Career Highlights
1986 - 1989 (continued)
Breakthrough Season
Sanchez-Vicario's breakthrough into the upper echelons of women's tennis came a year later, in the same tournament. Going into the tournament with a world ranking of No. 10 and voted WTA Tour's most improved player for 1988, the seventh seed has built up quite a reputation as a competent clay-courter. Prior to the French Open, she had won her first career title in Barcelona, the same tournament where she made her professional debut. She made the semi-finals in Hamburg and went one step better in Rome before losing to Gabriela Sabatini. In the French Open, she took out Jana Novotna in the quarterfinal, and in the semifinal, Mary Joe Fernandez(who had earlier ousted the second seed, Gabriela Sabatini) to reach her first career Grand Slam final. Point to note is that all four semifinalists that year were all under 20 years of age(Graf at 19 yrs old, Fernandez at 17 yrs 10 mths, Sanchez-Vicario at 17 yrs 5 mths and Seles at 16 yrs 6 mths). There we have the teenage brigade of the 80's, taking over from the likes of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Sanchez-Vicario and Seles are still considered big threats at Roland Garros today. Here Arantxa found herself against a formidable opponent in the form of Steffi Graf, who had won five consecutive Grand Slam titles going into the French Open. Having already defeated Sanchez-Vicario twice earlier in the year and holding a 3-0 edge in career meetings over Sanchez-Vicario, it looked like it was going to be a sixth consecutive Grand Slam title for Graf. Of course it was not to be, with the Spaniard precariously wining the first set tiebreak 8-6, she lost the second set 3-6. The final set saw the Graf leading 5-3, when the Spaniard gathered all her reserves to break Graf's serve and the upset was achieved. Graf had mentioned earlier that one of the players she definitely fears on clay is Sanchez-Vicario, and Sanchez-Vicario proved on that day why she is a leading contender on clay. Sanchez-Vicario became the youngest French Open champion then, at the age of 17 years 5 months. She was also the first Spanish woman to ever win a Grand Slam singles title.
A Champion is Born
This win spoiled Graf's attempt for a second consecutive Grand Slam of winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single season. This victory was a proof of the Spaniard's lion heart and never-surrender attitude on court. As she said later, other players would've lost the battle mentally before even playing Steffi. But Sanchez-Vicario believed she could beat Steffi; she went on court to play Steffi, not pray to her. Meanwhile, Sanchez-Vicario also reached the mixed doubles final with Horacio de la Pena (now coach to Franco Squillari), losing it in three sets. Later in the year, she improved her performance at Wimbledon and US open by reaching the quarterfinals on both occasions. She also qualified for the season-ending Virginia Slims Championship (now Chase Championships) and lost in the semi-finals to Martina Navratilova. In her first year as a Grand Slam champion, Sanchez-Vicario finished the year ranked in the top ten for the first time, at No. 5.
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