davey25
Banned
As much as I admire her fighting heart I find Sanchez Vicario is quite an overrated player when people look back and evaluate her greatness and standard as a player. As a 4 slam winner who reached #1 in the World and was in so many slam finals she is evaluated that way. However her 4 slams was almost certainly based on the Monica Seles stabbing, as she won 3 of her 4 slams after this incident and her lifetime head to head with Monica is complete one sided domination in Monica's favor, even in the post stabbing years. I actually dont think Monica was certain to win any of the 94 French, 94 U.S Open, or 98 French Opens. The thing is at each of those events though Sanchez Vicario avoided everyone she had to avoid to have a good shot, and with Seles there or things being different the draw just has to change a bit for Sanchez to lose at any of those. Lets go through each:
94 French Open- Pierce and Graf both on the other side. This sort of was made possible by Sanchez Vicario's #2 seed, a seed she never would have had at this point had the Seles stabbing never occured. Graf is always odds on favorite vs Sanchez Vicario, despite that Sanchez actually was a tough challenger or Graf and more of a threat to her than she was to Seles. Pierce was untouchable until the final. She likely loses to either one before the final. Pierce in the final was not the same thing, it was her first slam final and a long rain delay also threw her off. Sanchez Vicario also had an especialy easy draw, the only seed she played was Conchita Martinez who was in her second ever slam semi and played horribly. Had Seles been there atleast 1 of Pierce, Graf, or Seles would have to be in her half, maybe even 2. That is already enough that she is very unlikely to win.
94 U.S Open- Again with Seles out and Sanchez thus able to be the #2 seed which she wouldnt have ever had at this point otherwise. Like the French the draw pans out perfectly for her. The Worlds more dangerous fast court players- Graf, Novotna, and Pierce, all end up in the other half. Sanchez Vicario ends up in a half with a past her prime Sabatini, Date, and Martinez. The new Wimbledon Champion Martinez is her only real threat before the final, and Martinez ends up crashing out early in a big upset, giving Sanchez a free ride to the final, easily beating Date and Sabatini. Had she played Graf before the final (before Graf's back went out) she almost certainly loses, and Pierce or Novotna both had a decent shot of beating her as well. Sanchez's luck could be contrasted to some of these women. Pierce ends up drawing Novotna her biggest career nemisis (Pierce didnt get a set in 6 meetings I think) and Jana puts her out easily, then Jana plays her own biggest career nemisis Steffi Graf in the semis and despite pushing her some goes in 2. Then in the final Graf dominates the first half, but then her back goes out halfway through, this allows Sanchez back into the match and she ends up just pulling it out over an injured Graf in visibile pain. Add Seles to the draw and now #3 seed Sanchez already has to likely play one of Graf or Seles before the final and almost certainly loses on these fast courts. Pierce, Novotna, or even Martinez are all threats to now take her out should they play her under the reformated draw to.
1998 French Open- Again things worked out just perfectly for Sanchez Vicario it seemed. Hingis, Seles, Novotna (who had given her all kinds of problems even on clay in 97 and 98), Venus who had beaten her in Rome, and Kournikova who had beaten her 3 times in a row and twice on clay that year actually, all in the other half. Then in Sanchez Vicario's half her biggest threats to making the final were Mary Pierce and Conchita Martinez. Of course Pierce and Martinez both end up going out before they get to her though. Coetzer and defending Champion Majoli also lose before facing Aranxta. She ends up getting a 16 year old Serena on clay in the round of 16, and actually plays a horrible match and nearly loses to teenage Serena on clay but barely survives. Then she plays a so so match vs Patty Schnyder who was her biggest threat left after the upsets, and who had crushed Sanchez Vicario twice on clay that spring, but Patty folds under the pressure of such a big match and Sanchez goes through in 3. Then in the semis she plays Davenport who had been whining about playing on clay all event and basically tanked their semifinal, and Sanchez goes through in 2. Then in the final she plays Seles who owns her but was emotionally and physically drained
after huge wins over Novotna and Hingis, and the emotion of whole effort so soon after her father's passing, and Sanchez scrapes through in 3 sets to win. Had she played Seles in any other round than the the final she loses, or had she played Hingis she for sure loses.
Without the Seles stabbing I am certain that Sanchez Vicario would have won only 1 or 2 slams at most. She had 1 already at that point, and she possibly never wins another one or maybe just one. She also certainly doesnt end up reaching 12 slam finals or getting to play all those classic finals vs Graf. That is another aspect of how she has become overrated through the Seles stabbing. People actually look at all those slam finals she lost, some of them very close, and think she was unlucky to not even win more than 4 slams. Without the Seles stabbing she reaches nowhere near that number of slam finals in the first place, and some of her classic finals vs Graf are probably replaced by a Graf-Seles or Graf-someone else (pending the draw) final.
And the other aspect of all this is her quite impressive challenge to Graf makes her seem greater than she actualy is. The thing is she is just a bad matchup for Graf. You know how in tennis there are often bad matchups, and that causes certain players to do better vs another player than expected. This is the case with Sanchez Vicario and Graf. The gap between them is much more enormous than the gap in their actual matches and overall rivalry, it is the matchup aspect that makes it more competitive. Yet even with Sanchez being such a horrible matchup for Graf, Graf still has the decisive overall edge in their head to head. When one looks at Sanchez Vicario's history vs Seles, Hingis, or even an aging Navratilova, great players who Sanchez is not a bad matchup for the way she is for Graf, I think we get a more accurate reflection of her true abilities. Also her head to heads vs 1 slam winners Sabatini and Novotna, both who have a narrow winning head to head with Aranxta.
She was most fortunate to be in a situation where the Seles stabbing occured, and other key players fell off as well before new ones arrived, and the game found itself in a period of very low depth in womens tennis where Sanchez Vicario became the clear #2 player in the World. Just because her in the rankings were the headcase brigade of Martinez, Novotna, and Pierce, none who were consistent enough to be ranked that high even in a relatively empty. So a very weak field where the only player truly better than her happened to be someone she was a very bad matchup for inflating how impressive she looked.
One other thing is to contrast her situation to someone like Sabatini who got far less lucky. Sanchez's best ever tennis was 1992-1996, most of that after the Seles stabbing incident, thus she was able to fully capatilize on this weak period before the new gaurd raised the level of womens tennis again. Sabatini though played her best ever tennis from 1987-1992. The problem of this was what was around her. Graf of course, Seles, Navratilova still a major force and near her best. Because of the exceptional competition Sabatini faced during her prime years she was only able to win 1 slam despite making 18 slam semis, and winning so many tier 1 titles. Sanchez Vicario was already quite good from 89-92 I should add but was always ranked below Sabatini during this time, though both managed 1 slam win. By the time the field began to weaken with not only the Seles stabbing, but Sabatini's own decline, Navratilova's at last falling well off in level and soon retiring, and even lesser threats like Capriati and Fernandez either fading off tour or struggling constantly with injuries, Sabatini was finding her own play and game declining at that point and was not able to capatilize on the now weaker field. If Sabatini had her prime from 93-97 instead or Sanchez from 88-92 instead their careers would look totally different I imagine.
I actually think in terms of tennis talent she is far below Pierce, Sabatini, Novotna, even her countrywomen Conchita Martinez probably. The reason she achieved far more than those and was probably the better player (in addition to her luck and being the biggest capatilizer of the Seles stabbing), is her mental strength, fighting spirit, heart, sheer determination, and understanding how to get the most out of her limited game vs those others I mentioned who didnt know how to properly utilize all their weapons and different shots to their fullest. Her actual game is not really better than any of those players. It is her mental strength and ability to compete that makes the difference in her career vs those players. That is obvious when you watch her play matches vs Novotna, Martinez, Pierce, and to a lesser degree even Sabatini, and you can see how much the mental superiority and extra determination she has compared to those players is her real edge, not really superior weapons or overall game.
94 French Open- Pierce and Graf both on the other side. This sort of was made possible by Sanchez Vicario's #2 seed, a seed she never would have had at this point had the Seles stabbing never occured. Graf is always odds on favorite vs Sanchez Vicario, despite that Sanchez actually was a tough challenger or Graf and more of a threat to her than she was to Seles. Pierce was untouchable until the final. She likely loses to either one before the final. Pierce in the final was not the same thing, it was her first slam final and a long rain delay also threw her off. Sanchez Vicario also had an especialy easy draw, the only seed she played was Conchita Martinez who was in her second ever slam semi and played horribly. Had Seles been there atleast 1 of Pierce, Graf, or Seles would have to be in her half, maybe even 2. That is already enough that she is very unlikely to win.
94 U.S Open- Again with Seles out and Sanchez thus able to be the #2 seed which she wouldnt have ever had at this point otherwise. Like the French the draw pans out perfectly for her. The Worlds more dangerous fast court players- Graf, Novotna, and Pierce, all end up in the other half. Sanchez Vicario ends up in a half with a past her prime Sabatini, Date, and Martinez. The new Wimbledon Champion Martinez is her only real threat before the final, and Martinez ends up crashing out early in a big upset, giving Sanchez a free ride to the final, easily beating Date and Sabatini. Had she played Graf before the final (before Graf's back went out) she almost certainly loses, and Pierce or Novotna both had a decent shot of beating her as well. Sanchez's luck could be contrasted to some of these women. Pierce ends up drawing Novotna her biggest career nemisis (Pierce didnt get a set in 6 meetings I think) and Jana puts her out easily, then Jana plays her own biggest career nemisis Steffi Graf in the semis and despite pushing her some goes in 2. Then in the final Graf dominates the first half, but then her back goes out halfway through, this allows Sanchez back into the match and she ends up just pulling it out over an injured Graf in visibile pain. Add Seles to the draw and now #3 seed Sanchez already has to likely play one of Graf or Seles before the final and almost certainly loses on these fast courts. Pierce, Novotna, or even Martinez are all threats to now take her out should they play her under the reformated draw to.
1998 French Open- Again things worked out just perfectly for Sanchez Vicario it seemed. Hingis, Seles, Novotna (who had given her all kinds of problems even on clay in 97 and 98), Venus who had beaten her in Rome, and Kournikova who had beaten her 3 times in a row and twice on clay that year actually, all in the other half. Then in Sanchez Vicario's half her biggest threats to making the final were Mary Pierce and Conchita Martinez. Of course Pierce and Martinez both end up going out before they get to her though. Coetzer and defending Champion Majoli also lose before facing Aranxta. She ends up getting a 16 year old Serena on clay in the round of 16, and actually plays a horrible match and nearly loses to teenage Serena on clay but barely survives. Then she plays a so so match vs Patty Schnyder who was her biggest threat left after the upsets, and who had crushed Sanchez Vicario twice on clay that spring, but Patty folds under the pressure of such a big match and Sanchez goes through in 3. Then in the semis she plays Davenport who had been whining about playing on clay all event and basically tanked their semifinal, and Sanchez goes through in 2. Then in the final she plays Seles who owns her but was emotionally and physically drained
after huge wins over Novotna and Hingis, and the emotion of whole effort so soon after her father's passing, and Sanchez scrapes through in 3 sets to win. Had she played Seles in any other round than the the final she loses, or had she played Hingis she for sure loses.
Without the Seles stabbing I am certain that Sanchez Vicario would have won only 1 or 2 slams at most. She had 1 already at that point, and she possibly never wins another one or maybe just one. She also certainly doesnt end up reaching 12 slam finals or getting to play all those classic finals vs Graf. That is another aspect of how she has become overrated through the Seles stabbing. People actually look at all those slam finals she lost, some of them very close, and think she was unlucky to not even win more than 4 slams. Without the Seles stabbing she reaches nowhere near that number of slam finals in the first place, and some of her classic finals vs Graf are probably replaced by a Graf-Seles or Graf-someone else (pending the draw) final.
And the other aspect of all this is her quite impressive challenge to Graf makes her seem greater than she actualy is. The thing is she is just a bad matchup for Graf. You know how in tennis there are often bad matchups, and that causes certain players to do better vs another player than expected. This is the case with Sanchez Vicario and Graf. The gap between them is much more enormous than the gap in their actual matches and overall rivalry, it is the matchup aspect that makes it more competitive. Yet even with Sanchez being such a horrible matchup for Graf, Graf still has the decisive overall edge in their head to head. When one looks at Sanchez Vicario's history vs Seles, Hingis, or even an aging Navratilova, great players who Sanchez is not a bad matchup for the way she is for Graf, I think we get a more accurate reflection of her true abilities. Also her head to heads vs 1 slam winners Sabatini and Novotna, both who have a narrow winning head to head with Aranxta.
She was most fortunate to be in a situation where the Seles stabbing occured, and other key players fell off as well before new ones arrived, and the game found itself in a period of very low depth in womens tennis where Sanchez Vicario became the clear #2 player in the World. Just because her in the rankings were the headcase brigade of Martinez, Novotna, and Pierce, none who were consistent enough to be ranked that high even in a relatively empty. So a very weak field where the only player truly better than her happened to be someone she was a very bad matchup for inflating how impressive she looked.
One other thing is to contrast her situation to someone like Sabatini who got far less lucky. Sanchez's best ever tennis was 1992-1996, most of that after the Seles stabbing incident, thus she was able to fully capatilize on this weak period before the new gaurd raised the level of womens tennis again. Sabatini though played her best ever tennis from 1987-1992. The problem of this was what was around her. Graf of course, Seles, Navratilova still a major force and near her best. Because of the exceptional competition Sabatini faced during her prime years she was only able to win 1 slam despite making 18 slam semis, and winning so many tier 1 titles. Sanchez Vicario was already quite good from 89-92 I should add but was always ranked below Sabatini during this time, though both managed 1 slam win. By the time the field began to weaken with not only the Seles stabbing, but Sabatini's own decline, Navratilova's at last falling well off in level and soon retiring, and even lesser threats like Capriati and Fernandez either fading off tour or struggling constantly with injuries, Sabatini was finding her own play and game declining at that point and was not able to capatilize on the now weaker field. If Sabatini had her prime from 93-97 instead or Sanchez from 88-92 instead their careers would look totally different I imagine.
I actually think in terms of tennis talent she is far below Pierce, Sabatini, Novotna, even her countrywomen Conchita Martinez probably. The reason she achieved far more than those and was probably the better player (in addition to her luck and being the biggest capatilizer of the Seles stabbing), is her mental strength, fighting spirit, heart, sheer determination, and understanding how to get the most out of her limited game vs those others I mentioned who didnt know how to properly utilize all their weapons and different shots to their fullest. Her actual game is not really better than any of those players. It is her mental strength and ability to compete that makes the difference in her career vs those players. That is obvious when you watch her play matches vs Novotna, Martinez, Pierce, and to a lesser degree even Sabatini, and you can see how much the mental superiority and extra determination she has compared to those players is her real edge, not really superior weapons or overall game.
