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 After
four years of coming up short at the La Costa Resort & Spa, Conchita Martinez of Spain broke
through and won the $430,000 Toshiba Tennis Classic with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 victory over
Lisa Raymond.
Martinez, who reached three semifinals and one final in the previous
four years, played a near perfect match in defeating Raymond, a
two-time NCAA singles champion at the University of Florida.
The big-serving Raymond held serve in 40 out of 41 games in her
first four matches, but against Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion,
her power game was no match for the crafty Spaniard.
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| Conchita
Martinez is all smiles following her victory. |
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Martinez, who routed Mary Pierce, 6-1,
6-3 in the semifinals, played a strong baseline game against the
serve and volleying Raymond.
When Raymond crowded the net to get into
better position for a volley, Martinez responded with perfectly
placed lobs.
Raymond committed 30 unforced errors compared to 13 for Martinez.
"She pretty much had an answer for everything I tried," Raymond
said.
The victory marked the 28th career singles title for Martinez, who
received $79,500. Raymond earned $35,500 for her runner-up finish.
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| Bud Collins, tennis
journalist and television commentator, covered the tournament
for NBC Sports. |
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The upset of the tournament took place
in the second round when Oceanside resident Marianne Werdel Witmeyer
ousted top-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in one
hour and 46 minutes.
Werdel Witmeyer, a semifinalist at the 1995 Australian Open, had
beaten Sanchez Vicario in Florida earlier in the year.
In the doubles final, Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva defeated
France's Sandrine Testud and Alexia Dechaume-Balleret 6-2, 6-1.
The winners split $23,800.
The total attendance for the week was 61,578, which set a new tournament record.
The semifinals and finals were televised by NBC.
In a sign that the tournament was becoming more than a Southern California event, organizers
received ticket requests from as far away as Connecticut.
During the week, Martinez received a bracelet with tennis charms from 10-year-old Alex Goldstein
of Chula Vista, who served as a tournament ball boy.
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