TENNIS : Seles Sizzles as Sabatini Sinks, 6-2, 6-0
Top-seeded Monica Seles won 11 games in a row Sunday in overwhelming second-seeded Gabriela Sabatini, 6-2, 6-0, to win her second consecutive Nichirei tournament in Tokyo.
Sabatini was shut out after breaking Seles for a 2-1 lead in the first set of the hourlong match, played mostly from the baseline. Seles drilled passing shots past Sabatini the few times she rushed the net.
“She was more confident after leading 4-2 in the first set,” said Sabatini, ranked third in the world. “She started to hit the ball harder.”
“Playing with Seles, you have to take a lot of risks. Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn’t. She played a very good game.”
In the eighth game of the first set, Sabatini began hitting backhand shots wide. Her play was erratic in the second set.
Seles received $70,000 for her victory on the hard courts of the Ariake Colosseum. Sabatini won $31,500.
The top-seeded team of Mary Joe Fernandez and Robin White defeated third-seeded Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia and Nana Miyagi of Japan, 6-4, 6-4, for the doubles title.
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