By Bruce Emond<\/p>\n
Sabatini runs risk of becoming popular has-been<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Gabriela Sabatini, one of the world's most
\nphotographed and photogenic women, is a sponsor's dream.<\/p>\n
Tall, svelte, with finely sculpted features and an easy smile,
\nthe 24-year-old Argentinean is untiringly gracious as she poses
\nfor numerous pictures and exchanges small talk as sponsors as
\nofficials fete one of the queens of women's tennis at an evening
\nreception here before two exhibition matches against Indonesian
\nnumber one Yayuk Basuki last week.<\/p>\n
\"May I have a picture with you, Gaby?,\" another guest asks and
\nSabatini kindly obliges, sandwiching her imposing physical
\npresence into a long line of smiling guests. Sabatini beams as
\nthe photographer clicks away.<\/p>\n
Sabatini's talented play has earned her more than US$7.5
\nmillion since she burst onto the women's circuit as a 14-year-
\nold, but it is her good looks and friendly disposition which has
\nincreased her income at least four-fold through endorsements for
\nproducts ranging from sunglasses to perfume, clothing to camera
\nfilm.<\/p>\n
Even today, with her ranking sliding after a nearly three-year
\ndrought without a tournament title and a string of embarrassing
\nlosses in major tournaments to players ranked hundreds of places
\nbelow her, Sabatini continues to pile up endorsement contracts.<\/p>\n
In person, the Buenos Aires native appears much taller than
\nthe 173 cm (5 7\") listed in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA)
\nmedia guide. Her height is enhanced by a striking physique.
\nSabatini is very big, although she has lost the chunkiness which
\nspurred one German magazine to scurrilously insinuate that it was
\nmore than just good nutrition and weight training which accounted
\nfor her rapid physical development.<\/p>\n
Huge, clothes-hanger shoulders taper down to a slim waist and
\nlong legs, a body which has led tennis hacks all over the world
\nto dub her the \"Amazon from Argentina.\"<\/p>\n
There is a distinct asymmetry in the definition of her limbs,
\nthe tangible badge worn by all the world's top players. Her right
\narm, the one she has used to groove her looping topspin
\ngroundstrokes and sliced backhands since the age of seven, is
\nmarkedly larger than her left, the veins standing out like live
\nwires.<\/p>\n
Genuine<\/p>\n
It is difficult to write anything unkind about Sabatini. She
\nseems genuinely courteous and sweet, answering each and every
\nquestion with a gleaming smile on her face.<\/p>\n
But her answers read like carefully scripted sound bites. \"It
\nis great to be here in Jakarta. I will play my very best,\" she
\nsays at the opening press conference to a group of clamoring
\njournalists, most of whom seemed to view Yayuk as a minor player
\nin the Sabatini extravaganza.<\/p>\n
One-on-one interviews with Sabatini were not forthcoming. \"We
\nwould have to approve that with her agent in Washington, and the
\ntime difference is so great that it would be very difficult to
\ncontact him,\" says the agent handling the exhibition. \"We have
\nto take care of Gabriela and make sure she doesn't get abused.\"<\/p>\n
Abused seems an unusual choice of words to describe a request
\nfor a 10-minute interview with a player who is receiving hundreds
\nof thousands of dollars to play two exhibition matches. The
\npoint is made that it is the unapproachability of the top players
\nand perceptions that tennis is big business careening out of
\ncontrol that has turned many spectators away.<\/p>\n
\"Gaby had an agreement to do one interview and she did that
\nalready with the TV station,\" the agent responds curtly.
\n\"Perhaps if your publication had contacted us earlier about
\ngiving us some advertising space we could have worked this out.\"<\/p>\n
Rumors<\/p>\n
Sabatini's inaccessibility to the media does little to dispell
\nrumors that she is not very bright, the insinuations fueled by
\nother players and reporters which have hounded her for years.<\/p>\n
Part of the problem may be attributed to Sabatini's early
\ndifficulties in mastering English, or the fact that she left
\nschool at the age of 13 and never continued her education, or
\njust plain jealousy.<\/p>\n
Another factor may be that she is too easy-going, lacking the
\nintensity of the other top women.<\/p>\n
While Sabatini is content to discuss her love of music or
\nclothes in press conferences, Steffi Graf will painstakingly
\ndeliberate on weightier matters, breaking down in one interview
\nas she told of stopping her courtesy limousine to get out and
\nhand some money to a homeless man begging on the street.<\/p>\n
Graf and Sabatini were once touted as the tennis rivals of the
\n1990s, to match those other legendary rivalries between Margaret
\nSmith Court and Billie Jean King in the 1970s and the epic
\nmatches between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova in the 1980s.<\/p>\n
Flowing style<\/p>\n
With her flowing style, the teenage Sabatini was compared to
\nMaria Bueno, the brilliant Brazilian serve-and-volleyer of the
\n1960s. But the expected rivalry and Sabatini's full talents have
\nnever developed. Graf completed a Grand Slam and amassed a
\nlopsided win record over the Argentinian in the process.<\/p>\n
Except for one Grand Slam victory over Graf in the U.S. Open
\nfinal in 1990 and a close run in the final of Wimbledon the
\nfollowing year, Sabatini has become a perennial semifinalist.<\/p>\n
Today, she travels the circuit from tournaments to lucrative
\nexhibitions, adored all over the world but unable to string
\ntogether enough victories to win a major tournament.<\/p>\n
It may be appropriate, and perhaps a little cruel, to describe
\nSabatini today as a has-been. She brings in the crowds, delights
\nthem with her graceful play, but is not considered a real threat
\nto the top players.<\/p>\n
Unless she can regain the form and desire of 1990, Sabatini
\nmay find herself relegated to the role of a well-paid traveling
\nentertainer for the rest of her career.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/by-bruce-emond-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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