Home » Sports » Women's Tennis » 1998: The Season In Review - Page 3

1998: The Season In Review - Page 3

© Michael Cecilio

Enter the French Open. Call it divine intervention, call it paternal inspiration, call it what you will. But Monica Seles succeeded despite the inner turmoil she faced. Not only did she have to deal with her father's death only two weeks before the Grand Slam, but she was still in her emotional recovery from the Hamburg attack, and other various ailments which have plagued her ever since.
We could tell the signs of a Seles resurgence looming in her quarter final victory over Jana Novotna as she rallied from a set and a break down in the second to storm back and enter the semi finals for a second straight year.
Enter the semi finals. Undoubtedly, this match is by far the best match that Monica Seles has played in two years. Looking like the confident Monica Seles of 1990-92, she absolutely slaughtered the top ranked player Martina Hingis, overpowering her opponent, pouncing on her weak deliveries and displaying the brilliant shotmaking ability that took her to #1 for 180 weeks. She defeated her in straight sets 6-3 6-2 to take her to her first Grand Slam final in nearly two years. Unfortunately, the fairy tale dream ended at the hands of Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in three sets, when Monica's lack of match practice seemed apparent as she ran out of steam. But it was a huge confidence booster and a huge platform for Monica to make her comeback. Since the French Open, she has only lost earlier than the semi-finals twice, at Wimbledon and the Chase Championships (both in the quarterfinals). She has also captured two titles, including her fourth straight du Maurier Open title in Montreal (where she became the first player to defeat Martina Hingis twice in a row since becoming #1), and her third straight Princess Cup in Tokyo (where she also won the doubles with Anna Kournikova). Overall consistency has helped her finish at #6 for the year, albeit her lowest finish in four years, but expect her to catapult back into the Top 5 next year when she plays in Australia for the first time in three years. Who knows if Monica can win a 10th Grand Slam title, or even recapture the #1 ranking again?!?! Only time will tell.......

Most Improved Player: PATTY SCHNYDER Falling in the shadows of her more famous compatriot Martina Hingis, Patty has been able to play her own game without much of the limelight. The 19-year-old Swiss Miss #2 entered the Top 10 for the first time in her career this year, racking up 5 tournament titles faster than anyone on the circuit this season. She has improved her Grand Slam performances by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open and the quarter finals at both the French Open and the US Open. As a baseliner who is more comfortable on the clay, Patty has shown great diversity and improvement on all surfaces as she continued to upset even on the faster hardcourts. Her acute baseline game has seen her upset some of the biggest names in tennis this year, including Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Amanda Coetzer and Jana Novotna. Surprisingly, none of these victories were on her favourite clay surface. With continued improvement, Patty Schnyder could well make a Grand Slam final within the next year.

The copyright of the article 1998: The Season In Review - Page 3 in Women's Tennis is owned by . Permission to republish 1998: The Season In Review - Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.