Seles Recapturing Her Past

One of the few times Monica Seles seemed like the Monica Seles of old at the French Open was when she was asked about an intense practice session in the second week of the tournament.

It appeared her legendary powers of concentration and intensity were back. She looked like the Seles who often had practice partners begging for mercy . . . and oxygen.

Asked about the practice, Seles started giggling. For a rare minute, she was the carefree, giggly kid, not the somber 24-year-old who has been haunted by tragedies.

This was a small clue about the upcoming seismic event on the women’s tour in 1998. Seles dispatched the top-seeded Martina Hingis with such ease and power in the French Open semifinals--losing only five games in 69 minutes--the startling development caused something of a ripple effect.

For Seles, it was the best she had played since the death of her father and coach Karolj in mid-May.

“In terms of my game, mentally, everything coming together, I would say that match was the one,” Seles said. “I think there were bits and periods against Jana [Novotna] at the French. But I would probably say the Martina match [was the best].”

For Hingis, it was the start of a small crisis of confidence, as she lost in the Wimbledon semifinals to Novotna and lost in inexplicable fashion to Mary Pierce in the semifinals at La Costa after holding three match points.

“I didn’t feel great after that match,” Hingis said of the loss to Pierce. “Because I knew I could have won, not only once but two, three times I had that match in my pocket, I still didn’t make it. That’s the good thing about tennis--you’ve got next week, upcoming tournaments--you can always make better next time.”

Hingis and Seles won their second-round matches Wednesday at the Acura Classic at Manhattan Country Club at Manhattan Beach. The top-seeded Hingis of Switzerland defeated Iva Majoli of Croatia, 6-3, 6-3, and the fourth-seeded Seles had little trouble against Barbara Paulus of Austria, winning, 6-1, 6-2, in 49 minutes.

The one-sided semifinal at the French Open seemed to have had more repercussions for Hingis than Seles. A message was sent, and the rest of the tour appeared to be listening, sensing a small opening at the top. Seles had shown Hingis could be overpowered.

“Last year was different because nobody really expected me to do as well as I did,” Hingis said. “This year, I have to defend all the tournaments I won last year. Going into the tournaments there’ll be some pressure. The players got better and stronger. It’s also different in women’s tennis than it was last year.”

As for Seles, she has been slowed by a back injury. She has been suffering from stiffness and back spasms since the Federation Cup last month, and considered withdrawing from Manhattan Beach. But after losing to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals at La Costa, Seles had additional treatment and the back felt better.

“I’m going to play it by ear, if it gets really bad, I’m not going to play,” she said. “But as long as it’s improving--and I can keep playing, I will. Because I really feel I need some matches before the [U.S.]Open [at the end of this month]. I need some close matches like last week.”

Last year, Seles hit her stride a bit early, winning at Manhattan Beach.

“I think I peaked so well at this tournament,” she said. “I hope this year I can delay it a little bit and not go into the Open as tired as I was last year. It’s easier said than done.”

Another of the walking wounded from La Costa was not as lucky. Pierce, who was hobbled by an groin injury in the Toshiba final, was forced to withdraw from Manhattan Beach.

During practice, Pierce suffered a right groin strain shortly before the final Sunday. “We practiced last night and she was still having difficulty with her movement,” said Pierce’s coach, Michael de Jongh. Pierce is still expected to play in Montreal next week.

Her spot in the draw was taken by lucky loser Elena Tatarkova of Ukraine. Tatarkova, who lost in qualifying, made the most of her break, defeating Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia in a first-round match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

The hardest-fought, second-round match was between third-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain and Ai Sugiyama of Japan. Sanchez Vicario, the French Open champion, defeated Sugiyama, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours 27 minutes.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Today’s Featured Matches

All but last match are second-round matches:

STADIUM COURT, 11 A.M.

* Natasha Zvereva (8)

vs. Magui Serna.

* Sandrine Testud (7)

vs. Serena Williams.

* Irina Spirlea (6)

vs. Elena Tatarkova.

STADIUM COURT, 7 P.M.

* Lindsay Davenport (2)

vs. Julie Halard-Decugis.

(Quarterfinal Match)

* Monica Seles (4)

vs. Nathalie Tauziat (5).