Its 19 years since Gabriela Sabatini quit playing tennis. She does not have any association to the game these days. She has turned herself into more of a businesswoman. She has a perfume business which she devotes most of her time to. But, she has not lost that fierce competitiveness.
Sabatini has to take on one of her old time rivals Monica Seles in an exhibition fixture coming up and she says that the adrenaline is pumping inside her for that game.
The rivalry between Sabatini and Seles used to be quite intense during those days in the nineties. These two players would draw a huge crowd to the arena whenever they were up against each other and they are again expected to do so in a week’s time even though they are not active players anymore.
Talking about the upcoming exhibition match, Sabatini said, “I am motivated for sure. It’s always a special venue for me, the Madison Square Garden. The crowd over there are so loud and intense. You would not get to see that sort of atmosphere at any other venue in the world. It pumps you up immensely. You tend to put in a bit of an extra effort just because of the support and backing that you get there.”
When asked if she can recall the meeting that she had with Seles one and half decades back at this venue, the 44-year old said, “Yes, I can. I remember that quite well. Though I lost, but, I enjoyed every bit of it. It was such a marathon game and you believe me, I did not feel any tiredness at all while it was on. I gave it my all and it was only at the end of the day that I realized how much energy I had lost.”