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Former No. 1 Arantxa Remembered

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

There were always a bundle of things to like and dislike about Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, who retired on Tuesday after a fruitful 17-year career. The good: her tireless retrieving, her never-ending fight, her backhand in any direction, her speed, her on-court intellect, her politeness. The bad: the thousands of calls she questioned; her unwillingness to give most opponents credit in defeat ("It was just bad luck for me"), her forehand, her gamesmanship, her obsession with her status.

Nonetheless, Sanchez-Vicario took part in so may great, long matches over the past 15 years or so and added so much spice and bravado to a sometimes flat sport that it will sad to see her go – even though she is so far past her prime now that it's obvious she made the right call.

Of Arantxa's 29 singles titles, the one that comes most quickly to mind is her heart stopping 7-6(5), 0-6, 6-2 victory over the red hot Monica Seles in '98 Roland Garros final. After Seles had thumped Martina Hingis in the semis behind brutal groundies that reminded one of her pre-stabbing form, Sanchez-Vicario came into the match a serious underdog. But as she did in giving Serena Williams a three-set lesson in clay ourt tennis in the fourth round; in her come back from near death win over then teen Patty Schnyder in the quarters; and in her Napoleonic defense of the baseline in straight setting Lindsay Davenport in the semis, Arantxa simply willed herself a victory over a more talented player. She exhausted Monica in every rally that went beyond eight balls and must have run to Notre Dame and back in the victory – her fourth Slam title.

Sanchez-Vicario rose to prominence in 1989, becoming the first Spaniard to win the Roland Garros when she shocked No. 1 Steffi Graf in a tremendous three-set final. She also grabbed Roland Garros in 1994 by running down a few dozen Mary Pierce cannon blasts and won the '94 U.S. Open over a hobbled Steffi. She reached the Wimbledon final in '95 and lost a classic to Graf, and then was rolled over by Steffi in the '96 Wimbledon final. The Barcelona Bumblebee also reached the Australian Open finals in 1994 and 1995 and was crushed by Graf and Pierce.

While Seles was off the tour for two and half years, Arantxa was only player who could consistently give Steffi a struggle, even though Graf ended her career far ahead in their head to head match-ups. "She has given so much to tennis in her competitiveness on the court and her willpower, but always with that great smile. She has made history and I wish her all the best," said Graf.

Only No. 1 Spanish Woman

Between February and June 1995, Sanchez-Vicario held the world No. 1 singles ranking for a total of 12 weeks, the first and so far only Spanish woman to do so. When she became No. 1, her mother, Marissa (the most constant matronly presence on tour) bought her a gold No. 1 necklace, which she proudly wore every single day that she was the sport's queen. Sanchez was ranked amongst the top 10 virtually uninterrupted for 10 years (1989 to 1999). She was also ranked No. 1 in doubles in 1992.

Once Martina Hingis burst on the scene as a primetime player in 1997, it was apparent that Arantxa's days as a perennial Slam semifinalist were numbered. Hingis embarrassed her on so many occasions because Arantxa rarely could trick her into errors. Martina perhaps understood Arantxa's weaknesses better than anyone. Then came the rise of Venus and Serena as big time forces in 1999 and Arantxa began a slow downhill slide.

However, Arantxa is arguably the best player in Spanish history – male or female. While there aren't a lot of great Spanish women players lining up to replace Arantxa and the aging Conchita Martinez in the pro ranks, plenty of guys received inspiration from her, including Carlos Moya, who appropriately noted that Arantxa set the standard for his generation.

Here's a few of Sanchez's more outstanding statistics, which make her a lock for the Hall of Fame: She reached the semis or better at Roland Garros 10 times.
* She's one of only five women to have won more than 700 singles matches in her career
* Her $16,917,312 in career earnings ranks her No.4 all-time behind Graf, Martina Navratilova and Hingis.
* She led Spain to its first five Fed Cup victories, in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998.

Arantxa was never one to discuss her personal life in depth, but her highly publicized, semi-royal marriage to Joan Vehils in 2000 ended quickly in disaster and was source of major embarrassment to her. When she was married, it was expected that she would spend less time on tour and more at home, but Sanchez kept traveling at the same time and rarely took time to smell the roses outside of the gardens of whichever resort she was staying at.

Now she'll have plenty of time to discover a world that isn't always hemmed in by white lines.

"I feel that it's time for me to develop other aspects of my life," Sanchez-Vicario said. "Until now all my life was concentrated around tennis and this demands a lot of effort and exclusive dedication, but in return I have achieved everything that an athlete can dream: acknowledgment, victories and a lot of affection. ... Leaving professional tennis was not an easy decision for me, but I sincerely believe that the moment has come to me for face it. I consider myself privileged in all aspects. My family stood beside me unconditionally throughout my career; I have not had many injuries; I was able to achieve professional success; I was supported by my friends; the media has treated me with the highest respect and they gave me the support that is needed for every professional. That's all an athlete can ask for! From this moment I want to live life outside of the tennis courts in order to achieve being happy, serve the society as another citizen and to be able to have a private life, just like any other person."

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