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The making of Monica

Ten years after her shocking stabbing, Monica Seles still has her
sights set on titles. Angela Buxton talks to the top US coach Nick
Bollettieri about what makes Seles great.

It hardly seems possible that this December Monica Seles will hit 30,
and that this month marks the 10th anniversary of her stabbing in
Hamburg - a traumatic event that threatened to end her career. In the
end, horrifying though it was, it proved merely a punctuation point in
an enduring career.

Twelve years have flown by since the giggling, grunting teenager from
Yugoslavia first thumped her way to the top of the women's rankings.
Who would have predicted her longevity? Perhaps not Monica. At the age
of 18, with Steffi Graf her only serious rival, she innocently
declared that she'd be done with tennis by the time she was 25.

"I'll become an actress," she told the world. "I'll be another Grace
Kelly, or Marlene Dietrich, or perhaps Julia Roberts or Michelle
Pfeiffer - anything but a stick-figure in a cartoon." She was
referring to her cartoonist father Karolj, who liked to portray her
this way. He also invented a cartoon rabbit to teach her the basics of
tennis shots.

Hollywood is still waiting. That, at 29, Seles is still ranked in the
world's top 10 and still feels she has a real chance of winning major
events is a testament to her UNSTINTING DETERMINATION, DEEP-SEATED
SELF-BELIEF and PURE LOVE OF THE GAME. These are qualities nurtured
from a young age by her father who acted as her motivator, coach and
mentor. Right up to his death in May 1998 he was never far from her
side.

In 1986 when Karolj was working as a successful professional
cartoonist and graphic designer in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, he made a
decision that was pivotal to Monica's career. He accepted an all
expenses paid invitation to send the 12-year-old Monica and her elder
brother Zoltan to the world famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in
Bradenton, Florida.

Soon after their arrival Bollettieri started restructuring Monica's
game. Her unorthodox two-fisted drives off both wings which had
attracted so much attention at international junior events were
converted to one-handed strokes.

When he learned what was going on, Karolj was furious. Although not a
wealthy man, he ditched his job in Novi Sad and, taking his wife
Ester, followed his children to Florida. He immediately announced that
he would act as Monica's coach from then on.

"What you are born with - that is how you play! As a child you picked
up the tennis racket with two hands and were always comfortable that
way. Therefore it was meant to be that way!" This is arguably Mr
Seles' most important legacy to tennis coaching.

Although Bollettieri and his team contributed many on-court hours and
were available day and night for the Seles family, there was
underlying resentment.

Bollettieri was by then paying all the family's expenses, but Karolj
was still hard to please. The antipathy escalated to such a degree
that after three years of trying to work together, Bollettieri closed
his courts to them.

By this time, 15-year-old Monica had just won her first professional
title in Houston, beating the great Chris Evert. By the end of 1989
she was ranked No.6 in the world and well on her way to becoming a
millionairess several times over. Years later, Papa Seles explains
away the difficult Bollettieri years by saying: "It was a marriage of
convenience. We benefited from their facilities. He benefited from the
publicity."

At 72, Nick Bollettieri is busier than ever, still working a 12-hour
day developing champions. He insists all is well between him and
Monica and her family. In fact, Monica visits the academy regularly
and travels with one of Bollettieri's coaches, Andre Bubik, with his
blessing.

Here, exclusively for _ace_, Nick Bollettieri shares his thoughts on
Monica Seles's strengths.


The coach's view of Seles
NICK BOLLETTIERI ON WHAT MAKES MONICA AN ENDURING CHAMPION

MONICA'S ATTITUDE

Ever noticed her facial expression? It never changes. Monica should
have been a poker player. Don't ever expect `to read' Seles. You'll
lose your pants! She's like Michael Jordan in basketball. If he misses
seven penalty shots, then you look at his face and you think he's just
made seven in a row!

Her competitiveness and concentration just take over. Also, she has an
attitude that is second to none. She just never gives up. It makes no
difference how old she is. She still believes she can do it.

So if you have that, plus the ability to capitalise on opportunities
as she does, you are always in with a chance. She never lets you off
the hook. Other players may have opportunities, but they don't take
advantage of them. She still knows how to come after you. You give her
just a little opening and she's going to get you.

Finally, when she is down, don't ever wait for Monica to give you the
match because she's not ever going to do that. If you don't beat her,
she will beat you in the long run.

MONICA'S STYLE OF PLAY

The reason she is still able to compete is because she hits the ball
so darn early. If she was back behind the baseline it would be much
more difficult for her. She's improved her serve in recent years too,
and is in great shape again.

When she first arrived at the academy at the age of 12 I was struck by
her unorthodox style. She stood inside the baseline all the time and
returned serve so well. Hell, that was new stuff back in the Eighties.

That standing inside the baseline made her even more aggressive. She
never pushed the ball. She never believed in keeping the ball in play.
She believed in hitting winners. She tried to put every shot away.
This helped her become a great tennis player, but a terrible hitting
partner!

Her brother Zoltan worked all day long with her. Unfortunately he
didn't get much credit for that. But he was a workhorse and
contributed a lot.

Her biggest strength that I developed in her was the drive volley.
People thought I was crazy trying to teach it because it was high risk
and so very different from the punch volley, which was mainly being
taught then. But she would not come to the net. So I encouraged her to
step just a little further into the court in order to take a swing at
it.

MONICA'S WORK ETHIC

It was like she'd come from another planet when Monica first arrived
at the academy. She was so tenacious and determined. She hit the ball
so early. Her feet never stopped. This was all very important to me.
I'd never seen anything like that before.

We worked eight to 10 hours a day from the beginning. It didn't matter
to her which day it was. It could be Monday, Saturday or Sunday or
even Christmas Day. Heck, it was all the same to Monica. It all came
from her absolute love of the game.

She had no idea how long she was on court. She didn't give a damn,
either, whether it was day or night. Wind, rain or excessive summer
heat made no difference to her. She just wanted to be out working on
her game.

I don't believe a wristwatch would have done her any good. At one
stage she didn't play a match for year. All she wanted to do was
practise and perfect her shots.

If you ever want to be Monica's coach, you have to be prepared to work
just like her. She always demands high things. Have you ever heard
doctors say that they are on call 24 hours a day? Well, that's how you
have to be with Monica Seles.

MONICA AS A PERSON

If you're ever to be associated with Monica, you need to learn to keep
your mouth shut off the court such as during interviews. When people
ask questions, you have to learn to say nothing. She's a very
confidential person. She never speaks about other people either. She's
a no-nonsense person who likes to keep herself to herself.

My lasting feeling of Monica is that despite all the problems early on
I was well compensated by knowing that I was able to help one of the
most competitive athletes of our time.


SELES'S TOP SHOTS

BACKHAND: A bludgeoning shot, hit early with slight topspin to
maintain control. Can be demoralisingly effective.

SERVE: Seles actually serves much better nowadays than in her heyday.
A fairly high toss, but struck with severity.

FOREHAND: The backhand in reverse. A handicap is that, if drawn wide,
she hasn't got time to get both hands on the racket.

DRIVE VOLLEY: A shot which used to make coaches shudder, it suited
Seles because she was always reluctant to go to net.


When the pressure got to her

Seles won eight Grand Slam titles during her peak years (1990-1993),
but never triumphed at Wimbledon. Her best chance came in 1992, the
only time she reached the final, but this was when controversy over
her loud exhalation when she hit the ball ("grunting") reached fever
pitch. After complaints by two of her opponents, referee Alan Mills
had a word.

The media invented a `gruntometer' for the final against Steffi Graf.
Seles was clearly affected by all the fuss, suppressed the grunt and
lost 6-2 6-1. Karolj Seles reacted angrily, saying, "Graf did not
defeat Monica so much as the pressure on her to suppress her very
nature. She was made to silence her famous grunt during the most
important match of her career."

Monica herself said recently: "I don't wish to be remembered as the
grunter - or even the girl who got stabbed. Wimbledon is still very
special to me as it's the one Grand Slam I never won."