woman since Lilí de Álvarez in 1928 to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she lost to Steffi Graf in two sets. In November Martínez defeated Graf for the first and only time in her career, at a tournament in Philadelphia in the final. At the Italian Open, Martínez defeated Sabatini in the final in straight sets to become the first Spaniard to win the tournament since de Álvarez in 1930. She again reached the quarterfinals at the French Open for the fifth year in a row, losing a 2-hour, 45-minute three-set battle with Anke Huber. Martínez reached the Wimbledon singles final in 1994 beating Rene Simpson, Nana Smith, Nathalie Tauziat, Kristine Kunce and Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinal and Lori McNeil in the semifinals where the third set went to 10–8, where she faced nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova. Navratilova's last Wimbledon triumph had come four years earlier, but many observers felt that the 37-year-old Czech-born American was the favourite going into the match given her long track record of success on grass courts, whereas Martínez's most significant tournament victories up to that time had been on slower-playing surfaces, particularly on clay courts. Martínez, however, won the match in three sets and became the first Spanish woman to win Wimbledon. In 1995, Martínez was a semifinalist at all four Grand Slam tournaments and reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 2. In the Australian Open she beat Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals before losing to Mary Pierce in the semifinals. At Wimbledon, Martínez beat Sabatini in the quarterfinals before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals. She also had a new coach that year, Carlos Kirmayr. In 1996, Martínez became the only player to win the Italian Open singles title four consecutive years after a straight-sets victory in the final against 15-year-old Martina Hingis. She also partnered Sánchez Vicario to claim a women's doubles Olympic bronze medal in Atlanta. 1997–2006: Out of top 10 and return, Australian and French Open runner-up In 1998, Martínez reached her second career Grand Slam singles final at the Australian Open. She beat Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals before losing to Martina Hingis in the final in straight sets. At the German Open in May she defeated Amélie Mauresmo to win her first singles title in 18 months. She also helped Spain win the Fed Cup that year, beating Patty Schnyder of