Power of Caring
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Seles finds peace of mind

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Posted: Thursday September 02, 1999 07:19 PM

By Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated

NEW YORK -- It drives Monica Seles nuts, this business of not knowing that she's not the best at what she does. Not all that long ago, she was the Queen of Queens, a two-time defending champ who was on the fast track to becoming an alltime great. Now, she shakes her head and smiles ironically when she's told she hasn't won this tournament for seven years. "Has it been that long?" she asks with a weak smile. "Wow."

Women's tennis has made a John Travolta -style comeback these past few years, but left in its wake is one of the saddest and most poignant stories in sports. It's been more than six years since a German madman put a stiletto in Seles' back and derailed the career of a prodigiously talented 19-year-old who had won seven of the past eight Grand Slams she had entered. "It was scary how good she was," says Mary Joe Fernandez. "She was the first player whose name you looked for in the draw. Then, well, you know the story."

Then, of course, the unspeakable stabbing. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the flesh wound to heal; but the psychic scar tissue remained. After a two-year hiatus, spent mostly in seclusion, she returned to the game only to find that it had passed her by. A player assured of trouncing most of her foes in 52 minutes, she was suddenly going three sets with athletes whose names she didn't recognize. A player known for packing such a mean punch that was literally blowing Steffi Graf off the court, she was suddenly on the business end of baseline screamers. She won the Australian Open in 1996, but it would prove to be a mirage. By the end of the year, a striking Swiss teenager named Martina Hingis would be a household name; Venus and Serena Williams would infiltrate the tour; and a gangly, underconfident Lindsay Davenport -- precisely the type of player Seles used to smoke without breaking a sweat -- was starting to find her sea legs.

Since her triumph Down Under, she has not won another Slam. She has not regained the top ranking. And she has lost regularly not only to the teen queens and to Graf -- who, twistedly, underwent a renaissance of sorts in Seles' absence -- but to the Magui Sernas and Henrietta Nagyovas too. This year alone, Seles has entered a dozen events and has won just one of them. "It's sad to watch," a top player told me earlier this year, "when you think of where she was when she was 19."

So why, at 26, is she still at it, chasing after an elusive carrot she once held firmly in her grasp? "It's definitely not the matches; I never enjoyed playing matches, even as a youngster," she said Thursday after beating Sylvia Farina in straight sets. "I just love to play. And love to hit."

A grand irony: Just as Seles hid from the game when it was too difficult to return to the site of her stabbing, she found refuge in it when her personal life was crumbling. When her father passed away last year, she steadfastly refused to take time off from her playing schedule. When she has "outside problems" as she calls them, off the court, she can't wait to pick up her racket.

Her conditioning may have sagged, she may have lost a step, and her two-handed power might be blunted by the new class of bashers. But she'll be happy just hitting balls in peace, bereft of the troubles that have marred the past six years. "I've really enjoyed the last four weeks of my life," she said. "If I can live like this for the next two years, I'd be really happy." It's a modest request from a player who once had it all. Tennis owes her that much.

Open volleys

Everything's breaking right for Venus Williams. After beating talented Anne-Gaelle Sidot Wednesday night, Venus got a free pass to the fourth round Thursday. Her next scheduled opponent, Nagyova of Slovakia, pulled out with a wrist sprain. The prospect of facing either Fernandez or No. 13 seed Dominique Van Roost in her next match won't exactly keep her up at night. ... Told that Hingis accused her family of having big mouths, Serena Williams responded: "I guess it has a little bit to do with [Hingis] not having a formal education. I personally don't think my mouth is big if you're looking at it." ... Wednesday night, Catalina Cristea and Ruxandra Dragomir beat Jennifer Capriati and Mirjana Lucic 7-6, 7-6, 7-6. It was the first time since 1992 that a women's doubles match ended in a third-set tiebreaker. ... Funny how Davenport is the defending champ and she still is overlooked. ... How's this for a sign of the times: American Express is sponsoring a bag check for those fans who don't want to tote around all the gear they've purchased here. ... Want to know from sensitive men? After Hicham Arazi beat countryman Karim Alami in four wonderfully entertaining sets Wednesday, the two friends not only shook hands but exchanged pecks on the cheeks. ... Another great post-handshake moment: After Lleyton Hewitt beat fellow Aussie Wayne Arthurs in four sets Thursday, a fan stood up and bellowed the following after spotting someone in the crowd: "Ladies and gentleman, a moment of your time. Please put your possessions down and take a minute to join me in acknowledging the great Rod Laver." In unison, the stands erupted in applause. Gotta love this event.

Jon Wertheim is a Sports Illustrated staff writer.

 

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