THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL -- Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario will have to wait two years to resume her love affair with Montreal tennis fans.
A severe case of gastroenteritis has forced the two-time champion from Spain to miss her planned induction into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame. Organizers now hope to have her back for the honour in two years, when the annual tournament returns to Montreal.
"I had a great relationship with the crowd in Montreal," Sanchez-Vicario said Thursday from her home in Barcelona. "I always felt kind of at home there.
"I still get letters from people in Montreal. I look forward to being back in two years."
Sanchez-Vicario, who won the tournament in 1992 and 1994, said she has been ordered to rest.
"I have to take treatment for several days," she said. "We have to find out what it is because it's very strong. That's why I cancelled the trip."
Sanchez-Vicario was among the world's best on the women's tour in the 1990s, winning the French Open three times and the U.S. Open once in singles and adding six Grand Slam doubles titles. She was ranked No. 1 in the world for 12 weeks in 1995.
She retired as a player after the 2002 season and has since become a tennis analyst for Spanish television.
She is also tournament director for a women's Tier-4 event in Barcelona.
"My goal is to help women's tennis and this is the only women's tournament in the country," she said. "My dream is to have a tournament like Montreal.
"That would be amazing, but I'll need to find a lot of money for that."
Sanchez Vicario said all of Spain is still abuzz over Spaniard Rafael Nadal's victory over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.
"I was very close to winning it," she said. "I lost in the final (twice, both times to Steffi Graf), but it was nice to see a Spaniard win it."
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