The Final Top Ten

1995 Wimbledon Final

Steffi Graf def. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

4-6,6-1,7-5

As Steffi Graf clutched the cherished silver-winner's plate Saturday for the sixth time at Wimbledon, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
took it away for a moment.

Sanchez Vicario returned it reluctantly, knowing the giant plate had been within her grasp, that few women had ever played so
well, so doggedly, and so long, for the championship and lost.

The runner-up plate felt too puny after a match like this, with its epic, 32-point game in the third set highlighting one of the
greatest women's finals in the Open era.

"Oh, you could give me that one," Sanchez Vicario playfully told Graf, but the German smiled and took it back, yielding nothing
now after earning such a brilliant victory, 4-6,6-1,7-5.

I thought it was nice to have big trophy because it could have been mine," Sanchez Vicario said. "It felt good to have it in my
hand. I know now I can play very well on grass. I know one day l can win and hold the big trophy for real."

For the moment, though, the 23-year-old Spaniard is still second best to Graf, who claimed her 17thGrand Slam title and
improved her 1995 record to 32-0. Only a month ago, Graf won the French Open, beating Sanchez Vicario in a much easier
final.

Graf, playing her finest against an inspired opponent, smashed 10 overheads and 10 volleys, scorched the lines and corners with
her forehands, and won the spectacular game in the final set to earn the trophy and the $525,000 that goes with it.

If the 18-16 tiebreaker between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe in 1980 defined the ultimate in the men's game, the 32 points
and hundreds of shots Graf and Sanchez Vicario endured in the 11th game of the third set defined the ultimate in women's
tennis. McEnroe won that tiebreaker but lost in Five sets. Graf won the game to secure the match.

It was 5-5 in the final set, Sanchez Vicario serving, playing in humid, 37 C heat for an hour and a half of breathless rallies. Now
they began a game that lasted 20 minutes through 13 deuces, eight game points for Sanchez Vicario, and six break points for
Graf.

"It's a game that will stand out for many, many years," the 26-year- old Graf said. "Never in my career had I played such a long
game with so many quality points. We both didn't give anything to each other. I was really tired at the end. There were some
incredible points there.
"That definitely produced the best tennis of both of us. Neither of us played any loose points. Nobody gave up."

The pivotal game began with a long exchange of crisp shots, then rose to another level when Sanchez Vicario hit a daring
backhand drop shot crosscourt. Graf raced in from the baseline to scoop it up with a backhand, Sanchez Vicario caught up to
that to drill a forehand crosscourt, and Graf leaped out to put it away with a volley. Graf slugged a deep forehand that surprised
Sanchez Vicario, and she mis-hit a backhand slice that bounced to the net, giving Graf the 6-5 lead.
Graf surged through the final game in little over a minute, winning at love when her backhand volley forced Sanchez Vicario to
spray a backhand long.