Monica SELES

Monica Seles turned professional in 1989 and proceeded to beat Chris Evert in the final at Houston to secure her first title in the professional ranks. That same year she was runner-up at Dallas and Brighton and also defeated Zina Garrison and Manuela Maleeva on the way to the semifinal at Roland Garros, where she was beaten in three sets by Steffi Graf. It was only in December of that year that Monica turned 16 years of age and it was clear to see that she would be a major force in the women's game over the forthcoming years. She did not have to wait long for that all-important first Grand Slam title as in the 1990 French Open final she overcame the challenge of World No. 1 Steffi Graf 7-6, 6-4. With that victory she became the youngest winner of the French Open and the youngest winner of a Grand Slam title that century. It proved to be a memorable year for Seles as she also recorded victories in Italy, Berlin, Oakland, the LIPC, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Tampa and the VS Championships. The split with her longtime coach Nick Bollettieri who, she felt, was spending too much time coaching Andre Agassi did not appear to affect her greatly and thereafter she was coached only by her father. She won 36 matches in succession but Zina Garrison ended this run by beating her 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinal at Wimbledon. During the year she beat Martina Navratilova three times and Steffi Graf twice and ended 1990 ranked No. 2 in the world and being voted the WTA's Most Improved Player.

The year of 1991 proved to be a truly memorable one for Monica Seles as she won ten titles, three of which were Grand Slams. The first of these Grand Slam titles came at the Australian Open where she defeated Jana Novotna 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. At that time she was 17 years 2 months and this made her the youngest ever winner of the event, usurping Margaret Smith by four months who had set the previous record in 1960. Monica's next Grand Slam success came when she defended her French crown thanks to a 6-3, 6-4 final victory over Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario but the opportunity of going for the Grand Slam was passed up when she withdrew from Wimbledon just 72 hours before the start of the tournament. Seles cited the reason for her withdrawal as a shin splint injury that she had been suffering from but she had recovered sufficiently to play in an exhibition match soon afterwards. Her punishment was a $6, 000 fine for dropping out of Wimbledon and a further $20, 000 for playing in the exhibition match. That incident was soon put firmly behind her, however, and she completed a hat-trick of Grand Slam titles for the year with victory at the U.S. Open. The final saw Seles overcome that legend of the women's game, Martina Navratilova, by a 7-6, 6-1 scoreline. Monica had risen to the position of World No.1 for the first ever time in March of that year and, after exchanging the position on and off with Steffi Graf during the summer, she finished the year firmly ensconced as Number 1. The fact that Seles reached the final of each of the 16 tournaments that she entered illustrated perfectly just what a remarkable year she had enjoyed.

 If 1991 had been a memorable year for young Monica Seles then 1992 proved to be equally so. She successfully defended all three of her Grand Slam titles whilst at Wimbledon she only missed out at the final hurdle, losing in straight sets to Steffi Graf. The first Grand Slam tournament of the year was, of course, the Australian Open and Monica swept aside the field in relentless fashion. In seven matches she dropped just one set and in the final proved far to strong for Mary Joe Fernandez, enjoying a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 success. Monica began the defence of her French Open crown with easy victories over Catherine Mothes, Karin Kschwendt and Lori McNeil, losing just six games in the process, before dropping her first set of the tournament in a fourth round win over Japan's Akiko Kijimuta. Victories over Jennifer Capriati and Gabriela Sabatini saw her through to her third successive final and in a thrilling encounter Monica prevailed over her great rival Steffi Graf, taking the final set 10-8. Graf got her revenge with a comfortable victory in the Wimbledon final but at the U.S. Open Monica made it three Grand Slam titles thanks to a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline in the final against Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Seles' was at her imperious best during the tournament, losing just 27 games and not dropping a single set, as she saw off Audra Keller, Lisa Raymond, Claudia Porwik, Gigi Fernandez, Patricia Hy-Boulais and Mary Joe Fernandez en-route to the final. As well as her three Grand Slam triumphs Monica tasted success in seven other tournaments during what proved to be another excellent year. (David Scranage)

Monica Seles started 1993 in similar fashion to how she had started the previous two years - by winning the Australian Open. Monica eased through the first four rounds, losing just eight games, before seeing off Julie Halard-Decugis 6-2, 6-7, 6-0 in the quarter-finals. Gabriela Sabatini was then brushed aside 6-1, 6-2 in the semi's to set up a meeting with Seles' old adversaray Steffi Graf in the final. Despite losing the first set 6-4, Monica was not to be denied and rallied to take the final two sets 6-3, 6-2. Tragically that proved to be the only Grand Slam event that Seles would compete in during 1993 and, indeed, her only Slam event until the U.S. Open of 1995. The reason for this was a horrifying incident on 30th April in the Hamburg tournament which saw Monica stabbed in the back by a deranged German man during a change-over in her quarter-final match with Magdalena Maleeva.

It was a long road back from the injury and Monica missed a total of twenty-seven and a half months before making her long awaited return in the 1995 Canadian Open. It was a splendid return for Seles as not only did she win the tournament but also set a record for the least number of games played by the champion - just 74 - during victories over Kimberley Po, Nathalie Tauziat, Anke Huber, Gabriela Sabatini and Amanda Coetzer. In her first Grand Slam tournament since the stabbing incident Seles made it all the way to the final of the '95 U.S. Open courtesy of victories over Ruxandra Dragomir Ilie, Erika De Lone, Yone Kamio, Anke Huber, Jana Novotna and Conchita Martinez without so much as dropping a set. The final proved one bridge to far as Steffi Graf took the honours, but not without a fight from Monica who crushed the German 6-0 in the second set. (David Scranage)