Reuters Photo

By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 7, 1998; Page D1

PARIS, June 6 — Arantxa Sanchez Vicario climbed into the stands and embraced her family, petted her Yorkshire terrier named Roland Garros and leaned for kisses and congratulations from the Spanish royal family. Monica Seles, meanwhile, sat with slumped shoulders in a courtside chair, embracing nothing but a cotton towel.

The applause following Sanchez Vicario's 7-6 (7-5), 0-6, 6-2 victory over Seles today for the French Open singles championship — her third overall and first in four years — had waned by then, as the court was prepared for the trophy presentation.

But the cheers started again, at first faintly, building to a crescendo of "Monica! . . . Monica! . . . Monica!"

The crowd at Roland Garros Stadium, which had applauded Sanchez Vicario's victory, spontaneously saluted Seles and bestowed appreciation for a different sort of conquest. This was Seles' first tournament since her father Karolj died on May 14 after a long battle with stomach cancer.

When Sanchez Vicario took the microphone after receiving the championship cup, she perhaps best summed up everyone's feelings. In a moment of memorable graciousness, Sanchez Vicario's first words were not about her victory. They were about Seles.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate Monica," Sanchez Vicario said, as Seles blinked back tears. "I'm so sorry I beat you — really, I have so much respect for you, especially for all that has happened. All the players feel so sorry about your father's passing. . . . I do congratulate you, because you are a great champion."

The match between Seles, 24, and Sanchez Vicario, 26, evoked a flood of emotions, and not just for Seles. It was both the reunion of two former champions and the crowning of a new one. Sanchez Vicario won three Grand Slam titles between 1989 and 1994. Seles won 11 titles between 1990 and 1993 and a 12th in 1996. At the end of the match, the two players kissed at the net, talked for a moment, then embraced tightly. Sanchez Vicario later called Seles her best friend off the court.

After presenting the trophy, former star Ilie Nastase jokingly called Sanchez Vicario "vieja" — Spanish for old.

"It definitely does show that at any age, you're still very young," Seles said to Sanchez Vicario and the crowd. "It's been a great two weeks. It's been so special coming back this year. The fans have been unbelievable."

Added Seles during a quieter moment later: "It's been really surprising where I've gotten this past two weeks. . . . It's obviously been a very different two weeks — because I was able to concentrate on tennis, which was a very nice feeling because I haven't had it for a long time."

In the end, it was Sanchez Vicario's dogged determination to hit every single ball back that secured the title. It's impossible to say how many of Seles' ripped groundstrokes would have been winners against another player, but judging by the frequency with which Sanchez Vicario's racket dragged a brush stroke into the red clay, the number was high.

"I ran out of gas there," Seles said. "Arantxa is such a great player, she just ran down everything."

Seles, who played no tennis for 11 days around the time her father died at their home in Sarasota, Fla., practiced only once before coming to this tournament. While she exhibited much of the fury of her teenage days, she lacked precision. Since her father was diagnosed with cancer last year, she split time at the court and home.

Her father's illness was the second interruption to her career. She took more than a two-year hiatus from tennis after being stabbed by a deranged spectator during a 1993 tournament in Germany.

Seles began today's match hitting the ball so hard that the crowd oohed and aahed her groundstrokes. However, she seemed to lose her concentration during the match's key points.

"I made so many errors against Arantxa that you can't make," Seles said. "I paid for it today."

The 6-0 second set seemed as much a result of unforced errors by Sanchez Vicario, who clearly let up in the last couple of games, as Seles dominated. In the third set, however, Sanchez Vicario broke Seles' first service game and seemed to steal her momentum. Fatigued, Seles lost six break-point opportunities to fall behind, 4-1.

While Seles struggled with her rusty game, Sanchez Vicario admitted to being bothered by the crowd's support of Seles. Of course, she did have the backing of the Spanish fans, as well as her dog, who wore a special credential in order to sit in the front row for the match.

"This is a great moment for me," Sanchez Vicario said.

"She is also a great champion, so it was a very tough match . . . It shows we are still in there, we can still make unbelievable matches."