Monica Seles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Image:Monica Seles 2005.jpg | ||
| Country | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | |
| Residence | Sarasota, Florida, USA | |
| Date of birth | December 2, 1973 | |
| Place of birth | Novi Sad, Serbia, Yugoslavia | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |
| Weight | 154 lb (70 kg) | |
| Turned Pro | 1989 | |
| Plays | Left; Two-handed both sides | |
| Career Prize Money | $14,891,762 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 595-122 | |
| Career titles: | 53 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 1 (March 11, 1991) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | W (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996) | |
| French Open | W (1990, 1991, 1992) | |
| Wimbledon | F (1992) | |
| U.S. Open | W (1991, 1992) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 89-45 | |
| Career titles: | 6 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 16 (April 22, 1991) | |
|
Infobox last updated on: N/A. | ||
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Women’s Tennis | |||
| Bronze | 2000 Sydney | Singles | |
Monica Seles (born December 2 1973) is a Hungarian-American<ref>Tennis Magazine Interview. www.monica-seles.com (2003-03-24). Retrieved on 2006-10-27.</ref> and former Yugoslavian professional tennis player. Seles has won nine Grand Slam singles titles and became the youngest-ever champion at the French Open in 1990. She was the top ranked player in the women's game during 1991 and 1992.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Monika Seleš (Serbian Cyrillic: Моника Селеш; Hungarian: Szeles Mónika) (pronounced /sɛlɛʃ/) was born to an ethnic Hungarian family in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia (then SFR Yugoslavia).
She began playing tennis at the age of six, coached by her father Károly Seleš. She won her first tournament at the age of nine, despite not fully understanding the scoring system of the game and having only a vague idea of whether she was leading or trailing her opponents during matches. In 1985 at the age of 11, she won the Orange Bowl tournament in Miami, Florida, and caught the attention of tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. In 1986, the Seleš family moved from Yugoslavia to the United States, and Monica enrolled in the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, where she trained for two years.
Seles played her first professional tournament in 1988 at the age of 14. The following year, she joined the professional tour full-time and won her first career title at Houston in May 1989, where she beat Chris Evert in the final. A month later, Seles reached the semifinals in her first Grand Slam singles tournament at the French Open, where she lost to World No. 1 Steffi Graf, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 . Seles finished her first year on the tour ranked World No. 6.
With punishing two-fisted forehand and backhand shots and a strong return of serve, Seles is considered by many to be the first "power player" in the women's game, paving the way for subsequent players like Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, and Maria Sharapova. She was also well-known for grunting loudly on court. On a few occasions, her opponents claimed that the grunting was distracting and prevented them from hearing the ball make contact with her racquet.
Seles won her first Grand Slam singles title at the French Open in 1990. Facing World No. 1 Steffi Graf in the final, Seles saved four set-points in a first-set tie-breaker, which she won 8-6, and went on to take the match in straight-sets. In doing so, she became the youngest-ever French Open champion at the age of 16 years, 6 months.
1991 was the first of two years in which Seles dominated the women's tour. She started out by winning the Australian Open in January, beating Jana Novotná in the final. In March, she replaced Graf as the World No. 1. She then successfully defended her French Open title, beating the former youngest-ever winner Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final. However, instead of playing at Wimbledon, she took a six-week break, blaming shin splints. But she was back in time for the U.S. Open, and won it beating Martina Navrátilová in the final to cement her position at the top of the world rankings. She also helped Yugoslavia win the Hopman Cup that year and won the season-ending championships, beating Navratilova in four sets.
1992 was an equally dominant year. She successfully defended her titles at the Australian Open, the French Open, and the U.S. Open. She also reached the final at Wimbledon, but could not manage to break Graf's dominance on the grass court surface and lost 6-2, 6-1.
During the period from January 1991 to February 1993, Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of the 34 tournaments she played. She compiled a 159-12 win-loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55-1 win-loss record in Grand Slam tournaments. In the broader context of her first four years on the circuit (1989-1992), Seles had a win-loss record of 231-25 (90.2% winning percentage) and collected 30 titles. Only Evert had a better first four years in terms of winning percentage (91.1% from 1971 to 1974) and titles (34) in the open era. However, Seles was unable to maintain that high a winning percentage for the remainder of her career.
Seles was the top women's player heading into 1993. In January 1993, Seles won the Australian Open over Graf, her fourth win in ten matches against her German rival.
However, everything changed following an incident that shocked the tennis world on April 30, 1993. During a quarterfinal match with Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg that Seles was leading in 6-4, 4-3, a 38-year-old deranged man, Günter Parche ran from the middle of the crowd to the edge of the court during a break between games and plunged a steak knife between Seles's shoulder blades. She let out a piercing scream and was quickly rushed to a hospital. Her physical injuries took a few weeks to heal, but the psychological scars from this incident left a much deeper impression on Seles. She did not return to competitive tennis for over two years. Parche was charged following the incident but was not jailed because he was found to be psychologically abnormal and was instead sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment. The incident prompted a significant increase in the level of security at tour events. [1]
After the incident, Graf re-established herself as the leading player on the women's tour and regained the World No. 1 ranking. During her layoff from competitive tennis, Seles became a United States citizen on May 17, 1994.
Seles returned to the tour in August 1995 and won her first comeback tournament, the Canadian Open, beating Amanda Coetzer in the final 6-1, 6-0. Many believed that she would soon be dominating the circuit again in the way she was before the 1993 stabbing incident. The following month at the U.S. Open, Seles lost the final to Graf 7-6, 0-6, 6-3.
In January 1996, Seles won her fourth Australian Open, beating Anke Huber in the final. But this was to be her last Grand Slam title. Seles struggled to recapture her best form on a regular basis. Her difficulties were compounded by having to cope with her father and long-term coach Karolj being stricken by cancer and eventually passing away in 1998. Seles was runner-up at the U.S. Open to Graf again in 1996. Her last Grand Slam final came at the French Open in 1998 (a few weeks after her father's death). She defeated world No. 3 Novotna in three sets and world No. 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets before losing to Sánchez Vicario in three sets.
After becoming a U.S. citizen, Seles helped the U.S. team win the Fed Cup in 1996 and 2000. She also won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
In the spring of 2003, Seles sustained a foot injury that has sidelined her from the tour ever since. In February 2005, she played two exhibition matches in New Zealand against Navrátilová. Although Seles lost both matches, she played competitively and announced that she could return to the game early in 2006. She has not done so, however.
She was listed as the 13th greatest player of all time (men and women) by Tennis magazine and was also one of 15 women named by Australian Tennis magazine as the greatest champions of the last 30 years (players were listed chronologically in Australian tennis Magazine). Seles is also known as one of the greatest "big point" players of all-time, having tremendous mental fortitude during the toughest situations on the court.
Seles is single and lives in Florida
[edit] Grand Slam singles finals
[edit] Wins (9)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1990 | French Open | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Steffi Graf | 7-6(6), 6-4 |
| 1991 | Australian Open | Image:Flag of Czechoslovakia (bordered).svg Jana Novotná | 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 |
| 1991 | French Open (2) | Image:Flag of Spain.svg Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 1991 | U.S. Open | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Martina Navratilova | 7-6(1), 6-1 |
| 1992 | Australian Open (2) | Image:Flag of the United States.svg Mary Joe Fernandez | 6-2, 6-3 |
| 1992 | French Open (3) | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Steffi Graf | 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 |
| 1992 | U.S. Open (2) | Image:Flag of Spain.svg Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 1993 | Australian Open (3) | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Steffi Graf | 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
| 1996 | Australian Open (4) | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Anke Huber | 6-4, 6-1 |
[edit] Runner-ups (4)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1992 | Wimbledon | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Steffi Graf | 6-2, 6-1 |
| 1995 | U.S. Open | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Steffi Graf | 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-3 |
| 1996 | U.S. Open | Image:Flag of Germany.svg Steffi Graf | 7-5, 6-4 |
| 1998 | French Open | Image:Flag of Spain.svg Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario | 7-6(5), 0-6, 6-2 |
[edit] Titles (59)
[edit] Singles (53)
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[edit] Doubles (6)
[edit] Singles finalist (32)
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[edit] Doubles finalist (3)
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[edit] Performance timeline
| Tournament | Career Win-Loss | Career SR | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | 43-4 | 4 / 8 | A | A | A | W | W | W | A | A | W | A | A | SF | A | QF | SF | 2R |
| French Open | 54-8 | 3 / 11 | A | SF | W | W | W | A | A | A | QF | SF | F | SF | QF | A | QF | 1R |
| Wimbledon | 30-9 | 0 / 9 | A | 4R | QF | A | F | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | QF | 3R | QF | A | QF | A |
| US Open | 53-10 | 2 / 12 | A | 4R | 3R | W | W | A | A | F | F | QF | QF | QF | QF | 4R | QF | A |
| Grand Slam SR | N/A | 9 / 40 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 3 | 3 / 3 | 3 / 4 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 2 |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 180-31 | N/A | 0-0 | 11-3 | 13-2 | 21-0 | 27-1 | 7-0 | 0-0 | 6-1 | 17-3 | 11-3 | 14-3 | 16-4 | 12-3 | 7-2 | 17-4 | 1-2 |
| WTA Tour Championships | 18-6 | 3 / 9 | A | QF | W | W | W | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | QF | A | F | A | QF | A |
| Tokyo | 9-4 | 0 / 4 | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | A | A | QF | A | A | SF | A | A | F | F |
| Indian Wells1 | 17-5 | 1 / 6 | NH | A | A | F | W | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | QF | 2R | SF | A |
| Miami | 32-7 | 2 / 9 | 2R | A | W | W | QF | A | A | A | A | F | 3R | 4R | SF | A | SF | A |
| Charleston | 12-5 | 0 / 5 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | F | SF | 3R | SF | A | 3R | A |
| Berlin | 5-0 | 1 / 1 | A | A | W | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Rome | 21-5 | 2 / 7 | A | A | W | F | F | A | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | A | W | A | A | 2R |
| Toronto/Montreal | 31-3 | 4 / 7 | A | A | A | A | F | A | A | W | W | W | W | F | A | SF | A | A |
| Moscow | 3-1 | 0 / 1 | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | A | F | A | A | A | A | A |
| Finalist | 32 | N/A | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Titles Won | 53 | N/A | 0 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Overall Win-Loss | 595-122 | N/A | 5-3 | 33-8 | 54-6 | 74-6 | 70-5 | 17-2 | 0-0 | 11-1 | 47-8 | 45-13 | 46-13 | 38-13 | 58-13 | 40-10 | 47-14 | 10-7 |
| Year End Ranking | N/A | N/A | 86 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | - | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 60 |
NH = tournament not held
A = did not participate in the tournament
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
1 The Indian Wells tournament achieved Tier I status only in 1996.
[edit] WTA Tour career earnings
| Year | Majors | WTA wins | Total wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 1,637,222 | 2 |
| 1991 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2,422,206 | 1 |
| 1992 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2,622,352 | 1 |
| 1993 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 437,588 | 16 |
| 1994 | DNP | ||||
| 1995 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 397,010 | 16 |
| 1996 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1,154,499 | 5 |
| 1997 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 914,020 | 5 |
| 1998 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1,021,672 | 6 |
| 1999 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 744,741 | 8 |
| 2000 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1,140,850 | 5 |
| 2001 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 627,211 | 15 |
| 2002 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1,096,630 | 8 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 276,213 | 38 |
| Career | 9 | 44 | 53 | 14,891,762 | 8 |
[edit] Trivia
- Seles was the first female tennis player to win her first six Grand Slam singles finals: 1990 French Open, 1991 Australian Open, 1991 French Open, 1991 U.S. Open, 1992 Australian Open, and 1992 French Open.
- Seles won the first five set women's singles match in many years, in 1990 against Gabriela Sabatini at the year end WTA Tour Championships.
- Until her loss to Martina Hingis at the 1999 Australian Open, Seles had a perfect record at the event (33-0), which is the longest undefeated streak for this tournament.
- Seles was the first female player since Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling in 1937 to win the women's singles title three consecutive years at the French Open. Chris Evert, however, won the title four consecutive times she played the tournament (1974, 1975, 1979, and 1980).
- Seles' final against Martina Navratilova at the 1991 U.S. Open was the only all left-handed women's singles final of a Grand Slam event.
- The age gap between Seles (17 years old) and Navratilova (34 years old) at the 1991 U.S. Open was the largest in a Grand Slam women's singles final.
- Seles appeared on the sitcom "The Nanny" as herself.
- Seles won the inaugural Sanex Hero of the Year award in 2002. This award was voted by fans around the world.
- Singer/songwriter Dan Bern has a song about Seles on his "Fifty Eggs" album entitled "Monica."
[edit] References
<references />
[edit] External links
- WTA Tour profile for Monica Seles
- Fed Cup record
- Monica Seles unofficial website
- Monica Seles Site -unofficial website, has Video clips of her matches and a very active forum
[edit] See also
| Preceded by: Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf | World No. 1 March 11, 1991 - August 4, 1991 August 12, 1991 - August 18, 1991 September 9, 1991 - June 6, 1993 August 15, 1995 - November 3, 1996 (with Graf) November 18, 1996 - November 24, 1996 (with Graf) | Succeeded by: Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf |
| Preceded by: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario | WTA Most Improved Player 1990 | Succeeded by: Gabriela Sabatini |
| Preceded by: Steffi Graf | WTA Player of the Year 1991-1992 | Succeeded by: Steffi Graf |
| Preceded by: Steffi Graf | ITF World Champion 1991-1992 | Succeeded by: Steffi Graf |
| Preceded by: Meredith McGrath | WTA Comeback Player of the Year 1995 | Succeeded by: Jennifer Capriati |
| Preceded by: Mary Pierce | WTA Comeback Player of the Year 1998 | Succeeded by: Sabine Appelmans |
Categories: 1973 births | Living people | People of Vojvodina | People from Novi Sad | Yugoslav tennis players | American tennis players | Hungarian-Americans | Naturalized citizens of the United States | Australian Open champions | French Open champions | US Open champions | Olympic tennis players of the United States | Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics | Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics | Olympic bronze medalists | The Nanny actors
