Fans in the Family Circle Cup Stadium gave Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario a rousing cheer as she walked onto the court Tuesday, including a woman in the lower tier who shouted, "We love you, Arantxa!"
This love affair between Family Circle Cup fans and Sanchez-Vicario has been going on since the Spaniard first played in the tournament in 1987. The feeling is mutual.
"I think that people appreciate what you do and they really enjoy watching you play," she said. "Wherever I go I still have a lot of support, so that's so nice. ... I try to keep giving them good tennis to watch."
Sanchez-Vicario's 16-year streak is the longest in Family Circle Cup history, but this could be her last visit here. She announced earlier this year that this might be her final season on the WTA Tour.
At the age of 30, and with a world ranking of No. 14 in singles and No. 8 in doubles, Sanchez-Vicario has decided to see how the rest of the year goes. She will concentrate on the Grand Slams, trying to re-create the magic that helped her win a U.S. Open and three French Opens.
Her legacy already is secure with those major championships among her 29 Sanex WTA Tour titles. She has won more than 700 matches, earned over $16 million in prize money and was the No. 1 player in the world for eight weeks in 1995.
For the first time since she turned pro, Sanchez-Vicario last year failed to reach at least the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament.
But she did beat then-No. 1 Martina Hingis at Amelia Island and won her first singles title in two years at Porto.
Those are the kinds of victories that keep her pumped.
"I still love to compete, so I'm having fun," she said. "I think that's what keeps me going, and I'm still playing good tennis and, definitely, being in the top. ... That's the most difficult (task), after so many years, to be consistent." Many treated her 6-4, 6-2 win over Rita Grande as merely a warm-up act for the Anna Kournikova-Conchita Martinez match that followed. But she gave the crowd the same grind-it-out, hard-nosed tennis that has sustained her since she turned pro in 1985.
While singles competition still is the priority for Sanchez-Vicario, she enjoys playing doubles with Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova. They are seeded third this week.
"I can just anticipate on the volley and we make a very good combination," she said. "And this is what doubles is about. I try to help her as much (as I can), and give her my experience."
