Knock her down, she'll get back up. After suffering the worst defeat of her career at the hands of Martina Hingis at Miami some three weeks ago, Monica Seles rebounds with possibly some of her most impressive tennis since her run to the French Open final two years ago. After capturing just one singles title in the whole 1999 season, Monica Seles has already recorded her second singles victory on the tour this season, successfully defending her title at Amelia Island this past week. The title puts her in enviable company with Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis as the only players to have won two titles so far this season. Can she become the only player to win three titles in 2000 as she goes for glory at Hilton Head this week? Only time will tell.
After a most humbling performance at the Ericsson Open, when she lost a 6-0 6-0 cakewalk decision to then top-ranked Martina Hingis, Monica Seles has gone back to the drawing board by working out some of the kinks in her game and then beating her opponents into submission on the court. True, Monica played the Miami tournament with a sore ankle. But even on a sore ankle, it is hard to imagine that the talented Monica Seles could lose 6-0 6-0 to anybody. Adding insult to injury, the fans in Miami could not appreciate Monica Seles's effort in her semi final encounter with Hingis and booed her off the court. Admittedly, it was one of the hardest experiences Monica had had to face in quite some time. This from a girl who had been stabbed on court during a changeover, watched as her peers tried to strip her of her ranking during her layoff, and watched as her father eventually succumbed to a long battle with cancer.
When the going gets tough, Monica gets going. After a 27 month layoff from the tour due to the physical and emotional trauma of the stabbing at Hamburg, Monica played some of her best tennis to win the 1995 Canadian Open and reach the US Open final some weeks later. Three weeks after the passing of her father, Monica pummeled Martina Hingis in a most memorable match to reach the 1998 French Open final. Now after the drubbing at Miami, which some of the media termed as the end of Monica Seles's career, she has come back in full flight with a dominating performance in the claycourt season opener at Amelia Island.
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