Exclusive Interview: Monica Seles, A Shining Star

Monica Seles doesn't have secretaries. She doesn't have personal assistants. She doesn't have liaisons or lackeys, or go-betweens. She's the type of person who leaves messages on your machine. She's the type of person who when she can't reach you, calls until she does -without a trace of annoyance or impatience.

Everything about Monica is disarming. On the tennis court, the intensity burns in her eyes like a tiger catching up to its prey. She whispers to herself in between points, urging herself to step up the killer instinct one more notch. And when Monica is playing her best tennis, it's smothering. She doesn't let you up for air. It's a demolition of the highest quality.

But off the tennis court, Monica Seles is so gentle that you almost have to laugh at the disparity. She giggles, she smiles, she's perpetually upbeat. By the end of my interview with her, I understood why Monica--one of the most famous athletes in the world--left her own message on my answering machine. It's because Monica has no fronts, no walls around her. She lives simply and honestly.

Over the summer, a sports club I worked for held an essay contest for youth regarding their personal heroes--people who inspire them to do better everyday. The idea to interview Seles came when I noticed that even though she wasn't the subject of the most letters, her fans were undoubtedly the most passionate.

Seles' supporters truly believe that she is not only a role model for tennis, but a role model for life. Scanning the letters, it was clear how much Monica means to her fans-- "she's an angel, "she deserves everything in life," "she is an example for all of us," "she's an amazing hero." Confronted with those descriptions of her, Monica becomes quiet for a second.

"Oh that's just so sweet. My God. That's so nice, so sweet."

But there's still so much to be written. After all, Monica is only 25 years old and she likes to think that her best tennis is ahead of her. It's easy to forget that she's still so young when you realize the depth of her experience. She grew up in front of the world as a superstar-- a multimillionaire by age 14.

My earliest memory of Monica Seles is turning on the TV when I was ten and seeing a tiny 15 year-old girl romping around and grunting away at the French Open, having her way with a much more experienced Steffi Graf. No fear, no nerves, no intimidation. Just pure intensity. I've been a fan ever since.

But Monica is twelve years older now. And things have changed. From April 1993 to August 1995, she endured a two-and-a-half year (forced) layoff after being stabbed by a deranged Graf fan in Hamburg. The perpetrator was never convicted. And right after she recovered and the light at the end of the tunnel seemed within her grasp, her father (and coach, confidante, best friend) passed away after a prolonged bout with stomach cancer.

But the press tends to forget that. Reading transcripts of the many interviews over the past few years, I'm stunned by how many times reporters ask her, "So how close do you think you are to regaining your form from 1991 and '92?" When I ask her if she gets frustrated or angry by the comparisons, she sighs. "You know, I don't like to look back and that's why the comparisons sometimes bother me. I really believe that what's gone is gone and I don't like to look back at the past."

But day after day, match after match, Monica is forced to confront her past. But unlike Jennifer Capriati, who recently pleaded with reporters to leave the past behind, Monica remains honest despite being "tired of the same questions, the same type of questions." Her honesty, perhaps, is the most remarkable part of Monica's personality.

"My parents always valued that," she said. "Life is just so difficult as it is-- there's no reason to complicate it."

But things haven't been simple for Seles in recent years. If the fairy tale that started with a teenager winning eight out of nine Grand Slam titles in a row had a conventionally happy ending, she would be at the top of the rankings right now as the world's sentimental favorite.

Instead, she finds herself trying to keep up with a pumped-up, overpowering new generation of young superstars. I ask her whether she believed that those who suffer through adversity will eventually triumph in the end. For the first time, she pauses before she answers.

"Oh I hope so," she sighs. "But you know, life is not fair. I just believe that as long as you do your best and are kind to people, that is the best thing you can do. But life is difficult, and unfortunately, not always fair."

It was a tough lesson to learn for a nineteen year old. Her father, Karolj Seles, was the anti-tennis father, the exception amidst a crowd of money-hungry entrepreneurs pushing their sons and daughters for that extra endorsement, that last exhibition. He was a gentle man, a cartoonist who drew caricatures on tennis balls to get young Monica to focus on the ball when she hit her punishing groundstrokes.

When she lost him, she lost her way for a while. He was, undoubtedly, her greatest inspiration. But I wonder, who inspires her now? So many kids look up to her, but who can she admire that has possibly experienced as much as she has? This time, she doesn't hesitate.

"Nelson Mandela, definitely. And I also think Mother Theresa. She just gave so much to the world. And unfortunately, there are not too many people like her anymore."

Monica never had a rebellious phase. She's always been this mature, this clear-headed about what she thinks is important in life. How can it be possible? In an era where Anna Kournikova, Martina Hingis, and the Williams sisters constantly embarrass themselves with their overwhelming (and often unwarranted) arrogance, Seles never seemed the subject of negative attention. And she knows why.

"You know, I give such credit to my parents for raising me the way they did. I never did go through that kind of phase."

Does she miss the fact she didn't get a typical childhood or get to go to college? She admits, "I still do wish I could have gone to school. You know, I still can go whenever I want. It will be very different, I'm sure." She lets out the trademark giggle. "But I still have that choice."

And what of the future? In most other sports -football, basketball, and golf, for instance -the top professionals all have families, kids, the whole package. In tennis, the unbelievably demanding full-year schedule makes it almost impossible for players to have stable family lives until after they're retired.

Monica agrees but can't really see what's in store for her after putting down the racket. "At this age, you know, I just have no idea. I'm still so young, just 25. I have no idea what's in the future. I just hope to enjoy the present."

One thing I've noticed about Seles is that she basically excises the two-and-a- half-year layoff after the stabbing from her age. She doesn't consider herself a tour veteran and sees herself more in the category of 22-year old Lindsay Davenport, as a player who is getting closer and closer to her peak.

I attempt to put one issue to rest just to keep my mind at ease. "Steffi retired so suddenly. But there's no end in sight for you, right?" I ask. "Oh no, no end in sight," she giggles. "You won't get that call from me tomorrow."

Thank goodness.

Imagine tennis without the stabilizing force of Monica. It might be a stretch, but a lot of tennis insiders noticed how Anna Kournikova tamed her image and watched her words more carefully after last fall--particularly after a few tournaments of playing doubles with Seles. Monica has that kind of effect on people.

She had a different effect on Steffi Graf. Steffi was completely dominating the game of tennis when Monica grunted and giggled her way onto the scene in 1988.

But Seles confused Steffi. Suddenly, Steffi found herself overpowered for the first time. She couldn't keep up with the lethal combination of two-fisted groundstrokes and relentless pace. As the rivalry intensified, Seles gradually obtained the stranglehold. After wining the Australian Open in 1993 over Graf, it seemed that Steffi simply couldn't challenge her.

It had potential to be great rivalry, Monica assesses, but it never truly became one. "It was starting to be, but so many thing happened. But we always played such unbelievable matches. I don't think there ever was a bad match or an easy match. I also don't think I ever just had one rival because so many things happened to me in between - it's always different players."

It's amazing that Monica isn't jaded or temperamental figuring free time is a luxury she just doesn't have. When she can find a moment, she "plays with my dog, a Yorkie, and you know, just go to the movies, the beach, or spend time with my friends. There's just no time."

And that's the source of so much confusion recently. To challenge for the top spot, Seles has to become a fitter, faster player to keep up with the speed and inhuman power of the Williamses. And she recognizes this.

In interviews, however, she seems hesitant to make the fitness commitment. When I challenge her about her reluctance to commit, she gives me the real reason for the misgivings. "It's just so hard because of the timing. I mean for the next month a half, I'm playing Fed Cup in California, and then I go to Japan for two weeks and then to Switzerland, Russia, and Austria. To make major improvements, I really need to put in the time, but I don't want to say no to anybody when it comes to playing. Too many contractual commitments."

When Monica finds the time and makes that commitment, the young guns might just find their fire extinguished.

I end by getting her comment on a recent quote from the oh-so-eloquent Richard Williams. He recently said in Canada that he wants Serena and Venus to quit tennis at 22 because "we're not training nuts and fools. We're training out kids to be where they can function in a real world because tennis is not real world."

About early retirement, Monica seems slightly skeptical. "Time will tell. Serena and Venus are only at the beginning of their careers. But I agree with that, that tennis is not real world. It's such a different life. But you know, then again, what is real world?"

And that's what I find so fascinating about Monica Seles. She idolizes Mother Theresa and Mandela because they've put so much of themselves into their lives and because "nobody like them exists anymore." When Monica puts down the racket, we'll understand why her comment is so ironic. In the world of tennis, she is our ambassador of reality.

She understands what is important--peace, simplicity, honesty, and most of all, hope. She has injected a dose of truth into an "unreal" world defined by young millionaires, arrogance, and short-lived stars.

But like her heroes, Monica was born with a passion. She risked everything for tennis. Unlike Hingis and Williams, who were basically raised to be "champions" (and in the case of the Williamses, cash cows), Monica loves the game like no other. She doesn't hesitate in saying that she enjoys practice more than competition (she hates the idea that one person "has to lose").

But as a series of devastating events tried to wrest her away from the game she loved so much, Monica fought back. And she has triumphed. The happy ending has already been written.

If another obstacle hits her tomorrow and she has to put down the racket for good, I ask, would she have any regrets?

No hesitation. "None. I just loved to play the game."