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Gabriela Sabatini
| Biography |
When she took the United States Open title in September 1990, Gabriela Sabatini finally came into her own as one of the world's top women tennis players, although she has yet to achieve the number-one ranking. In 1991 she had the best record on the women's tour, and she defeated Steffi Graf, her longtime nemesis, five times in a row. Under the watchful eye of her new coach, Carlos Kirmayr, whom she hired following her demoralizing early exit at the 1990 French Open, Sabatini developed a more complete game, especially at the net, and greatly improved her endurance and mental toughness. Her impressive record over the past two years not only restored her shaken self-confidence but also dispelled the once-widespread notion that she lacked the talent and initiative to become a serious contender for the Grand Slam titles. As Robin Finn noted in an article for the New York Times (April 13, 1991), Sabatini had "transformed herself from a perennial also-ran into a firebrand and enhanced her baseliner's topspin with a picturesque blend of volleys, lobs and drop shots." |
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