It Was Twenty Years Ago Today...

Today marks the 20th anniversary of that event, one that changed the course of sports history and radically altered lives, chiefly that of a ferocious ball striker and otherwise sunny person. The moment superseded sport. It affected security at major events of all kinds—sporting, political, festive, somber. It was a stark, violent reminder of the presence of evil in this world, and the consequences of mental derangement, whether alleged or all too real.

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/04/20-years-later-remembering-monica-seless-stabbing/47277/#.UX_77spGTIU

Very sad indeed poor Seles never recovered she was on an epic tear at the time. Really soiled the wonderful relationship between tennis fans and players

I was a huge Steffi fan and wanted her to win Monica in all battles but not this one and this way, Seles was a great player and the stabbing means a player's career and the way at which the sport is seen is spoiled.

There have been several other intruder scenes inside the courts in Tennis but this one is the worst and will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. I certainly didnt think it was 1993, I was like 5-6 years old around that time but I did witness the event in TV when watching with my parents.

Aside from the actual stabbing itself, the saddest thing to me, was that all other players aside from Gabriela Sabatini, did not want to give any concessions to Seles with regards to her ranking.

The next issue for me - when that happened, and the verdict came in - all women tennis players, if not all sportwomen, should have totally boycotted Germany, until there was a better judgement.

It was a travesty in every "area" that the reactions were, what they were.

Monica could very well have become the most prolific Major singles winner the game had ever seen. She had Graf's measure, and was in her head, and everyone else lost when the draw was made.

Tennis was robbed, Seles was treated appallingly by peers and court system, and Germany made itself look like a banana Republic. Most of all though was the lack of humanity from the players and the German court system - it truly beggared belief.

yloponom68 wrote:Aside from the actual stabbing itself, the saddest thing to me, was that all other players aside from Gabriela Sabatini, did not want to give any concessions to Seles with regards to her ranking.

The next issue for me - when that happened, and the verdict came in - all women tennis players, if not all sportwomen, should have totally boycotted Germany, until there was a better judgement.

It was a travesty in every "area" that the reactions were, what they were.

Monica could very well have become the most prolific Major singles winner the game had ever seen. She had Graf's measure, and was in her head, and everyone else lost when the draw was made.

Tennis was robbed, Seles was treated appallingly by peers and court system, and Germany made itself look like a banana Republic. Most of all though was the lack of humanity from the players and the German court system - it truly beggared belief.

I agree totally. In fact the tournament continued despite the stabbing. How could players continue to play when one of their fellow competitors was a victim of such a terrible crime? How could they have continued to "play" once this had happened and one of their fellow competitors was removed from the competition by someone attempting to murder her? The added twist was that the "winner" was Graff. This was exactly the result that the perverted criminal was attempting to get. The whole story beggars belief...

The players were in a difficult position. Freeze her rankings and then what? She wasnt going to retun & play like world number 1-3. It was highly unfair, but I dont think the alternative made any sense. The world, sadly moves on, and as unfortunate as the incident was, I dont think the players deserve the cop they got.

The tournament organisers on the other hand...

Seles' most recent book is a good read. Alas, her previous one is out of print, I believe - I browsed it in the bookshop many years ago.

yloponom68 wrote:Aside from the actual stabbing itself, the saddest thing to me, was that all other players aside from Gabriela Sabatini, did not want to give any concessions to Seles with regards to her ranking.

The next issue for me - when that happened, and the verdict came in - all women tennis players, if not all sportwomen, should have totally boycotted Germany, until there was a better judgement.

It was a travesty in every "area" that the reactions were, what they were.

Monica could very well have become the most prolific Major singles winner the game had ever seen. She had Graf's measure, and was in her head, and everyone else lost when the draw was made.
Tennis was robbed, Seles was treated appallingly by peers and court system, and Germany made itself look like a banana Republic. Most of all though was the lack of humanity from the players and the German court system - it truly beggared belief.

This does seem to be the dominant narrative nowadays. I corrected someone on the GOAT thread when they asserted that Seles had been 'owning' Graf when the stabbing took place. Actually the reality was very different. Graf had won 3 of the previous 5 meetings leading up to that incident. Their 3 slam meetings just prior to the stabbing were 2-1 in Seles's favour with both of Sele's victories requiring three sets including a 10-8 at the FO. Graf won the W final 6-2, 6-1.

Not at any point in their careers was Steffi down in the h2h, not before the stabbing or after. Likewise she was never down in the slam h2h.

People tend to forget that Seles's brief ascendence corresponded with a slump in form for Steffi. Her father was being investigated by the police at the time and she was losing to all and sundry including Sabbatini and Sanchez Vicario, both of who she totally dominated subsequent to and after this slump.

So whilst I do believe that Seles may have taken a few more slams off Steffi I don't believe for a moment that she would have dominated her. For me Steffi was always the better player and would eventually have cemented her superiority over Seles; it was just a case of her getting her act together, and when she did, she thoroughly dominated.

Steffi was a better athlete, fitter, faster. She had a better serve, a better FH and better volleys.



emancipator

emancipator wrote:

This does seem to be the dominant narrative nowadays. I corrected someone on the GOAT thread when they asserted that Seles had been 'owning' Graf when the stabbing took place. Actually the reality was very different. Graf had won 3 of the previous 5 meetings leading up to that incident. Their 3 slam meetings just prior to the stabbing were 2-1 in Seles's favour with both of Sele's victories requiring three sets including a 10-8 at the FO. Graf won the W final 6-2, 6-1.

Not at any point in their careers was Steffi down in the h2h, not before the stabbing or after. Likewise she was never down in the slam h2h.

People tend to forget that Seles's brief ascendence corresponded with a slump in form for Steffi. Her father was being investigated by the police at the time and she was losing to all and sundry including Sabbatini and Sanchez Vicario, both of who she totally dominated subsequent to and after this slump.

So whilst I do believe that Seles may have taken a few more slams off Steffi I don't believe for a moment that she would have dominated her. For me Steffi was always the better player and would eventually have cemented her superiority over Seles; it was just a case of her getting her act together, and when she did, she thoroughly dominated.

Steffi was a better athlete, fitter, faster. She had a better serve, a better FH and better volleys.



emancipator

You do realize that Seles was 19 at the time of the stabbing? Her "brief" ascendance was due to her age! This is their H2H prior to the stabbing.

1989 FO Graff won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
1989 Wimbledon Graff won 6-0, 6-1
1989 Brighton Graff won 7-5, 6-4
1990 Berlin Seles won 6-4, 6-3
1990 FO Seles won 7-6 6-4
1991 US Hard court championships Graff won 6-4, 6-3
1991 Hamburg Graff won 7-5, 6-7, 6-3
1992 FO Seles won 6-2, 3-6, 10-8
1992 Wimbledon Graff won 6-2, 6-1
1993 AO Seles won 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

I'm going to remove the matches played in 1989 because Seles was 15 at the time!

The H2H is then 4-3 in Seles favor. But I'm also going to remove the 1992 Wimbledon final as Seles was beaten not by Graff but by the vicious British media. Seles was treated appallingly as she was attacked for the noise she made on court. As a result she was so inhibited in that final she was unable to play. She was 18 at the time. The bias and nastiness still leaves a horrible taste. The Wimbledon darling was Steffi and they got their way... The other two matches Graff won were minor tournaments including ironically Hamburg.

But it is not just H2H that show a champions quality. Seles at just 19 held 9 slam titles (3 AO's, 3 FO's and 2 US Opens). Watching her play I had no doubt she was a better player than Graff. Graff got "lucky" that the record books don't show this. To me Seles stabbing is one of the most shocking stories in sport. That the criminal "succeeded" in his evil plan is beyond belief.

I have to agree that the German justice system failed miserably, that guy should still be waiting to see the light of day.