Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 7, 1995 TAG: 9506070078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It is time, she has decided, to move on, to put the knife attack in the past permanently, to return to the tennis courts she once ruled.
Whether she will be dominant again, whether the mental toughness she had still is there, whether she is physically ready after such a long layoff - those are questions she will begin to answer when she takes her racket in hand again for an exhibition match against Martina Navratilova on July 29.
``This is a first step forward for me,'' Seles said in a teleconference Tuesday from her home in Sarasota, Fla., as she apparently set the stage for a return to the women's tour. ``It's been a difficult couple of years. I'm so excited. I'm very much looking forward to playing Martina again and starting to do something I really love to do.''
She giggled like the Seles of old, sounding happy and relieved, now that the weight of making the decision had been lifted.
She didn't say, though, whether the made-for-TV match on CBS is a prelude to an appearance a month later at the U.S. Open in New York, where she won two of her eight Grand Slam titles. She's thinking about it, but isn't committing yet.
Officials of the U.S. Tennis Association and the Women's Tennis Association Tour said they haven't been told of Seles' plans. But the statement Tuesday by CBS and Seles' representatives strongly indicated the 21-year-old does, indeed, plan to play again on the women's circuit.
``No announcement has yet been made about the WTA tour events in which Seles will compete,'' the statement said.
No site has been chosen for the match with Navratilova, but it is likely to be in the East, because Navratilova is playing Team Tennis in New Jersey the same weekend. Seles, a former chairwoman of the WTA's Special Olympics Committee, also will appear at the Special Olympics World Games in New Haven, Conn., on July 8 to conduct a clinic.
Seles, 21, was No.1 in the WTA computer rankings for more than two years before she was stabbed by an obsessed fan of rival Steffi Graf during a changeover April 30, 1993, in Hamburg, Germany.
``This is a great opportunity for me to play Monica one more time before I completely retire,'' said Navratilova, who quit singles competition in November but continues to play doubles, exhibitions and Team Tennis.
by CNB