Graf Gets Run Off the Court : Tennis: Sanchez Vicario wears down top-seeded woman to win title, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Steffi Graf simply couldn’t keep up with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

Sanchez Vicario ran the top-seeded Graf from one side of the court to the other for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory in Saturday’s final at the Lipton Championships.

“I was much stronger mentally,” second-seeded Sanchez Vicario said. “Other players have respect for me, because I give everything until the last ball. Sometimes they don’t expect the ball to come back. That helps me win the match.”

Second-seeded Pete Sampras defeated fifth-seeded Petr Korda of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, in the men’s semifinals. Sampras will play in today’s final against No. 14 Mal Washington, who defeated unseeded Marcos Ondruska of South Africa, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), in the other semifinal.

In the end, Graf was frustrated, erratic and worn out, the fingers on her racket hand cramping as Sanchez won the last three games for her second consecutive Lipton championship.

“With her, you have to place the ball better and better,” Graf said. “I started missing easy shots.”

The shot that got Sanchez Vicario to championship point was typical of how the match went. Scrambling into her backhand corner, she lunged and flipped a passing shot down the line for a winner. Moments later, Graf hit a forehand into the net to end the match.

Two weeks ago, Sanchez Vicario lost in straight sets to Graf in Virginia Slims of Florida final. By beating Graf for the fourth time in 22 tries, Sanchez Vicario earned $135,000 and her first tournament title of the year.