The United States, with Monica Seles providing the decisive victory, is the Fed Cup champion again.
The Americans won the title for the first time since 1990 when Seles beat Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the Atlantic City Convention Center.Seles' triumph gave the United States a 3-0 lead in the best-of-5 format designed to determine the top women's tennis team in the world. Spain held the title the last three years. The U.S. team went on to sweep the matches.
"This is very special," Seles said. "We all wanted to win this one badly because of what's happened in the last three years. This was a great time for all of us. We blended together well as a team."
Seles considered the pressure different from that of the women's tour.
"You have much more riding on this because other people are depending on what you do," Seles said. "I'm thrilled. This is the first time I ever did anything big on a team."
Once Seles' victory assured a U.S. win, Conchita Martinez pulled out of her reverse singles match with Lindsay Davenport, citing a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Gala Leon Garcia.
Davenport defeated Garcia 7-5, 6-2 and then Mary Joe Fernandez and Linda Wild combined to beat Garcia and Virginia Ruano-Pascual 6-1, 6-4 to complete the shutout.
Seles, the world's top-ranked player, became stronger as the match progressed. Hitting her two-handed shots with fierce efficiency, Seles wore down Sanchez Vicario, winning nine of the final 10 games.
On Saturday, Seles had given the United States a 1-0 lead by defeating Martinez 6-2, 6-4.
Davenport defeated Sanchez Vicario 7-5, 6-1 Saturday, gaining her second victory against Sanchez Vicario after five straight losses.
SWISS INDOORS
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) - In his first tournament since winning the U.S. Open, Pete Sampras beat unseeded Hendrik Dreekmann of Germany 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 Sunday to win the $1 million Swiss Indoor tennis championship.
Trailing 6-5 in the first set, Dreekmann double-faulted at 40-30, allowing Sampras to even the score 40-40. Succumbing to nervousness, Dreekmann was unable to bring the first set to a tie-breaker.
The first set was the only time Dreekmann gave Sampras trouble, as he then appeared to lose his confidence.
In the second set, Sampras broke Dreekmann's first serve and held his own, going ahead 3-0. At 5-2, Sampras broke Dreekmann again to take the set.
The beginning of the third set followed the same pattern, with Sampras breaking Dreekman's first serve, holding his own and taking a 3-0 lead. This time, Dreekmann didn't even win a game.
"I actually surprised myself," Sampras said. "I thought I would have a letdown after the U.S. Open, but I didn't.
"Once I won the first set, I relaxed and let my tennis take over. I realized he was having a tough battle. He's never won a tournament and I think he faltered. It was a question of experience."
"He's just so good," said Dreekmann, who double-faulted seven times. "I was close at the end of the first set, and I teetered. I didn't serve well, and he took immediate advantage of my first mistake."
"In the second and third sets I saw him hang his head a little and I took advantage of it," said Sampras.
The win was the seventh of the year and the 44th of his career for the eight-time Grand Slam champion. Sampras already is qualifed for the season-ending ATP World Championships.
It took Sampras only 1 hour, 22 minutes, to win the title and the $137,000 top prize. Dreekmann, ranked 49th in the world, got $81,000.