Sanchez Vicario to Get Her Shot at No. 1 : Women’s tennis: Spaniard cruises into final, where top-ranked Graf awaits.

If it isn’t a dream matchup, it’s the closest thing to it.

Steffi Graf of Germany, ranked No. 1 in the world, will meet Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain, No. 3, for the championship today in the $375,000 Mazda Tennis Classic at La Costa.

The top two seeded players set up their showdown with straight-set victories Saturday before a packed house of 5,784 on the stadium court. In their semifinal matches, both between Germans and Spaniards, Graf beat third-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain, 7-5, 6-2, and Sanchez Vicario routed unseeded Marketa Kochta of Germany, 6-2, 6-1.

With second-ranked Monica Seles still sidelined because of the injury she suffered when she was stabbed in the back April 30, a Graf-Sanchez Vicario final is as good as it gets these days in women’s tennis.

Graf holds a 19-5 lead over Sanchez Vicario in their rivalry. However, Sanchez Vicario has won two of their last three meetings and has played more consistent tennis in this tournament, albeit against lesser competition.

After her typically easy victory Saturday, Sanchez Vicario bubbled with optimism about her meeting with Graf.

“I’m playing as well as I’ve ever played,” Sanchez Vicario said. “I’ve beaten Steffi on both hardcourts and clay (this tournament is on hardcourts), and I’m a player who can mix it up. I can play baseline or net.

“Not many players can play different ways like I can, and that gives me an advantage over the others.”

Asked which way she planned to play against Graf, Sanchez Vicario said, “I have to be aggressive. That’s how to beat Graf.”

Martinez, seeded third here and ranked sixth in the world, stayed with Graf Saturday until 5-5 in the first set but then faded. She had never beaten Graf in eight tries, and having her serve broken in the 11th game seemed to leave her deflated.

Noting this, Sanchez Vicario said, “That’s what makes me a different player than Conchita. You do it one time and you know you can do it more times.

“I can make up points against Steffi, unlike other players. If you get ahead of her, she gets nervous. I never get nervous against her. I’m playing the No. 1 player in the world, so I have nothing to lose.”

Graf had played somewhat below her best in her three previous matches, but she felt better about her game after beating Martinez.

“My game has progressed during the week,” Graf said. “I needed matches. Now I feel I’m back at the stage where I’m ready to play the best.”

Martinez could attest to the fact that if Graf had been in a slump, she is back on track. Once Graf broke the 5-5 tie in the first set, the match was no contest.

“Everybody knows when she’s even or behind, she always comes back,” Martinez said of Graf. “When she broke my serve and went 6-5, I knew I had to break hers, but I couldn’t.

“I don’t think I really played bad after that, but I couldn’t return her serve, and it was easy for her to come to the net.

“This is the second time in a row this has happened against her. What can you do?”

Martinez’s last statement was in reference to her 7-6 (7-0), 6-3 loss to Graf in the semifinals at Wimbledon last month.

Graf followed her service break at 5-5 with another in the first game of the second set.

“After that, she let down a little,” Graf said. “I was dictating points and making her run a lot.”

Kochta was the first qualifier to reach the semifinals in the event’s 10-year history. As a result, she jumped from 173rd in the world to 100th, but she was out of her league against Sanchez Vicario.

“I can’t describe the experience,” said Kochta, who showed her frustration by throwing her racket six times. “I played well, but she was better, much better. I have to learn to make big points. We had many long rallies, and she always won the big points.”

Said Sanchez Vicario: “She’s a good player. She hits the ball really hard. But this was the first time she had made the semifinals in the big time, and she was playing the No. 3 player in the world. Give her credit.”

Sanchez Vicario ended the match with a spectacular running lob into the corner that brought the biggest cheer of the day and sent Kochta’s racket flying one last time.

“I couldn’t believe she got to that ball,” Kochta said. “She was running for her life on every point, but I couldn’t do anything.”