Steffi brought best out of me, says Arantxa

New Delhi: The tennis world is replete with tales of German legend Steffi Graf and Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez showdowns in the late 80s. In 1989, Arantxa pushed her name into history books when she defeated then world no. 1 Graf in the French Open final, thus becoming the youngest women ever to win the tournament till Monica Seles broke her record.

Arantxa said it took her “three days to realise that she had beaten Graf and won her maiden Grand Slam”. Recalled Arantxa, “It was a dream to hold that trophy. Steffi had won a career Golden Slam before that. I could not sleep the whole night and was so tired in the morning. But then I told myself, it’s your moment and have nothing to lose.

“It became 1-1 then 2-2. The crowd supported me and that motivated me and I won the first set. It was a surprise. Then she won the second set and I was down 3-5 in the third. I broke back and held and it was 5-5. I again broke and was serving for the match. My legs were shaking but I did it.

“I went to the net, shook hands with Steffi. It took me three days to realise I had won. She brought the best out of me. I played my best against her.”

The four-time grand slam winner said it required “mental strength” to win titles. “Tennis is a very mental game and that’s most important.

“If you have that strength, after that you can be physically conditioned and then comes the technique. What makes a champion is your mentality, capacity to play right points at important moments,” she said.

Arantxa is in the city as part of Rendez-Vous, an event run by the French and Indian tennis federations to provide kids an opportunity to compete at the Junior French Open.