FRANKFURT, Germany -- Spain defeated the United States in six straight sets taking 3-0 points in two singles and a doubles to win the Federation Cup championship.
Sunday's triumph was Spain's third Federation Cup championship following victories in 1991 and last year.
Spain's Conchita Martinez defeated American Mary Joe Fernandez in the first singles 6-2, 6-2. In the second match Arantxa Sanchez Vicario beat Lindsay Davenport of the United States 6-2, 6-1.
The American team players had little chance against the overpowering Spanish duo in the singles matches.
Playing under a clear blue sky with the temperature about 34 Celsius, Martinez broke Fernandez in the second and eighth games of the first set for the win.
Sanchez Vicario, the world No. 2 player, overpowered Davenport in the third and fifth games of the first set for the victory.
The second set was even more convincing, with Sanchez Vicario breaking Davenport in the first, fifth and seventh games to wrap up the match in one hour and three minutes.
Spain's team of Sanchez Vicario and Martinez then went on to win the doubles against Gigi Fernandez and Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-3, 6-4.
Asked about her strong game in the final, after struggling through a tough three-set match to win in the semifinals Saturday against Germany's Anke Huber, Sanchez Vicario said the final had her worried.
"I think the fight I had yesterday was good. I was worried. I controlled the points better today. I was very happy," she said.
Sunday's championship confirms Spain's strong standing in the tennis world. Spain's Sergi Bruguera and Sanchez Vicario took the men's and women's titles at the French Open this year, and Martinez won the women's title at Wimbledon.
Pathmark Women's Classic. In Mahwah, New Jersey, Steffi Graf received sterner opposition than she expected but rallied to overtake American Lisa Raymond 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a 100-minute final Sunday to win the $150,000 tournament.
Graf, who received a reported guarantee of $350,000 to spruce up the field, won the tournament for a fifth time. Raymond, a semifinalist last year, collected the second-place purse of $14,000.
It was the first meeting between world No. 1 Graf, loser in the French Open semifinals and in the opening round of Wimbledon in her last two starts, and the 54th-ranked Raymond, U.S. collegiate champion in 1992 and 1993. "She took me by surprise," said Graf. "She served incredibly well until late in the second set."
D.C. Men's Classic. In Washington D.C., Stefan Edberg, troubled by his serve early on, won the $650,000 competition Sunday with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Australia's Jason Stoltenberg.
With temperatures reaching 43 degrees Celsius (110 Fahrenheit), Edberg downed Stoltenberg in 71 minutes, the fourth time he has beaten him this season. Edberg, the No. 2 seed, was playing in this tournament for the first time.
"(The heat) didn't give me any kind of a problem," Edberg said. "I'm quite fit, plus I think it helped that I played a couple of daytime matches during the week."
The Swede's third victory of the year was worth $87,500. Stoltenberg, the No. 14 seed, earned $46,000, the largest payday in his nine-year career.
Mercedes Cup. In Stuttgart, Germany, French Open finalist Alberto Berasategui of Spain fought off Italian underdog Andrea Gaudenzi 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 on Sunday to win the $1.4 million tournament.
The triumph guaranteed the Spaniard, seeded fourth in the tournament, a place in the world's top 10 after a phenomenal year which has seen him rise from 91st in the world rankings to 14th before this victory.
But Gaudenzi, the 10th seed who had knocked out top seed Michael Stich in the quarterfinals, put up a fight in the searing heat before Berasategui prevailed by winning the final set tie-break 7-5. The Spaniard, the only player to reach the semifinals without dropping a set, had beaten German Bernd Karbacher 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 in their semifinal Saturday. (AP, Reuters)
Sunday's triumph was Spain's third Federation Cup championship following victories in 1991 and last year.
Spain's Conchita Martinez defeated American Mary Joe Fernandez in the first singles 6-2, 6-2. In the second match Arantxa Sanchez Vicario beat Lindsay Davenport of the United States 6-2, 6-1.
The American team players had little chance against the overpowering Spanish duo in the singles matches.
Playing under a clear blue sky with the temperature about 34 Celsius, Martinez broke Fernandez in the second and eighth games of the first set for the win.
Sanchez Vicario, the world No. 2 player, overpowered Davenport in the third and fifth games of the first set for the victory.
The second set was even more convincing, with Sanchez Vicario breaking Davenport in the first, fifth and seventh games to wrap up the match in one hour and three minutes.
Spain's team of Sanchez Vicario and Martinez then went on to win the doubles against Gigi Fernandez and Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-3, 6-4.
Asked about her strong game in the final, after struggling through a tough three-set match to win in the semifinals Saturday against Germany's Anke Huber, Sanchez Vicario said the final had her worried.
"I think the fight I had yesterday was good. I was worried. I controlled the points better today. I was very happy," she said.
Sunday's championship confirms Spain's strong standing in the tennis world. Spain's Sergi Bruguera and Sanchez Vicario took the men's and women's titles at the French Open this year, and Martinez won the women's title at Wimbledon.
Pathmark Women's Classic. In Mahwah, New Jersey, Steffi Graf received sterner opposition than she expected but rallied to overtake American Lisa Raymond 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a 100-minute final Sunday to win the $150,000 tournament.
Graf, who received a reported guarantee of $350,000 to spruce up the field, won the tournament for a fifth time. Raymond, a semifinalist last year, collected the second-place purse of $14,000.
It was the first meeting between world No. 1 Graf, loser in the French Open semifinals and in the opening round of Wimbledon in her last two starts, and the 54th-ranked Raymond, U.S. collegiate champion in 1992 and 1993. "She took me by surprise," said Graf. "She served incredibly well until late in the second set."
D.C. Men's Classic. In Washington D.C., Stefan Edberg, troubled by his serve early on, won the $650,000 competition Sunday with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Australia's Jason Stoltenberg.
With temperatures reaching 43 degrees Celsius (110 Fahrenheit), Edberg downed Stoltenberg in 71 minutes, the fourth time he has beaten him this season. Edberg, the No. 2 seed, was playing in this tournament for the first time.
"(The heat) didn't give me any kind of a problem," Edberg said. "I'm quite fit, plus I think it helped that I played a couple of daytime matches during the week."
The Swede's third victory of the year was worth $87,500. Stoltenberg, the No. 14 seed, earned $46,000, the largest payday in his nine-year career.
Mercedes Cup. In Stuttgart, Germany, French Open finalist Alberto Berasategui of Spain fought off Italian underdog Andrea Gaudenzi 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 on Sunday to win the $1.4 million tournament.
The triumph guaranteed the Spaniard, seeded fourth in the tournament, a place in the world's top 10 after a phenomenal year which has seen him rise from 91st in the world rankings to 14th before this victory.
But Gaudenzi, the 10th seed who had knocked out top seed Michael Stich in the quarterfinals, put up a fight in the searing heat before Berasategui prevailed by winning the final set tie-break 7-5. The Spaniard, the only player to reach the semifinals without dropping a set, had beaten German Bernd Karbacher 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 in their semifinal Saturday. (AP, Reuters)
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