Quote:
> >>>We must not forget that even in her best year ever (1992) Seles >
> >>Max
> > Steffi had a good couple of years against Navratilova .. she had a good
> > 3 years against Chris Evert, too, after a slow start against Evert.
> > Of course, those years 1990-1993 until Seles was stabbed were a bit
> > different. You know, when Seles was on that roll of winning 10 of the
> > 12 biggest events in women's tennis between the 1990 Tour Championships
> > and the stabbing.
> > An aging Navratilova and a young, ***age Seles had winning records vs.
> > Graf in those years.
> > Navratilova won her only match vs. Graf at a Grand Slam event in the
> > 1990s ... and Seles was clearly the best player in women's tennis until
> > a jealous Graf fan stabbed her in the back with a knife.
> Seles wasn't capable of winning the biggest tournament in tennis - how
> good could she have really been....?
Seles dominated women's tennis in the early 1990s before she was
stabbed by a Steffi Graf fan for ranking #1.
Yes, Seles had a winning advantage over Graf head to head in the years
1990-1993 .. so did Navratilova .. but that only tells part of the
story.
The 12 biggest events in women's tennis from the 1990 WTA Tour
Championships through the 1993 Australian Open:
1990 WTA Tour Championships
MONICA SELES WON (over Gabriela Sabatini).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN SEMIS (to Sabatini in straight sets.)
1991 Australian
MONICA SELES WON (over Jana Novotna).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN QUARTERS (to Jana Novotna).
1991 French
MONICA SELES WON (over Arantxa Sanchez Vicario).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN SEMIS (to ASV in straight sets).
1991 Wimbledon
MONICA SELES DID NOT PLAY
STEFF GRAF WON (over Gabriela Sabatini 8-6 in the 3rd).
1991 U.S. Open
MONICA SELES WON (over Martina Navratilova).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN SEMIS (to Martina Navratilova).
1991 WTA Tour Championships
MONICA SELES WON (over Martina Navratilova).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN QUARTERS (to Jana Novotna).
1992 Australian
MONICA SELES WON (over Mary Joe Fernandez).
STEFF GRAF DID NOT PLAY.
1992 French
MONICA SELES WON (over Steffi Graf).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN THE FINAL (to Monica Seles).
1992 Wimbledon
MONICA SELES LOST IN THE FINAL (to Steffi Graf).
STEFF GRAF WON (over Monica Seles).
1992 U.S. Open
MONICA SELES WON (over ASV).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN QUARTERS (to ASV in straight sets).
1992 WTA Tour Championships
MONICA SELES WON (over Martina Navratilova).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN FIRST ROUND (to Lori McNeal).
1993 Australian
MONICA SELES WON (over Steffi Graf).
STEFF GRAF LOST IN THE FINAL (to Monica Seles).
In these 12 major events between the end of 1990 and the stabbing of
Monica Seles by a Steffi Graf fan ...
Monica Seles:
entered 11 of the 12 events.
won 10 of the 12 events.
reached the final round in 11 of the 12 events.
Steffi Graf:
entered 11 of the 12 events.
won 2 of the 12 events.
reached the final round in 4 of the 12 events.
lost in the semis or earlier in 8 of the 12 events.
In addition to going 2-1 vs. Graf in these 12 big women's tournaments
between the end of 1990 and the stabbing ... Seles also had 5 wins in
the final round of these big events over players who had beaten Graf in
either the semis or quarters of the same event (Sabatini ... Novotna
... Navratilova ... and ASV twice).
So ... yes, Seles had the winning edge head to head over Graf in
1990-1993 just as Navratilova did ... but Seles was also beating
players who had also beaten Graf in the semis and quarters of the big
events Graf was losing.
Enter Gunther Parche...