers," said Sanchez-Vicario, the top seed. "She served better when she needed to." In the final set, Seles saved two break points in the second game -- which she closed out with two aces -- and two more in the fourth. At 30-all in the final game, Seles produced two good serves -- one drawing a miss from Sanchez-Vicario and the other setting up a vicious forehand crosscourt winner for the 43rd singles title of her career. This one was worth $79,000. They also met in Sunday's doubles final, with Seles and Russia's Anna Kournikova beating Sanchez-Vicario and Mary Joe Fernandez 6-4, 6-4, and sharing the winner's prize of $23,750. It was Kournikova's first victory in any event on the pro tour. "It feels great winning, especially with Monica," said Kournikova, who was paired with Seles for the first time. [ESPN SportZone]
|
