Seles not ready to pack it in
Former great has her eyes on Open
By Cindy Shmerler, Globe Correspondent | July 10, 2004

MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- In the garage of Monica Seles's Sarasota, Fla.,
home sit unopened cartons of tennis trophies. There is the 1990
French Open Coupe -- the first of her three Roland Garros triumphs --
and the 1996 Australian Open prize. That one was special because it
was Seles's first major victory following nearly 2 1/2 years away
from the game because of an on-court stabbing in 1993. Neither of
her two US Open trophies are anywhere to be seen, either.

Years ago, Seles promised not to open the boxes and decorate her
home until her playing career, begun in February 1989 at age 15, was
officially over. During the last injury-filled year, Seles, 30, was
pretty sure retirement was imminent. She had not played
competitively since she lost in the first round of the 2003 French
Open to 76th-ranked Nadia Petrova of Russia.

"Sure, I thought about it a lot," said Seles last night as she
prepared to play for the New York Sportimes of World TeamTennis, the
summer league founded by Billie Jean King that attracts a mixture of
young stars (such as Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova and US Davis
Cuppers Mike and Bob Bryan), former greats such as Seles, Martina
Navratilova, and Patrick Rafter, and breakthrough-hopefuls such as
2002 NCAA champion Bea Bielik and Anna Kournikova. "It was so
frustrating to keep thinking that I would be able to play and then
not be able to. There were a lot of lows, but I also realized that
even if I can't play again that I've had a great career and
hopefully I'll still be able to play recreationally."

Seles has spent much of the last year in rehab, including four
months with her left foot in a cast, the result of a painful
sesamoid bone that required no surgery but plenty of time off.
Seles, who has missed the last five majors, said she is finally
playing without pain. With World TeamTennis her first competitive
play in more than a year, she is planning to make a comeback at the
US Open next month in New York. She hopes to play her only warm-up
event at the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven the week before the
Open.

While she has missed the day-to-day competition and is realistic
about returning to world prominence, Seles has spent little time
watching her fellow WTA players. She went to Wimbledon once, on a
day play was cancelled because of rain. But she is still impressed
by Sharapova and Anastasia Myskina, the French Open champ.

"You have to give a lot of credit to the Russians," said Seles. "For
Sharapova to beat Serena [Williams] on her favorite surface [grass]
was very impressive."

Seles looked fit and trim on the court last night, even if her
ground strokes, once the most feared in the game, looked jaunty
opposite the blistering power of 15-year-old Russian Viktoriya
Kutuzova. While the crowd of nearly 2,000 gave her a warm reception,
Seles was clearly far from the player who won nine majors and 53
tournaments in her career. Still, the fan-friendly atmosphere of
World TeamTennis (spectators are encouraged to cheer between points
and on-court promotions involving the players are the norm) brought
a smile to Seles's face. The joy of being back on the court was
evident. Those boxes in her garage? Looks like they'll remain taped
shut just a little longer.

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.