Sanchez Vicario, Swamped Early, Rallies to Survive Werdel Scare

After losing the first set in straight games, second-ranked Arantxa Sanchez Vicario rebounded to beat Marianne Werdel, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Toshiba Tennis Classic.

Werdel, ranked 49th, survived one match point on her serve to cut her deficit to 5-4 in the third set and then another in the next game before Sanchez Vicario closed the match on her serve.

Werdel, an eighth-year pro from nearby Oceanside, won 26 of 34 points in the first set, largely with sharp placement shots in her first meeting with Sanchez Vicario, the French Open champion.

The victory sets up Sanchez Vicario and Germany’s Christina Singer in today’s quarterfinals of the $400,000 event at La Costa Resort & Spa. Singer advanced with a 6-4, 6-0, victory over seventh-seeded Sabine Appelmans of Belgium.

Third-ranked Conchita Martinez topped Ginger Helgeson, 6-4, 6-3, and will face fifth-seeded Jana Novotna, who recorded a 6-0, 6-1 victory over ninth-seeded Iva Majoli in 41 minutes. Sixth-seeded Julie Halard also advanced, beating Natalia Medvedeva, 6-2, 6-3, for a quarterfinal matchup with top-ranked Steffi Graf.

In the late match, fourth-seeded Lindsay Davenport beat Ann Grossman, 6-1, 6-2, but a muscle strain in her left leg could prevent her from meeting Tami Whitlinger-Jones, ranked 83rd. Whitlinger-Jones advanced when Angelica Gavaldon retired because of lower back strain with the score 6-2, 3-0.