TENNIS ROUNDUP : Sabatini Puts Stop to Graf Again in Boca Raton Final

Gabriela Sabatini, looking to move up from No. 4, beat Steffi Graf, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), Sunday to win the Virginia Slims of Florida at Boca Raton for the second year in a row.

The top-seeded Graf knew all week that her record 186-week streak at No. 1 would end today, when Monica Seles moves to the top of the ladder despite taking last week off. The computer rankings are based on performances during the previous 52 weeks, and they no longer will penalize Seles for her third-round loss last year at Boca Raton.

Graf, 21, will be ranked No. 2 this week, but Sabatini, 20, is gaining on her. She has beaten Graf three consecutive times after losing 20 of her first 24 matches against her.

Second-seeded Sabatini didn’t lose a set all week, and on Sunday her groundstrokes were just as forceful as Graf’s famous forehand.

Meanwhile, Graf’s shots to the corners, which all week had landed just in, this day landed just out.

“I’m getting much better and she’s not feeling the same,” Sabatini said.

“She knows that she is losing the No. 1. She is losing the confidence probably a little bit.”

Graf was unhappy with the way she returned serve and played important points. She converted only two of 12 break chances, but she said: “If I look back on a couple of months ago, I think definitely I played better.”

Jonas Svensson took control after narrowly losing a first-set tiebreak and beat Anders Jarryd, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2, 6-2, at Copenhagen, Denmark, in an all-Swedish singles final of the Copenhagen Open.