It takes more than graft to beat Graf

SPAIN'S Arantxa Sanchez Vicario may start out as the underdog when she tries to win her third French Open singles crown by taking…

SPAIN'S Arantxa Sanchez Vicario may start out as the underdog when she tries to win her third French Open singles crown by taking on Steffi Graf in the women's singles final today. But being an underdog is nothing new to the Spaniard.

"People were writing me off before this tournament started. But I have made the final again," she said. "All players have ups and downs," said the 1989 and 1994 champion who admitted that her form before arriving in Paris had not been as good as she would have liked. "But I knew that everything would come right if I just continued to do my job and work hard.

Working hard is something the 24 year old fourth seed had to do in her controversial three hour quarter final duel against unseeded Karina Habsudova of Slovakia. She resorted to moonballs when she had exhausted every other method of trying to shake off her opponent.

Her win at all costs' attitude as she edged home 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 10-8 won her few friends that day inside the stadium's new Suzanne Lenglen showcourt. She was booed off court and then taken to task by a hostile section of the press who accused her of failing to entertain the crowd. Sanchez Vicario shrugged it all off.

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She was there to play tennis and win matches, she said. And if the public didn't want to watch her play then it was just "bad luck."

It is single mindedness and determination which make Sanchez Vicario - such a dangerous opponent. She has no special strokes, just a good all round game, a willingness to scramble balls back into play when other (players wouldn't bother, and a refusal to accept defeat until the very last point has been played.

But despite Sanchez Vicario's battling qualities, Graf's chances of winning a fifth singles crown are brighter than ever. Twelve months ago she defeated Sanchez Vicario in three sets in the final, rounding off with a 6-0 third set, and that was the year she played the event without being able to prepare properly because of a chronic back injury.

This year things are completely different. Graf, already the winner of three tournaments, is currently free of back pain, hasn't dropped a set in the tournament and has beaten Conchita Martinez, the player she considered her most dangerous rival, for the loss of just four games in the semifinals. She has also won 26 of her 34 encounters with the Spaniard.

"My back has been really good for the past two or three months and it's been a pleasure being on court," she said.