The pain in Spain
Martinez, Sanchez-Vicario upset at Chase Championships
Posted: Monday November 16, 1998 10:41 PM
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Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion, has never reached the semifinals here on the Garden's blue carpet AP |
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Spanish armada floundered on opening day of the season-ending Chase Championships, clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking for Lindsay Davenport.
After seventh-seeded Conchita Martinez was ousted by Dominique Van Roost of Belgium 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, fourth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario fell to Romania's Irina Spirlea 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.
Davenport now cannot be overtaken for the No. 1 ranking on the Corel WTA Tour computer. Once Sanchez-Vicario lost, it meant Martina Hingis could not get enough bonus points in this week's $2 million tournament to overtake the Newport Beach, California, right-hander.
The reigning French Open champion, Sanchez-Vicario fought fiercely in the opening set, battling Spirlea on even terms and fighting off four set points in the tiebreak.
But when her forehand down the line was called wide, giving Spirlea the first set, Sanchez-Vicario leaned on her racket, stared at the person who made the call and smiled.
Like her Spanish Fed Cup teammate Martinez in the opening match, it was all downhill for Sanchez-Vicario after losing the first-set tiebreak.
"I think she lost her concentration at the beginning of the second set," Spirlea said. "She just missed three games. I didn't do much those three games. Once you are three games ahead, you play different than if it is 2-all or 2-1.
Spirlea has now beaten Sanchez-Vicario five times in their last six meetings.
In the opening match, the rail-thin Van Roost gave Martinez a lesson in power tennis. The Belgian displayed a surprising power game that rivaled her big-hitting opponent as they slugged it out from the baseline. With both players running down shot after shot, each tried to hit a little harder and a little deeper. Van Roost was better able to keep the ball in the court.
"She hits every ball very hard, and I just think I played too much at her," Martinez said. "I couldn't get the rhythm and the pace of the ball."
Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion who has never reached the semifinals here on the Garden's blue carpet, reached the Australian Open final in January, losing to Hingis. That was the highlight of her season, even though she won two titles in 1998, in Berlin and Warsaw, Poland.
Van Roost, on the other hand, reached this unique 16-player season finale by being consistent. And she comes into the Chase Championship at the top of her game, having posted victories over Hingis and No. 5 Venus Williams at Filderstadt, Germany, last month.
"I always hit that hard," Van Roost said. "Sometimes it doesn't stay on the court, but I usually hit hard."
The first player from Belgium to be ranked in the top 10 in the world, Van Roost traded service breaks with Martinez to begin the match, neither able to hold serve in the first four games.
It was Martinez who finally shook off the nerves enough to hold, taking a 3-2 lead. And the Spaniard had three set points in the 10th game before Van Roost held.
The two again traded service breaks before Van Roost moved on top 6-4 in the tiebreak, her second set point of the night. She needed five set points before wrapping up the opening set.
Playing relaxed, Van Roost opened up more of her arsenal in the second set, using drop shots to keep Martinez a little off balance. Everything worked, and when she rifled a backhand down the line after the two had played for 1 hour, 32 minutes, Van Roost had a spot in the quarterfinals where she will take on Spirlea.
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