TENNIS : At Last, Sabatini Comes of Age

Finally, Gabriela Sabatini is enjoying tennis.

Sabatini is no longer the hesitant, reserved young woman who seemed destined to fail. Instead, she turned 21 this week challenging the computer that ranks Monica Seles as No. 1, Steffi Graf No. 2 and Sabatini No. 3.

And she’s having a good time.

“Players now look at me in another way when they play against me,” she said after defeating Seles in the finals of the Italian Open last Sunday, her fifth victory in seven tournaments this year.

She then went on to a night of disco dancing to celebrate not only her victory but her new frame of mind.

When Sabatini, who began playing tennis at the age of 7, started on the tour in her early teens, she was on everyone’s list as an impressive newcomer.

She won her share of tournaments, including two Italian titles, and moved swiftly up the rankings. But the big one, a Grand Slam title, eluded her.

Then, last September, the breakthrough came. Sabatini beat Graf in two sets at the U.S. Open and has been sizzling since. She is the dominant player on the tour and among the early favorite for the French Open, which begins May 27.

What surprised Graf at Flushing Meadow and Seles at the Foro Italico was Sabatini’s all-court game.

Her game had always been built around her heavy topspin groundstrokes, powered by her broad “John Wayne” shoulders and hit with a little jump from the baseline.

But opponents now have to contend with a Sabatini who rushes the net. She has developed a firm volley, a more accurate serve and the ability, to use one of her favorite words, to “concentrate.”

And just to keep the others guessing, she has come up with a well disguised drop shot, which was good for seven points in key situations against Seles.

“I’m using everything on the court now, everything is coming together,” says Sabatini.

The change in Sabatini generally is attributed to Carlos Kirmayer, the former Brazilian player who took over as her coach last year.

“Of course she’s enjoying herself, she’s finally allowed to move around the court,” says Lea Pericoli, a former Italian champion and now TV tennis commentator. “They had her lifting weights and practicing the same thing day after day. What kind of fun is that?”

As she prepared for the French Open, the Grand Slam stop where’s she been a semifinalist three times, the talk of the tour was who’s really No. 1?

Seles started off the year hot, winning the Australian Open and two other tournaments. But she’s showing signs of cooling down with back-to-back defeats in finals. She first lost to Graf in Germany and the following Sunday to Sabatini in Rome.

“I always go by the rankings and they are calculated over 12 months and right now Monica in No. 1,” said Mary Jo Fernandez during a break at the Lufthansa Cup in Berlin.

“Obviously though, Gaby is playing as well or better than the No. 1.”

Other opponents had similar plaudits.

Said Graf, who was dethroned by Seles as the world’s No. 1 in March:

“She has so much confidence, she is using all the shots she has, she just goes in and doesn’t give up. That’s a different attitude for her.”