Silent Seles' shot at Grand Slam quieted by Graf
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Sunday, July 5, 1992
Steve Wilstein, Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England - No grunt, no Grand Slam.
A muted Monica Seles gave in to her critics and melted silently in the rain yesterday as Steffi Graf hummed to her fourth Wimbledon title, 6-2, 6-1.
It took nearly 51/2 hours to play 58 minutes of tennis in a match that was interrupted three times by rain and finally ended in the gloom of a dark gray evening at 7:29 p.m.
"There's been so much talk about that grunting, maybe it got to her and it bothered her," Graf said.
This women's final was the first to be played on Wimbledon 's equivalent of the U.S. Open's Super Saturday, when the men's semifinals are bunched together for a day-night extravaganza.
Like Samson shorn, Seles seemed powerless without her trademark grunts. Her game lacked rhythm and accuracy as she wandered the court aimlessly with a distracted, frustrated frown.
Graf, perfectly relaxed and strong as ever, did her part to spoil Seles' bid for a third major title this year and a chance to match the Grand Slam that Graf achieved in 1988.
Chasing down shots from corner to corner, putting away winners on the run, whacking back killer returns and serving hard and deep, Graf might have beaten Seles even with the grunts.
"I just hoped I could start somewhere, so I felt maybe I could start here in the finals," Seles said of her ill-timed attempt to muffle herself and change a habit that has been with her for years.
But she didn't use it as an excuse.
"I don't win my matches because of grunting," she said, "I don't lose to Steffi today because I was not grunting."
Seles' high-pitched braying - U-n-n-h-h-H-E-E-E-E!!!!! - on almost all her shots in previous matches brought criticism from rivals, warnings from officials and ridicule in the British press.
As she stepped onto Centre Court for her first Wimbledon final, fans in the stands carried tabloids that called her "Public Enemy No. 1" and "Little Miss Grunt." One paper bannered: "Monica: I Will Beat The Hate Mob," while another asked, "Will They Have The Courage To Silence Monica?"
Even one of the highbrow papers commented loftily, "We must trust that she learns to curb the sound effects before the women's game begins to go the way of all-in wrestling."
Seles sounded overwhelmed by it all.
"Every day, the papers, the headlines, the gruntometers and everything - a lot of people making such a big fuss," she said. "I'm not the only one who's doing it, and I thought why are they picking on me?
"When I was in the locker room and read my letters, 95 percent of the people said, `Don't listen to them.' So I'm in the middle now. I don't know which way to go. Even if I don't keep grunting . . . it's such an issue."
Giving up the grunts may have pleased the aesthetes and Graf, but the 18-year-old Seles paid a high price for her sacrifice.
She had won the past five Grand Slam events she entered, missing only last year's Wimbledon because of shin splints, and taking 41 consecutive Grand Slam matches.
But this was one of the worst defeats of her career, and the most lopsided women's final at Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova beat Andrea Jaeger, 6-0, 6-3, in 1983.
Graf began the match with authority, holding service at love, and never relented even through all the delays. Jumping on Seles' unusually short serves and putting pressure on her in long rallies, Graf broke her to take a 3-1 lead. Seles accommodated with an abundance of errors, including a mis-hit forehand on break point.
Graf's backhand slice kept the ball low on the moist grass, making it difficult for Seles to pick up. Seles prefers the high bouncing balls on clay and hard courts and still is learning the nuances of grass-court play. That was especially evident against Graf, an expert on this surface.
Graf's variety of shots - slices and topspins from both sides - her angled, inside-out forehands, drops and lobs, exasperated Seles more than the rain.
Graf moved Seles around like a puppet, bringing her in, then sending her back, moving her from one side to another. Graf ended that one-sided opening set with a perfect forehand crosscourt pass after drawing Seles in on a short backhand that clipped the net cord.
The first rain delay, which lasted 47 minutes, came with Graf leading 1-0 in the second set. The players returned to play at 3:31 p.m., got in five points in two minutes, then were chased away again by rain.
They came back again at 5:20 p.m., and this time managed to get in a few more games.
Graf, closing in on her second consecutive championship, led 6-2, 4-1, with Seles to serve at 15-30 when the match was halted for the third time. Nearly two hours later, they returned to the court, given bouquets of flowers, then set about to finish it up.
Seles took the next point, but then netted a forehand for the first of four break points. On the last, she netted an easy backhand to fall behind 5-1.
With charcoal clouds scudding overhead, Graf didn't risk another delay. A fan offered encouragment as she stepped up to serve, yelling with a German accent, "Just do it!" She did.
Seles took the first point on a superb lunging backhand return crosscourt, then watched Graf sweep through the final four points.
Everything Graf hit was near perfect, even her mistakes. She mis-hit a forehand, and it angled crosscourt for a winner. She smacked a deep serve that Seles drove into the net. Graf hit a forehand deep into the corner, and it clipped Seles' outstretched racket edge to set up championship point at 40-15. And in a blink of an eye it was over, Graf serving an ace up the middle that Seles just stared at, again in silence.