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1992

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#1 · (Edited)
Lets drift back in time to 1992.

Some of the #1 chart topping songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRcimo3BEhA

The tennis world was ruled once again by Monica Seles, who by year's end had repeated a near stranglehold on the women's tour by taking 3 out 4 slam titles.



need to edit....
 
#2 ·
Originally posted by Ms Anthropic...

Graf Beats Sanchez For Phila. Tennis Title
Steffi Graf Didn't Just Want To Win. She Wanted To Win Fast.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario Didn't Let Her.
November 16, 1992
By Diane Pucin
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Though she complained that her play "wasn't very good," Steffi Graf, the top seed, beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the No. 3 seed, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, yesterday in the finals of the Virginia Slims of Philadelphia.

The match took 1 hour, 40 minutes, and that was much too long in Graf's mind.

"I just played too slow and let things happen," Graf said. "I just waited and waited and didn't step into the ball."

If this summation seems overly harsh from someone who had just won $70,000, her fourth straight tournament and her 19th straight match, well, Graf is a perfectionist. Even in Saturday's semifinal, when Graf needed only 42 minutes and nearly whitewashed poor Jennifer Capriati, 6-0, 6-1, Graf was grumbling about her serve.

Yesterday at the Civic Center, that serve was Graf's savior. In the third set, Sanchez was seldom given a chance to hustle to every ball because Graf was winning points quickly off a 95 m.p.h. first serve.

But the rest of her game wasn't as bad as Graf believed. She wasn't perfect, as she nearly had been Saturday. But Graf was still using the court in well-conceived patterns.

It's just that Sanchez can be as pesky as a 2-year-old, getting into every corner, causing trouble when you least expect it. There was no shot Sanchez wouldn't run down, no point Sanchez would give up on. Just some points that lasted too long.

"I been like this since I was a kid," Sanchez said. "I always have very good physical conditioning, and I always been very good runner."

Sanchez's game has also evolved in the last year into one of the most aggressive and varied on the tour. The 20-year-old from Barcelona, Spain, who was thrilled to see Catalan flags hanging from the balcony and who thanked a vocal Spanish cheering section in Spanish, is more likely to rush the net, try a volley, throw in a drop shot or an offensive lob than any player but Martina Navratilova.

From just being a threat on clay courts, Sanchez has moved into the top echelon of women's players and is a threat on all surfaces.

In fact, Sanchez seemed happier yesterday with the announcement that she would move past Navratilova and into the No. 4 spot on the computer rankings, her highest ever, than with her $35,000 paycheck for the week.

"What I wanted to do this year is finish No. 4, and I made it," Sanchez said. "I have a very good year, and I am very happy."

The winner wasn't so happy. Graf, 23, who has won eight tournaments this year including Wimbledon, wished she'd been more like Sanchez in the second set. Graf said she wished she had gone more to the net.

"I had her on the run," Graf said, "and on many occasions I could have gone to the net and put the points away. But I didn't move around."

The crucial game in the second set was the third. Sanchez had broken Graf's serve in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. The third game was breathtaking. It took 22 points, and Graf had five break-point chances. But the scrambling Sanchez saved them all and finally held serve and took a 3-0 lead on a service winner.

The third set was just the opposite. It was Graf who jumped into the 3-0 lead, and she didn't need any 22-point games to do it.

"Steffi served much, much better" in the third set, Sanchez said. "When she serves great, she doesn't have to think so much in the rallies."

But Graf is always thinking. About how to get better, about what is wrong, about how to be perfect.

Graf did think up the perfect "thank-you" speech for the crowd. She had attended last week's Eagles' game and the Flyers' 8-5 victory over the Islanders. "I made the Eagles win. Then I made the Flyers win. Finally I won. So I am very happy."

So happy she frowned while walking off the court. So happy she'll probably practice five hours today. So happy she may be perfect next time.

NOTES. Next year, the Virginia Slims of Philadelphia tournament will have more than double the $350,000 in prize money that was offered this year. The tournament will be worth $750,000 and be one of only seven top-level tournaments in the world.

The No. 2-seeded doubles team, Gigi Fernandez and Natalia Zvereva, beat the unseeded team of Conchita Martinez and Mary Pierce, 6-1, 6-3, to win the doubles championship and $20,000.

Yesterday's attendance of 4,607 pushed the week's total to 45,139, better than last year's 45,019. . . . Graf and Sanchez headed to New York to play in the season-ending $3 million Virginia Slims Championship at Madison Square Garden. Graf, who hasn't played Monica Seles since the Wimbledon final, is eager for another shot at Seles, the world's top-ranked player. "We haven't played for a while, and that's something I'm not very happy about," Graf said. "Hopefully, I'll get another chance soon."

That would have to be in the Slims final Sunday, because Seles is seeded No. 1 and Graf No. 2.

THE RESULTS

Seedings in parentheses.

SINGLES

Finals: Steffi Graf (1), Germany, def. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (3), Spain, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

DOUBLES

Finals: Gigi Fernandez-Natalia Zvereva (2) def. Conchita Martinez-Mary Pierce, 6-1, 6-3.
 
#3 ·
Again from Ms Anthropic-a report from Brighton.


Nostalgic Graf not happy
The Times (London, England)
Wednesday, October 21, 1992
Andrew Longmore

THE 26th successive victory on the seafront took just 57 minutes yesterday, Steffi Graf beating Larisa Savchenko-Neiland, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the second round of the Midland Bank championship in Brighton.

Graf, though, was not happy. "No rhythm," she complained. "No rallies. I'd prefer to play a match where I can get a feel of the court. We both just went for everything." Graf was rather more accurate than the talented but erratic Latvian.

This is very much the autumnal part of the year for the Wimbledon champion, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Graf's route through the European indoor season from Leipzig (three titles out of three), through Zurich (six out of seven), to Brighton (five out of five) is well worn and highly profitable. But the nostalgic trail through her good memories does not end there.

On her day off in London on Monday, Graf took a detour to Wimbledon, just to check that her precious Centre Court was still there. "It wasn't planned. I wanted to take a look," she explained. She even managed to get in without her members' badge. "I just ran through the main entrance, so they had no chance to stop me," she said.

By happy coincidence, the Wimbledon trophies were in the process of being transported to an exhibition, allowing Graf to lift the famous plate above her head for the second time in the year. More than a touch of Martina Navratilova about that.

According to most forecasts, the Midland Bank trophy will be back in safe keeping by late Sunday afternoon as well. For, though the field is one of the strongest at Brighton for many years, there is no obvious candidate to end the German's run. No Seles, Sabatini or Sanchez Vicario.

Of the young pretenders, on view, Magdalena Maleeva has the added advantage of local knowledge. Maleeva has enlisted the help of Pavel Slozil, who guided Graf to ten grand slam titles. Having worked with Jennifer Capriati earlier in the year, Slozil is in perfect position to assess the 17-year-old Bulgarian.

"She is very talented.," Slozil said. "Maybe at the moment she has Steffi's will to win. Every match, every practice, every ball is very, very good. She is very quick. I have always said I would like to work with the men or with somebody who is not in the top ten and who doesn't have a difficult family." A pointed reference to fathers Graf and Capriati. Slozil's new charge did not let him down yesterday, beating Sabine Appelmans in straight sets.

RESULTS: Singles, first round: M Maleeva (Bul) bt S Appelmans (Bel), 6-4,

6-1; L Meskhi (Geo) bt R Zrubakova (Cz), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2; N Tauziat (Fr) bt P Fendick (US), 6-3, 6-7, 6-2; L McNeil (US) bt L Gildemeister (Peru), 4-6, 6-1, 7-5; S Graf (Ger) bt L Savchenko-Neiland (Lat), 6-2, 6-3; A Huber (Ger) bt B Schultz (Holl), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; P Paradis-Mangon (Fr) bt K Maleeva (Bul), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1; J Novotna (Cz) bt P Hy (Can), 6-0, 6-3; C Dahlman (Swe) bt E Maniokova (CIS), 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.
 
#4 ·
Another report posted by Ms Anthropic.

Graf marches on in regal fashion - Tennis
The Sunday Times (London, England)
Sunday, October 25, 1992
Sue Mott

IT SEEMS a fair swap. Our Queen visits Germany; Steffi Graf comes to the Brighton Conference Centre for her annual thrashing of all-comers at the Midland Bank tennis championships.

The 23-year-old Wimbledon champion is far and away Germany's most famous ambassadress, exuding a wholesome, if slightly taciturn, charm. It takes only a small leap of imagination to see her donning gloves to shake hands politely with her ball girls.

As it is, the gloves are metaphorical and more of the boxing variety. Anke Huber, a fellow German burdened by the soubriquet "the new Steffi Graf," played supremely well for an hour against her older and wiser opponent before going down 7-5 6-2. The response from the public was favourable, despite our small differences with the Bundesbank.

Graf, being a creature of habit and more than a little addicted to shopping round the famous Lanes of Brighton, was returning to the scene of five previous victories. The punters clearly appreciate the loyalty. While Sheffield Wednesday fans were hardly tactful in Kaiserslautern this week, singing: "There's only one Winston Churchill," some members of the Brighton crowd had equipped themselves with German flags daubed with glowing tributes to their heroine.

"I feel proud to get such support," Graf said. "But sometimes when people scream you get a little bit embarrassed." The Queen probably feels the same way.

The match began with a cabaret rather than a regal touch, with the Mistress of Ceremonies declaiming "welcome!" in a rich variety of European languages. Whether this was a friendly gesture to the two German semi-finalists or a covert plug for the Maastricht Treaty was unclear.

Either way, Graf looked immediately at home. The tournament favourite won the first two games of the match, and in the process invited an investigation by the Monopolies Commission for her continuing dominance of this event. But the balance of power shifted and suddenly we were witnessing a contest.

Until this moment, 17-year-old Huber had not even singed the edges of the Great British tennis-going public's consciousness. Reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon on an outside court, as she did this year, is no harbinger of national limelight. She might have been written off as a pudding bowl haircut on two stocky legs, but she has revealed herself in Brighton as a powerful puncher of the ball who aspires to play the Andre Agassi way, taking the ball early and building her game from the baseline.

She also seems endearingly pragmatic, tucking the spare ball under her knicker elastic and uttering squeals of damnation when a shot failed to obey her command. Graf, at least, knew what to expect, having teamed up with Huber in Germany's Federation Cup win three months ago. But it might have been significant that Graf's mother, Heidi, was spotted puffing heartily on a cigarette before the first ball was struck.

Their fears became reality during a first set of sterling entertainment. Graf's serve was broken twice as the younger woman charged to the net at will, demonstrating a spirit greater than Graf ever showed at her age. But then the four times Wimbledon champion, with her iron-fisted forehand, needed few other avenues of attack in those days. Huber's fearlessness, and her ability to delve into the corners of the court, unsettled the champion. Graf was frequently forced to parry instead of strike, so fiercely was the ball played to her feet.

There was also the matter of a grunt. Not being Monica Seles, Huber escaped censure for the noise a chirrup crossed with a moan which assumed greater prominence in the engulfing hush of the restrained English audience. Perhaps, as Seles discovered, complaints rise with one's world ranking, and Huber is ranked only 11th. By comparison, Graf noiselessly began to assert herself as the first set progressed. She held serve in the seventh game with the help of two aces but still struggled to break her opponent's serve until the crucial last game of the set.

In her quarter-final the day before against Lori McNeil, of the United States, Graf had awarded herself 10 out of 10 for performance. "Today ... five," she said in mock disgust. Still, she is appearing in her fifth successive Brighton final today, this time against Jana Novotna, who beat Mary Joe Fernandez 6-3 6-4. The sponsors will be delighted, not to mention the local hard-pressed shopkeepers who may have found the recession has suddenly eased in these parts. "I cannot resist the antique shops or the little restaurants," Graf said. And, of course, the pfennigs are going a little further this year.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Another from Ms Anthropic...

Graf's seaside success story survives stormy challenge - Tennis
The Times (London, England) - Monday, October 26, 1992
Andrew Longmore

THE spoils went the usual way yesterday, Steffi Graf winning her sixth title in seven years at the Midland Bank championships in Brighton and a cheque for Pounds 40,000. But for much of the longest final on record at this tournament, the scales were tipped firmly in favour of Jana Novotna, who came to within two points of cutting short Graf's highly profitable seaside excursions before faltering in the third-set tie-break.

Poor Novotna must be sick of the sight of Graf. After defeats in the final of the European Open in Zurich and semi-final in Leipzig, this was the Czechoslovak's third loss to Graf in the last four weeks and she will rarely have a better chance of putting matters to right. Graf had to issue an official apology for sneaking the title out through the back door with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory that owed as much to obstinacy as skill.

"I was lucky to get out of that," she said. "All I can say to Jana is 'sorry'. This is the third time in four weeks."

Even when Novotna, the world No.9, was 30-0 and serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, Graf refused to surrender a title she regards as her personal property. She won the next four points, breaking back with a stock-in-trade forehand cross-court shot and, her confidence restored, sent her loyal band of followers into raptures by romping away with the tie-break.

History suggested that it would be a long and hard-fought affair. Their last four matches on indoor carpet had gone the distance, each player winning twice, and Novotna had given fair warning of her challenge when taking the first set off the champion in the semi-final in Brighton three years ago.

Graf was at the height of her powers then but Novotna, one of the few natural volleyers on the tour, has always had the game to test Graf. She did so to the full again yesterday.

Despite the see-saw finale, both players pinpointed the second set as the moment of truth. Novotna, serving consistently and returning brilliantly at times, had broken Graf twice to take the opening set and kept up the momentum early in the second.

She led 3-1 and, though broken back to 3-3, had three chances to break the champion again at 4-4, which would have left her to serve out for the match. Three unforced errors, the result of overeagerness and taut nerves, handed the psychological initiative straight back to Graf, who duly broke decisively to level the match.

"I was ahead and on top of my game at that time, so that's when I felt I could win it," Novotna said. "When you get as close as I did, it hurts, but I have showed once more that I can keep up with her and one day I'll find the right ball to finish it off." It will become harder with each defeat.

Despite surviving the second set, Graf still could not find any rhythm in the face of Novotna's deliberate pace. She was broken in the first and seventh games of the final set and only seemed to shed her inhibitions early in the tie-break, an inch-perfect lob and an old-fashioned winner off her otherwise erratic forehand contributing to a 5-0 lead. For the first time in a match that lasted two hours and 32 minutes, she had a precious safety cushion.

"She let me back into the game in the second set. She wasn't aggressive enough," Graf said. "But when I was right down, I just thought how mad I would be if I lost. This is my title."

Graf promised to back next year to extend her sequence of 30 consecutive victories, stretching back to 1985, and there was at least some consolation for Novotna, who partnered Larisa Savchenko-Neiland to victory in the doubles title.

RESULTS: Singles: Semi-finals: S Graf (Ger) bt A Huber (Ger), 7-5, 6-2; J Novotna (Cz) bt M J Fernandez (US), 6-3, 6-4. Final: Graf bt Novotna, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6. Doubles: Semi-finals: Novotna (Cz) and L Savchenko-Neiland (Lat) bt P Fendick (US) and A Strnadova (Cz), 6-2, 6-3; C Martinez (Sp) and R Zrubakova (Cz) bt Fernandez and N Zvereva (CIS), 6-2, 6-4. Final: Novotna and Savchenko-Neiland bt Martinez and Zrubakova, 6-4, 6-1.


The final:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4NSnTWcUs0&playnext=1&list=PL952F16852F09FEE6&feature=results_main (part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paCij7veIlc&feature=relmfu (part 2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Q80qUirms&feature=relmfu (part 3)
 
#7 · (Edited)
#8 · (Edited)
#9 · (Edited)
The Wimbledon final in its entirety. Was Seles thrown off by all the controversy over her grunting? Perhaps. Graf was at peak form however, and the final result was never in doubt. This was "slice and dice" Steffi to perfection.

Seles never again reached a Wimbledon final.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzkUdnDKfXQ&feature=related
 
#12 ·
#19 ·
More from 1992 Brighton:

Bad ankle forces Durie to default - Tennis
The Times
London, England - Thursday, October 22, 1992
Author: Andrew Longmore

THE first step proved to be almost the last for Jo Durie in Brighton yesterday. The British No. 1 had barely found her feet in her first round match against Mary Joe Fernandez when she fell awkwardly and twisted an ankle stretching for a backhand on the opening point.

After being treated on court, she won the first game to love but was forced to default at 2-3, 0-15 down, giving the No. 2 seeded American an unexpectedly easy passage into the second round.

Durie was followed out of the Midland Bank championship by the British junior, Shirli-Ann Siddall, who lost the first three games to the sturdy Texan, Katrina Adams, recovered from 1-4 to 4-4 but fell away after losing the first set tie-break.

A lob, which fell fractionally long, gave Adams the edge in the tie-break and seemed to discourage the Dorset girl.

Siddall, 18, who is ranked No. 224, has spent most of her year on the satellite circuit and does not feel she really belongs in this company yet despite good wins over Elna Reinach and Monique Javer on grass in mid-summer.

She is, though, the pick of a thin crop of British girls and should have benefited from the experience of playing in only her third event of the year on the Kraft tour. As Adams gave Steffi Graf a good match here last year, she need not be discouraged by a 7-6, 6-1 defeat.

Durie's body seems to be trying to tell her something these days. She was forced to pull out of an event in San Diego in August with a stiff neck. The one consolation for her yesterday was that the injury was not to the suspect back that has caused her so much trouble in the past.

Fernandez, making her debut in Brighton, quickly worked out that the most painful and profitable course was to stretch her opponent wide on the forehand. Once Durie had dropped her service in the fifth game, the end was nigh.

"I can't ever remember having to default from a match and I hate to have to do so but it would have been silly to continue," she said.

Graf should have been stretched rather more than she was by Andrea Strnadova in a meeting of Wimbledon champions, senior and junior. The Czechoslovak looked woefully short of self-belief and put up only limited resistance.

"She has the game but she doesn't seem to have any game plan," said the top seed after her 6-0, 6-4 victory.

Graf now meets Lori McNeil, who has been a persistent foe in the past, but Jana Novotna, the only player in the draw to have beaten Graf and a 6-2, 6-0 victor over Natalia Zvereva yesterday, looks the main threat to the German's dominance.

RESULTS: First round: E Reinach (SA) bt P Thoren (Fin), 6-1, 7-6; K Nowak (Pol) bt L Bacheva (Bul), 7-5, 6-4; M J Fernandez (US) bt J Durie (GB), 3-2, ret; K Adams (US) bt S-A Siddall (GB), 7-6, 6-1. Second round: J Novotna (Cz) bt N Zvereva (CIS), 6-2, 6-0; S Graf (Ger) bt A Strnadova (Cz), 6-0, 6-4; L McNeil (US) bt L Meskhi (Georgia), 7-6, 7-6.
 
#20 ·
A review of the success of the 97 Maleeva sisters and some whinging about the state of British tennis from Brighton 1992:

Maleeva sisters show Britain route to success - Tennis
The Times
London, England - Friday, October 23, 1992
Author: Andrew Longmore

IT MUST be embarrassing for Britain's tennis authorities to view the women's rankings these days. Where one family, brought up in a discredited and poverty-stricken system, can produce three players in the top 25, a whole nation and, in tennis terms, a wealthy one can manage just one in the top 100.

Britain, of course, is not alone in being unable to match either the productivity or the quality of the remarkable Maleeva sisters, who are, coincidentally, ranked in order of seniority Manuela (No.9), Katerina (12) and Magdalena (21). But the playing poverty of the British game is as incomprehensible to their mother as it is to many within the system.

"How is it possible with so much money not to organise the proper way to produce a few better players?" Mrs Maleeva asked. "I don't understand. We did it the Bulgarian way with no money and so much red tape and blackmail." Nor could the eight-time Bulgarian national champion disguise her incredulity at the suggestion that a surfeit of money was at the heart of Britain's problems. "How could the money be too much?" she said.

If anyone is entitled to pop that question, it is Mrs Maleeva, or Julia Berberian as she was known during her playing days. Under communism, her three daughters were able to take advantage of free facilities at the multi-sport CSKA club in Sofia and of their mother's coaching experience. But they had to rely on rackets and balls supplied by an uncle in the United States and on the erratic goodwill of the communist big shots. Often, they did not know until two hours before departure if they would be allowed out of the country to compete.

Fortunately, Manuela earned enough money early in her career to finance Katerina who, in turn, helped to fund her younger sister. Together, the three have now won a total of nearly $4.5 million (about Pounds 2.8 million), more than adequate reward for their mother's faith and spirit.

The family silver has not grown much this week at the Midland Bank championship in Brighton. After Katerina's first-round defeat, Magdalena was beaten 6-1, 6-4 yesterday by Nathalie Tauziat, the No.7 seed, who was followed into the quarter-finals by three other seeds, Conchita Martinez, Mary Joe Fernandez and Anke Huber. The defending champion, Steffi Graf, spent the day shopping in London despite the loss of her purse the previous day.

Like her sisters, Magdalena, 17, can look a limited performer at times and it will be the job of her new coach, Pavel Slozil, to add a touch of aggression to the consistency. Wisely, Mrs Maleeva has recognised her limitations. "I have taught my girls all I know," she said.

Whether, with its new-found freedom, Bulgaria will be able to build on the success of the Maleevas is open to doubt. The state-backed clubs are collapsing and money is scarce, though rackets are available at a price and television is now allowed to broadcast the exploits of the nation's most famous sporting dynasty. "There is great interest in tennis but it will take time to develop," Mrs Maleeva said. Now that is a familiar refrain.

RESULTS: Second round: P Paradis-Mangon (Fr) bt C Dahlman (Swe), 6-4, 6-2; C Martinez (Sp) bt K Adams (US), 6-0, 6-4; N Tauziat (Fr) bt M Maleeva (Bul), 6-1, 6-4.
 
#21 ·
Brighton 1992 quarterfinal:

Huber keeps low-key approach - Tennis
The Times
London, England - Saturday, October 24, 1992
Author: Andrew Longmore

GERMANY, in the form of Anke Huber and Steffi Graf, lost a total of six games and took less than two hours to reach the semi-finals of the Midland Bank championship in Brighton yesterday.

Graf and Huber, who live within half an hour of each other in southern Germany, now meet in a private affair to decide their national representative for the final tomorrow.

The odds clearly favour Graf, the top seed and defending champion. Huber has won an average of three games in each of the three matches against her Federation Cup-winning partner and the chances of breaking par today, by her own assessment, owe more to hope than expectation, particularly as she is troubled by an ankle injury.

"It is very difficult. Steffi plays so fast and has such a good serve. I have never played well against her, this time, I hope to play a little better, though nobody thinks I can win. We will see," Huber said after a 6-3, 6-1 quarter-final victory over Pascale Paradis-Mangon, of France. It was hardly optimistic.

To complete a bad day for the French, Nathalie Tauziat, the No.7 seed, was beaten in straight sets by Mary Joe Fernandez. Like her compatriot, Tauziat does not always make the most of her ability.

After saving a break point in the fourth game of the match, the American began to gain confidence, taking the first set in 41 minutes and breaking twice early in the second to win 6-4, 6-3 and earn a semi-final against Jana Novotna. The Czech maintained her impressive recent form with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the No.3 seed, Conchita Martinez.

In her quarter-final, Huber won the first four games in double-quick time, Graf the first eight off Lori McNeil and, though Paradis-Mangon recovered briefly to take the next three, that was the nearest the French girl came to egalite.

A run of seven games won by Huber from 4-3 in the first set to 5-0 in the second suggested that lengthy treatment to the left ankle midway through the first set was purely a precautionary measure and the German finished the rout off with a flourish, leaving the baseline for once to execute a swift and precise serve and volley.

Inevitably, because she comes from the same area and has worked with the same coach, Huber has been overshadowed by Graf. She is only 17, but has risen into the top 20 quickly enough to invite the comparison. Her forehand, though, which begins with the face of the racket parallel to the ground, owes nothing to Graf or the coaching manuals. Paradis-Mangon will testify to its efficiency but the purists feel that the technical weakness of the stroke will stop Huber from reaching Graf's heights.

Graf's first set in a 6-0, 6-2 victory was almost flawless, a stream of backhand passes and heavy first serves reducing McNeil, the No. 8 seed, to despair. The second set was only marginally less convincing. McNeil, a winner of the grass court title just down the coast at Eastbourne in mid-summer, had not beaten Graf in seven matches. Yesterday, she never threatened to stem the flow of defeats.

Graf had earlier perused a record of her career, compiled by the loyal local fan club. She was surprised how few players had a positive head-to-head record against her, even more surprised by the identity of two of them. One is Jo Durie, who leads the series 4-3, and the other Shelley Walpole, who had the distinction of beating the future Wimbledon champion in a satellite in their one and only encounter at Sutton Coldfield eight years ago. Both are British.

RESULTS: Quarter-finals: S Graf (Ger) bt L McNeil (US), 6-0, 6-2; A Huber (Ger) bt P Paradis-Mangon (Fr), 6-3, 6-1; M-J Fernandez (US) bt N Tauziat (Fr), 6-4, 6-3. J Novotna (Cz) bt C Martinez (Sp), 6-4, 6-2.
 
#22 ·
More from Philly:

EASY WORK FOR VICARIO, JENNY
Philadelphia Daily News
Saturday, November 14, 1992
Author: Bill Fleischman

Ah, another tension-filled day of quarterfinals in women's tennis. How much of this gripping drama can we stand?

First, third-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario breezed past unseeded Natalia Zvereva, 6-2, 6-1, yesterday in a Virginia Slims of Philadelphia quarterfinal.

Last night, before 8,331 customers at the Civic Center, it was Jennifer Capriati's turn. The fourth-seeded Capriati dominated No. 8 seed Lori McNeil, 6-2, 6-1.

The good news for tennis fans is that the tournament's top four seeds are in today's semifinals. Capriati plays No. 1 Steffi Graf in the 1 p.m. semi. At 7 p.m., Sanchez faces No. 2 seed Gabriela Sabatini.

Although Capriati didn't think her match with McNeil was easy, it lasted just 51 minutes. In last year's Philly Slims inaugural, McNeil extended Capriati to three sets before bowing in a second-round test. Last night, however, the veteran Texan was on the defensive throughout.

"Mentally, I wasn't aggressive," McNeil said. "I was defending the ball instead of being aggressive. If you play defensively, and the other player is just hitting out, your opportunities will be limited.

"A couple times, I was up, 30-0, and just missed volleys. Every time I had an opportunity to get back in, I would let those games slip away."

McNeil double-faulted on double set point to close the first set. She also double-faulted at double break point in the second game of the final set.

If any high seed should have been vulnerable in the quarterfinals, it was Capriati. The 16-year-old Floridian hasn't played in a tournament since she was stunned by Cambodian-born Patricia Hy in the third round at the U.S. Open in September.

But against McNeil, Capriati's only problem was her serve. Her first-serve percentage was only 55 percent. Picky, picky.

By midway through the second set, the Olympic gold medalist was polishing her serve-and-volley game.

"I feel more comfortable," she said, "but I'm still not a net player."

Capriati, a Philadelphia finalist a year ago, said the two months away from the tour refreshed her.

"I'm a lot more eager," she said.

When Capriati is away from the tour, she doesn't elbow her family out of the way before school to read the tennis results first. She said people "just tell me" what's happening.

That Capriati isn't consumed by tennis at her age is a good sign. She is trying to lead a reasonably normal teenager's life, even though she is a millionaire.

"There's two Jennifers, off the court and on the court," she said. "On the court, I've got to concentrate more and be serious; be more mature. Off the court, it doesn't matter who I'm around. I'm just myself."

Capriati's semifinal against Graf will be a rematch of the Olympic final: Capriati won in Barcelona for her only victory over the four-time Wimbledon champion in five meetings.

QUIETLY ADVANCES

While much of the attention has been focused this week on Graf, Sabatini and wild-card entrant Lisa Raymond, Sanchez Vicario has made a typically unobtrusive advance to the semifinals.

Meeting little resistance from Zvereva, Sanchez Vicario improved her lifetime record to 6-1 against the 1988 French Open finalist, whose career has stalled since then. Zvereva's only victory over Sanchez Vicario was in a Federation Cup match two years ago when the 20-year-old Spaniard retired in the second set.

Zvereva's lone positive stretch yesterday was in the third game of the second set. Tied at one game apiece and down triple break point, she fought until the eighth break point, when she hit a backhand long.

"Every time I play (Zvereva), I was always beat her," Sanchez Vicario said. "Today, I didn't have many mistakes and I was very aggressive."

In the past year, Sanchez Vicario, a natural baseliner, has been polishing a serve-and-volley game.

"I'm more dangerous now," this year's U.S. Open finalist said. "I know that if you want to be in first place in the rankings, you have to be very complete and aggressive."

Sabatini holds an 11-5 career advantage over Sanchez Vicario, but has lost their last two meetings.
 
#23 ·
CAPRIATI AND SABATINI ADVANCE OF SEMIFINALS OF SLIMS TOURNEY
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Saturday, November 14, 1992
Author: Diane Pucin

There's no sign of a smile, no stray giggle. Hit the ball, run to the ball, hit the ball, run to the ball, win a point, win a match, shake hands, jog out of the arena.

Jennifer Capriati, 16-year-old conglomerate with endorsement patches decorating her tennis shirt like ornaments on a Christmas tree, beat Lori McNeil, the No. 8 seed, 6-2, 6-1, in a quarterfinal match of the Virginia Slims of Philadelphia tournament at the Civic Center last night. It was a 51- minute exercise in corporate tennis. Get the job done, get out of the office. Quickly.

Capriati, the No. 4 seed, will play top-seeded Steffi Graf today at 1 p.m. In the other semifinal, at 7 p.m., No. 2 seed Gabriela Sabatini will face No. 3 seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Sanchez was as efficient as Capriati in taking out Natalia Zvereva, also 6-2, 6-1, in yesterday's other quarterfinal.

Now that she's a grizzled two-year veteran of the pro tour, even as she still takes two-month breaks from tennis to attend her junior year of high school, Capriati has decided on the best way to approach her life these days: "There's two Jennifers," Jennifer said. The Jennifer on the court tries to impersonate an executive who wears a coat and tie and a perpetual frown. That Jennifer "is more serious and has to concentrate more and just be mature." The other Jennifer is the kid who wears headphones and walks in step with the hard rock, goes to school and the mall.

It's that Jennifer who stubbornly grabs as much normalcy as possible, who demands the school time and the play time and balks at playing exhibitions even if you can earn a nice six-figure guarantee because, really, both
Jennifers are already millionaires with a nice car and all the CDs she could ask for.

And besides, "I feel more fresh coming back (to tennis) from school," Capriati said. "I'm a lot more eager to play now."

McNeil, who is 28 and most famous for upsetting Chris Evert at the U.S. Open in 1987, was lamenting her own lack of aggressiveness in the short match. McNeil said that "mentally, I wasn't aggressive. I was defending a lot of balls. The few times I was aggressive, I was in a position to win the points. But I didn't do that enough."

Capriati didn't play particularly well, McNeil said. Capriati begged to differ. "I was very happy with the way I played. I didn't think I served as well as I can, but other than that, I was happy."

As grimly serious as Capriati looks on the court, her game is becoming more playful. It may not always be at the best time, or in the most thought-out way, but Capriati is trying hard to incorporate a volley into her game.

Most of the top women's players, Monica Seles, Graf, Sanchez, Sabatini, have been saying for a year that they are working on volleys. Capriati is saying that, too. And Capriati, that mature Jennifer, has figured out all the angles, in her head if not always on the court yet. She figures that whichever of the women get this volley stuff comfortably into their game will benefit immensely.

"You make it so much easier on yourself," Capriati said. "Instead of doing all that running around, you can end the point quicker. When I watch a match on television, like if Monica is playing Steffi, I'll see a point and think 'You should have gone to the net. If you had gone to the net you would have won the point like two shots earlier.' "

Capriati may not get a chance to test her adventurous net game today. Graf has been playing excellent tennis this week, hitting hard and deep and running well enough to get to just about everything. These two last played in Barcelona. At stake was an Olympic gold medal. The winner was Capriati, in a captivating three-set performance that was summarized by Capriati thusly: ''Oh, wow."

It was Capriati's first win over Graf, the world's No. 2-ranked player. Today, Capriati said: "I won't feel as intimidated as before I beat her. Before, I'd go into the match thinking 'Am I going to finally beat her?' I was wondering how many times it was going to take. This time, I know I can beat her."

Sanchez and Sabatini are no strangers. They've played 16 times and Sabatini has the clear edge, 11-5. But Sanchez has won the last two matches, both this year, and Sanchez, too, is trying to be a more aggressive and well-rounded player. Sanchez, 20, is also brimming with confidence. "I didn't have many mistakes," she said after Zvereva had been unable to put up much of a fight, not with 34 unforced errors against only nine clear winners. "I go to the net when I have the chances. I hit very good passing shots, too, and that makes me feel better going to the semifinals."

THE RESULTS
Seedings in parentheses.
SINGLES

Quarterfinals: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (3), Spain, def. Natalia Zvereva, Belarus, 6-2, 6-1; Jennifer Capriati (4), Saddlebrook, Fla., def. Lori McNeil (8), Houston, 6-2, 6-1.

DOUBLES

Quarterfinals: Zina Garrison-Larisa Savchenko-Neiland (3) def. Elise Burgin-Mariann deSwardt 7-5, 6-2; Conchita Martinez-Mary Pierce def. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario-Pam Shriver (1) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3; Lisa Raymond-Shaun Stafford def. Jill Hetherington-Kathy Rinaldi (4), 6-2, 6-4.
 
#24 ·
GRAF REINFORCES TENNIS TALENT GAP
Philadelphia Daily News
Friday, November 13, 1992
Author: Bill Fleischman

One current pitch of women's tennis is that depth of the talent is more than ever.

But when the top-seeded player in the Virginia Slims of Philadelphia dismisses the fifth seed, 6-1, 6-1, as Steffi Graf did yesterday in her quarterfinal with Conchita Martinez, the skeptics smirk and say, "Not."

Martinez, 0-7 lifetime vs. Graf, appeared doomed to defeat from the start yesterday. Graf took only 46 minutes to drop a depth charge on Martinez, the No. 8 player in the world. In the first set, Graf lost just one point on her serve.

Early-round upsets in a women's tournament are as hard to find as an Eagles fan without an opinion on whether Randall Cunningham or Jim McMahon should start. In the first three days of the Philly Slims, No. 7 Amy Frazier was the only seeded player to lose.

The No. 2-ranked Graf repeated yesterday that players are improving and working on fitness more than they did four years ago, when she won the Grand Slam. It's true there are more players capable of winning tournaments: Graf, top-ranked Monica Seles, Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Capriati and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

But beyond those six, the talent level drops off like a Rocky Mountain waterfall.

The way Graf played yesterday, few players could have beaten Fraulein Fast.

"I didn't play that bad," a numbed Martinez insisted. "She just hit the ball too early and I couldn't do anything."

Graf, training for international diplomatic duty when her tennis career ends, said: "I thought it would be a lot tougher. She's not somebody to put away that quickly. But I played very good tennis; (I made) very few mistakes."

Graf, winner of the last three tournaments she has entered, is clearly the favorite to collect the $70,000 winner's check on Sunday.

"Every time I go on the court, I have a good feeling," she said. "My backhand is working very well. I'm very calm on the court."

Graf's semifinal opponent will be the winner of today's Jennifer Capriati-Lori McNeil match.

SLIMS PICKINGS

Unseeded Natalia Zvereva, a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 upset winner over sixth-seeded Mary Pierce, will face No. 3 seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario today at noon. The winner will face Gabriela Sabatini in a semifinal tomorrow . . . In the 7 p.m. quarterfinal, No. 4 seed Jennifer Capriati meets No. 8 Lori McNeil.
 
#25 ·
RAYMOND GIVES SABATINI A BATTLE \ THE COLLEGIAN FROM WAYNE DIDN'T BEAT THE VETERAN FROM ARGENTINA. SHE DIDN'T REALLY LOSE, EITHER.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Friday, November 13, 1992
Author: Diane Pucin

Twice, Lisa Raymond served for the second set against Gabriela Sabatini, the world's third-ranked tennis player.

Raymond got the first service break of the match. She had more break-point chances. She had more out-and-out winners, more crackling forehands down the line, more contortionist crosscourt backhands, more stiff-armed volleys.

But Raymond lost.

Still a college player from the University of Florida, which explains the occasional "Go Gators" cheer from the second deck at the Civic Center, Raymond could not overcome Sabatini, a former U.S. Open champion and a professional for nearly eight years.

Sabatini, the No. 2 seed, came back from a 5-2 second-set deficit to beat Raymond, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), last night in an entertaining quarterfinal match at the Virginia Slims of Philadelphia tennis tournament.

Also advancing to tomorrow's semifinals was top seed Steffi Graf, who needed only 46 minutes to slice up No. 5 seed Conchita Martinez, 6-1, 6-1.

There was a minor upset in second-round play yesterday when Natalia Zvereva knocked out No. 6 seed Mary Pierce, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. Pierce's always-present father was still berating his daughter two hours after the match as they watched Graf.

In the semifinals, Graf will play the winner of today's match between No. 4 seed Jennifer Capriati and No. 8 seed Lori McNeil. Sabatini will face the winner today between Zvereva and No. 3 seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

Sabatini, a 22-year-old from Argentina who hasn't lived at home since she was 14, left Raymond's hometown crowd disappointed, but only a little, last night.

Raymond was born in Norristown and her parents live in Wayne. That's still Raymond's home, too. She stayed there this week, along with Shaun Stafford, an ex-Florida player and Raymond's doubles partner for the tournament.

And Raymond appreciated the cheers whenever she'd leave Sabatini perplexed at the power and variety of her shots.

The crowd was especially enthusiastic in the second set, when Raymond won five straight games, going from an 0-2 deficit to a 5-2 lead. Raymond, still a 19-year-old teenager, was at her best in that stretch. She has a marvelously varied game that includes an over-90-m.p.h. serve, a confident volley that she is not afraid to use, and an ability to hit authoritatively down the line or crosscourt with both her forehand and backhand.

Afterward, Sabatini was clearly impressed with Raymond's play.

"She has everything to be a good player," Sabatini said. "She has a great backhand. A good forehand. A good serve. It was very hard for me to beat her today."

What Raymond doesn't have yet is the mental discipline to be tough and
concentrated all the time. Raymond admitted last night that she let up a little bit after grabbing that 5-2 lead in the second set.

"It's tough to maintain that concentration all the time," Raymond said. ''That's why the top 1, 2, 3 in the world are where they are. They are so mentally tough."

Raymond was smiling when the match ended, because, she said, "I know I was very close to beating the No. 3 player in the world."

Raymond has chosen the unpopular route to the pro tour, the route that travels through dual meets and NCAA tournaments and the chance to wear blue and orange and cheer her head off for teammates. As Raymond says, "I love being a Gator."

But it's also clear after her play here that Raymond can compete well on the pro tour. She won two matches in the tournament, including an upset of the No. 7 seed, Amy Frazier.

She will take back to Florida "some confidence. I mean I had a very good chance of knocking off the No. 3 player." Raymond discovered that she could play against the pros aggressively.

The statistics showed that Raymond hit 38 clean winners to only six for Sabatini. But Raymond also had 60 unforced errors to only 31 for Sabatini. Partly that's a result of being aggressive. It's also a result of being inexperienced.

Still, Raymond is determined to finish out this year at Florida. She's going back to school to work with her coach, Andy Brandi. She says she's "99.9 percent sure I'll turn pro in the spring after school." It seems Raymond is ready for almost anything.

Except, perhaps, Graf.

Take this as a warning. Graf said yesterday that she is feeling fit and playing as well as ever. Martinez would heartily agree. Poor Martinez would play excellent points, well-thought-out and well-executed, and there was Graf, with sprinter's speed and a marathoner's endurance, always in place to return the ball.

"What can you do?" Martinez wondered. Not very much yesterday.

"I just played good tennis," Graf said. "I made very few mistakes. I used the court very well."
 
#26 ·
RAYMOND GIVES GABY GOOD FIGHT
Philadelphia Daily News
Friday, November 13, 1992
Author: Bill Fleischman

All Gabriela Sabatini knew about Lisa Raymond before their first tennis match was that Raymond is a "local player" who's in college.

Following the second-seeded Sabatini's 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) quarterfinal victory last night in the Virginia Slims of Philadelphia tournament, she was impressed, to say the least.

"(Raymond) has everything to be a good (pro) player," Sabatini said. "She was very loose. She has a great backhand, a good forehand and a good serve. It was very hard for me to beat her."

Raymond, the NCAA singles champion from Wayne, has created the most excitement in this week's tournament at the Civic Center. The University of Florida sophomore upset seventh-seeded Amy Frazier in the second round, then extended Sabatini last night before an appreciative crowd of 7,224.

"I had fun the entire match," Raymond said. "It's not often that I get to go out in front of the home crowd against the No. 3 woman in the world. I had a lot of people supporting me. The least I could do is give them a good show."

The show was splendid.

In the first set, after she and Sabatini exchanged service breaks in the fifth and sixth games, the 22-year-old Argentinian took a 5-4 lead. At double set point against her, Raymond hit a forehand winner and a backhand half- volley crosscourt to get back to deuce. But on the third set point, a backhand half-volley floated long.

Before the second set began, Raymond crouched to gather her thoughts. Her silent pep talk appeared to fail as she fell behind, 0-2. Many other inexperienced players in her position would start thinking about their room service order at the hotel.

But Raymond broke Sabatini's serve, then won the next four games to lead, 5-2. With a third set on everyone's minds, Sabatini, displaying the mental resolve that the top players possess, suddenly regained control of the match.

Serving for the set, Raymond, ranked No. 132, escaped three break points. But, on the fourth, she hit a loose forehand.

Trailing, 5-3, Sabatini went up, 40-0, before Raymond won the next four points. At set point, Raymond netted a crosscourt backhand, then hit two loose forehands.

Serving again for the set, Raymond double-faulted for 15-30, then smacked an overhead wide. At double break point, a backhand soared long and it was 5-5.

After both players held serve, Sabatini's history of playing pressure points in big matches prevailed as the 1990 U.S. Open champion took command in the tiebreaker.

"I was thinking that she didn't have that much experience," Sabatini said. "She started rushing and missing a little bit."

Raymond's inability twice to serve out the second set bothered her.

"I don't think it was nerves," she said. "(Sabatini) put together three good games to get to 5-all, and I may have let up a little bit. That's something I've done in the past."

Raymond also was disappointed with her serve: Her first serve percentage was 49 percent, compared with 73 percent for Sabatini.

"The whole week I've been serving really well," she said. "Today, it really did leave me."

Raymond will return to college with additional confidence. Two months ago, in a U.S. Open second-round match, she was tied with top-ranked Monica Seles at 5-5 in the first set before bowing, 7-5, 6-0.

"I proved to myself at the Open that I could hang in with the No. 1 player," Raymond said. "I had a very good chance of knocking off the No. 3 player here."

According to Florida coach Andy Brandi, playing collegiately has developed Raymond's temperament to be a pro. Brandi should know. He has coached such pros as Kathy Rinaldi, Shaun Stafford and Jay Berger.

Referring to Raymond's tour appearances last summer in Los Angeles, Montreal and at the U.S. Open, Brandi said: "This has been a process where she has started to grow comfortable with this environment. At the beginning, she didn't think she was an equal with these players."
 
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