Streaking Seles Dispatches Graf

MELBOURNE, Australia —  Even continued perfection at the Australian Open could not make Monica Seles truly appreciate her breakthrough victory against 10th-seeded Steffi Graf of Germany on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

After the 7-5, 6-1 win over Graf, the sixth-seeded Seles refused to acknowledge the victory was anything special even though this was the first time she had defeated Graf since 1993. Perhaps reflection is too painful, considering the long history between the two players, their intense rivalry and all the heavy personal baggage.

Or maybe Seles is simply content to look forward, scrutinizing the new kids on the block, or at least the new players at the top. In Thursday’s semifinals, she will play second-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland.

“Steffi is not the best player in the world,” Seles said. “It’s Lindsay [Davenport] and Martina. So, it’s a different level they are playing now.”

Hingis, the two-time defending champion here, looked sharp in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over seventh-seeded Mary Pierce of France, who said she was suffering from a pulled stomach muscle.

In the first semifinal, top-seeded Davenport of Newport Beach will face Amelie Mauresmo of France.

“Centre Court is my, like, home court here,” Hingis said. “When I played on [Court] No. 1, I feel so small there [in the fourth round] because the crowd is much closer, and today I just had more air to breathe out there.”

Graf looked as if she was stifled on Centre Court. Certainly, the old Graf would not have collapsed the way she did in the quarterfinals, losing eight consecutive games. She served for the first set at 5-4 and promptly lost the next three games, winning only three points in that span.

Seles, always a tough front-runner, kept on blasting away, as if she expected Graf to mount a comeback.

The four-time Australian Open champion is now 33-0 here, and she refused to let Graf sneak back into the match. “Two months ago, when I played her in [the Chase] Championships, I won the first set, 6-1, and I had the match in hand and I lost it,” Seles said. “With Steffi, until you shake hands, the match is not over.”

Said Graf: “I just lost momentum totally and . . . I just thought too much about it and at the beginning of the second set. I just couldn’t put a ball in the court any more. But she obviously played very well.

Inexplicably, the 29-year-old Graf said she felt exhausted at 5-4. She could not remember losing eight straight games--anywhere.

‘No, it doesn’t [happen], thank God,” she said. “I have no idea why. Obviously, I got tight and nervous, but I don’t know why I couldn’t change it around any more. I couldn’t focus on the next point. I was just throwing the balls all over, and I just didn’t know what to do any more.”

Seles knew that there was no alternate plan for Graf to consider, no slowing of her rapid pace.

“Steffi will never do that,” she said. “It’s just Steffi’s personality. She is going to go quick and go about her business.”

That was about as reflective as Seles was going to get. This was their 14th meeting--Graf leads the series, 9-5--and Seles said it did not feel like old times, not even considering all their meetings on so many big occasions.

“Not for me,” she said. “I just went in there and played the ball. I really get a special feeling when I play any top players.”

On the men’s side, American Vince Spadea, who had never advanced past the fourth round of a Grand Slam event, could not sustain the momentum of his earlier victory against Andre Agassi. Tommy Haas of Germany defeated Spadea, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 6-3, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

He could not take advantage of a weary Haas.

“I’ve been a little tired and my legs were beginning to cramp up, so I had to be careful,” said the 20-year Haas, who will play either 15th-seeded Todd Martin or 10th-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia in the semifinals.

The biggest surprise of the tournament has been 22-year-old Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador. Lapentti, ranked No. 91, upset seventh-seeded Karol Kucera of Slovakia in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (8-6), 6-2, 0-6, 8-6. The three-hour, 18-minute match ended early Wednesday morning.

“On Centre Court, all the crowd was cheering and screaming and just having a good time,” Lapentti said. “I just loved it out there last night. It was definitely the best experience of my life.”