Monica SELES |
Monica Seles's made a late decision to play at Hamburg, which could have left her paralysed or killed. Seles was stabbed during a tennis match against Maleeva late Thursday afternoon, April 30 in 1993. Gunther Parche, Seles's would be killer, stabbed her because he wanted his compatriot and idol Steffi Graf to become No 1 again. Parche got his wish, as Graf becomes the No 1 after the French Open, 5 weeks later. Parche was NOT sent to prison as the German Law system stuffed up. The appeal was also lost and Parche has been free ever since. Seles will not go to Germany again.
Seles understandably did not testify, and she stayed away from professional tennis for 2 years and 4 months. She went through extreme depression and re-assessed her life. Monica now appreciates her life more than Grand Slam victories. In her autobiography 'From Fear To Victory' (1996), she writes
"Just yesterday I was focused on the French Open, I thought in amazement as I lay in my hospital bed. I was sure that I had a good chance of defending my Grand Slam title and maybe of becoming the first player in the world to win four consecutive French Open championships. Just yesterday, I was the undeniable number one player in the world. Now everything has changed. I am no longer the strong person I had been twenty-four hours previously."
Monica needed all her fight to cope with life. She was known as THE most courageous player on a tennis court. Seles needed all her courage to lift from depression. She does not win the big tournaments any more, nor is she holding the top ranking, but she is the only player to have repeatedly outclassed Graf at her best.
Seles has not won Wimbledon whilst Martinez and Hingis have. It is obvious that Seles would have won it. The standard drop from 1992 to 1994 supports this fact.
During her play, Monica has a loud double grunt as she hits the ball. This helps her timing as well as her power. At first, I did not like it however, there are plenty of other players who now grunt louder. Seles has received plenty of criticism, in particular Wimbledon '92, but her grunt adds character to her game.
Monica's dad and coach, Karolji, had suffered bouts of prostate cancer for the past five years. This affected Monica as she was not able to concentrate on her tennis. Unfortunately, Karolji died three weeks ago. His friendly and kind spirit will always be appreciated. He instilled good sportsmanship in Monica, as he could be seen clapping the opponent if she hit a great shot.
Monica Seles |
Left handed, Double hand forehand and backhand. |
||
Country |
USA |
Marital Status |
Single |
Height |
179cm |
Weight |
65kg |
Birthday |
2/12/1973 |
Age |
She is currently 24 |
Best surface |
Hard Court |
Best shot |
Return |
Standard Rank |
2 |
Favourite Rank |
10 |
Monica Seles has the best groundstrokes in the world. Seles's early timing of her shots makes her able to create power from both her doubled handed forehand and backhand. Seles can also hit winners equally as well, down the line and crosscourt often creating wicked angles. Seles has the best return in the game and repeatedly smacks winners of terrific serves. Players such as Huber, Majoli, Davenport, Pierce, Lucic, Williams can now hit the ball as hard but Seles can time the ball better. Hingis is hyped as best tactical player ever but Seles's timing gives her the ability to beat her.
At the French Open Seles defeated Rubin, Novotna and thrashed Hingis 6-3 6-2 for her first win over the World Number One. In the Final she lost 7-6 0-6 6-2. Seles missed the Australian Open for the second year in a row. Seles in the lost third round to Kournikova at the Lipton and she lost to Spirlea 6-4 1-6 7-6 in the Semi finals of Hilton Head. Seles looked strong at Wimbledon by thrashing Testud 6-3 6-2, the player she lost to last year. However she fell to Zvereva. She defeated Hingis and Sanchez to win her forth consecutive Canadian Open. She fell to Davenport in the Semi finals of Los Angeles and San Diego. She fell to Hingis at the US open. She won Tokyo with a win over Sanchez.
Seles made her debut for the year as late as the Lipton and lost 4 times to Martina Hingis. She is clearly a better player, but is content to perform way below her best. Seles beat form players such as Pierce and Fernandez at the French Open only to lose disappointedly to Hingis in 3 sets. Seles won the 1st set 6-0 in her Wimbledon third round against Testud. She led 5-2 in the 3rd and had match points in this set only to lose 0-6 6-4 8-6. Seles worked hard playing 4 tournaments in 4 weeks to lose weight and be fully fit for the US Open. She played her best match of her comeback to beat Pierce, who also played in great form, 1-6 6-2 6-2. Seles with that form played similarly to her 91-93 standard. Spirlea defeated a tired Seles 6-7 7-6 6-3 saving a match point in the quarter final. In the three grand slams, Seles lost close matches that she would have won early in her competitive career. Seles finished the year with three titles and a low ranking of 4.
Seles maintains her unbeaten record in Australia winning in Sydney as well as the Australian Open. Davenport held a match point and Rubin led 5-2 in the 3rd before Seles snuck out the win. A shoulder injury keeps Seles tournaments to a minimum. Novotna impressively defeats Seles 7-6 6-3 at the French. She falls in the second round at Wimbledon, her worst performance in a slam ever. Novotna beats Seles again at the Olympic Games 7-5 3-6 8-6. Seles easily moved the rounds of the US Open, to a re-match of the 95 final. Graf again defeated Seles this time without the drama 7-5 6-4. Seles finished the year ranked 2 and won 5 tournaments.
Seles made her comeback on July 29, 1995 against a semi-retired Navratilova in an exhibition in Atlanta USA. In August, she played and won the Canadian Open conceding only 14 games, which included a 6-1 6-0 humiliation of Sabatini.
After the Canadian Open Seles played her first grand slam, the US Open. She reaches the final without conceding a set including beltings of Huber, Novotna and Martinez. She plays her toughest rival Graf, the Co-No 1 in the final. It was a high standard match filled with excitement, tension, anticipation and controversy. At 6-5, Seles in the tie-break Seles thought she had served an ace only when the linesman correctly called Fault. Graf won the set however Seles made a terrific fight to win the second set 6-love. Graf played strongly in the third set to claim the title 7-6(8-6) 0-6 6-3.
In 1993, Seles won her third Australian Open defeating Graf 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the final after thrashing Sabatini in the Semi finals. Her late decision to play at Hamburg, Germany could have left her paralysed or killed. Seles was stabbed during a tennis match against Maleeva late Thursday afternoon, April 30. Seles did not play another match for 28 months.
In 1992, Seles successfully defends her Australian Open in the absence of Graf. She defeats Huber, Sanchez Vicario and Fernandez without dropping a set. The French was her toughest title she has ever won. Kijimuta, Sabatini and Graf all were on the verge of victory before Seles showed her Never Say Die spirit. Sabatini lead 4-2 in the 3rd set and Kijimuta lead 4-1 in the 3rd before Seles rallied back to win both matches 6-4 in the 3rd set. Never before had Graf and Seles played in perfect form. The match was the best of the decade in the quality of tennis as well as the closeness, before Seles prevailed 6-2 3-6 10-8 to win her third French Open. Seles was thrashed in the Wimbledon final by Graf 6-2 6-1. At the US Open, Seles did not concede a set as only Raymond pushed her to 5-all. Seles again claimed 10 tournament victories including three slams and finished the year ranked 1, as she did in '91.
Seles continued her terrific form in 1991 winning the Australian Open on debut. She saved a match point in her win over Fernandez in the Semi finals and she beat Novotna in the final. Novotna, who had beaten Graf and Sanchez Vicario. March 11, Seles became the No 1 player in the world. Seles cruised through the French Open defeating Martinez, Sabatini and Sanchez Vicario without conceding a set. Seles misses Wimbledon because of shin splints, where she potentially could have won the Grand Slam. At the US Open, Seles defeats Capriati in a terrific thriller 6-3 3-6 7-6(7-3) in the Semi finals and Navratilova in the final. She wins 10 tournaments and finishes the year on top.
In 1990 Seles, 16, defeated Graf 6-4 6-3 in the German Open final in Berlin. The win was the first over Graf, who at that stage was invincible. The forth title on clay gave her confidence for the French Open. Seles as the 2nd seed, beat Graf again 7-6(8-6) 6-4 to become the youngest winner of the French ever. In the Semi finals, Seles blasted Capriati 6-2 6-2 who was only 14. At Wimbledon she lost a terrific match to Garrison 3-6 6-3 9-7 and at the US Open she lost another thriller to Fernando 7-6(7-3) in the 3rd set. Seles won 9 tournaments for the year, which also included the Lipton, Italian and End Year Championships and she finished the year ranked 2. Seles had beaten all players in the top 10 including the 6-1 6-1 thrashing of Navratilova.
Monica's Marvellous GRAND SLAM Record
Grand Slam |
89 |
90 |
91 |
92 |
93 |
94 |
95 |
96 |
97 |
98 |
Australian |
M |
M |
W |
W |
W |
M |
M |
W |
M |
M |
French |
S |
W |
W |
W |
M |
M |
M |
Q |
S |
|
Wimbledon |
4 |
Q |
M |
F |
M |
M |
M |
2 |
3 |
|
US Open |
4 |
3 |
W |
W |
M |
M |
F |
F |
Q |
|
M
= Missed slamsMonica has
Won 9 Grand Slams1993-5 slams missed because of the stabbing.
Monica SELES |
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