Could watch these two play all day long. Seles hits with power but the kind of control most players today can only dream of and Hingis with all that timing and guile is a joy. Seles looked to be playing well here. Thanks for the highlights, if only women's tennis was this good today.
Andrew Moores couldn't agree more. it's a sad state of women's tennis when you have the same one person winning slams left and right without even having to up her game.
Let's not pretend that Serena wouldn't comprehensively beat these two in her prime. She had winning records against both before she even hit her prime.
@@anthonymos185 You are right Seles would definitely have winning records vs both prime to prime, but lets be fair and also recognize Seles was clearly not in her prime when she played Serena either. In fact Seles after the stabbing was never the same player. That doesnt mean she was the would be GOAT and sure winner of 30 slams if she werent stabbed as her retarded fans believe though.
As good as Hingis was, I don’t think she would have had much success against a Monica Seles prior to that terrible on court incident in 93. Seles was just too powerful and precise and would have thumped Hingis easily. Her fitness really let her down after her comeback. One of the greatest tragedies in sport, male or female. What a player Seles was!!
Thats why I considered Monica one of the greatest in my opinion... she could have done so much more without the horrible incident, her speed was great here and she wasnt even at her peak, mentally and physically.
When you look at Hingis here you see she brought a new face of beautifullness , Talented, to tennis court which all men even women !!! love to watch and enjoy....she is gorgeos and real classic beauty
Akbar Safari Hingis beautiful? Maybe her game, but that forehead that went on forever made her look odd. She tried to cover it up with head bands though.
This was back when Hingis hit harder than later in her career, her balls were super deep and we'll placed, very disguised, and her forehand wasn't a liability. Her forehand and first serve got worse after injuries and big hitters constantly exposed it. Nobody was better at absorbing pace and redirecting it like she was around 1997, 1998. Seles just wasn't the same post stabbing, but kudos to her for as well as she did including that Australian Open slam.
Loved to watch Monica play, but she was gigantic, here. Hingis was a brilliant tactician and really dominated Monica in her most out-of-shape years. Hingis’s guile and disguise of shot selection were a lot like Evert’s. Monica had a hard time reading her game and, once Martina got the chubby Monica on the move, she totally exposed her. Thankfully, Monica improved her fitness after 1997, enough to make her a step quicker even if not fully fit, and she began to turn the rivalry around with some big defeats of Martina. Still, it’s a tragedy that Monica’s stabbing resulted in an eating/bingeing disorder. Even though she had some wonderful successes in her Second Act, she was never the same player (physically or mentally) that she was before the murder attempt. She would have added many, many, many more Majors to her tally.
Yep. As a massive graf fan, it makes me sad to think of all the great matches we missed out on - it also makes me sad to think how forgotten Seles is. She’s not mentioned nearly enough. Although, like graf, that seems to stem from not being heavily involved in tennis now
I couldn't figure out why Seles was so outta shape only many years later she admitted to binge eating out of control to deal with emotional issues such as the death of her father, the stabbing, why Gunther Parche was set free, etc. There's an interview she did with Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News here on YT where they go into depth why the binge eating. It really sidelined Monica's comeback pretty much until she unofficially retired.
when there was a well tide and ominous sign of power players going to dominate tennis (and make it a screaming bore), Hingis took the reign of tennis, the last of her kind, to buck the trend one last time before the power players and power game came in for good. She didn't hit particularly hard, but hit every shot text book perfect, had perfect court sense, was always at the right place, and placed her shots where it should be. Confounding her opponents with variety and whipping the crowd into the edge of their seats with dropshots, running half volley winners, and dizzying lobs. Oh we all wish the next Hingis in the power game era would finally appear.
What is so interesting is that I never imagined esp after Hingis beating her 6060 at one point , Seles having the last laugh against hingis. Their last match at 2002 us open (?) barely made news. Imagine? Seles both predated and outlasted Hingis? I love both of them. But it just goes to show how effective seles's no none-sense game to be able to easily dispose of hingis game at a big event no less.
quiddy It's worth noting that the 2002 US Open match was one of Hingis' last matches before retiring for the first time due to ankle problems. She was playing lackluster tennis that tournament; I was surprised she even made it that far.
Seles could have been the greatest of all time but unfortunately it was not meant to be because of that horrible stabbing. When she came back she was struggling with her weight but still won one grand slam title and was runner up in three others. I got to see her play in an exhibition in Dublin in 2002 and even though she was not at her peak her shots were simply phenomenal.
Hingis was a very talented player-able to think her way around the court. She was however very immature and cocky in her lack of respect for the older players on the tour like Graf, Seles and even Novotna whom she quit playing doubles with and bluntly telling her she was too old. When asked about Seles early on she said she wasn't impressed with her as she had beaten her every time and was also dismissful of Graf. I think she came to regret some of that. Seles was in particular very respectful and kind toward her.
I agree completely. It is a shame for Hingis. A fitter Seles would have beaten her here and perhaps that would have humbled Hingis. With Graf out in 97 and Seles overweight, it allowed Hingis to go to #1 without earning it. When Steffi returned and humbled her in 99, Hingis lost some confidence, and then the Williams sisters basically took over.
She dumped Jana for Anna telling Jana she was "old and slow". Funny when Jana already beat her in the Wimbledon final last year and nearly again in the US Open semis. What does that say about her to be struggling with someone old and slow so much.
@@antinotis Yes I think she rose to the fast and too easily for her own good, and in the long term it hurt her. As she had an inflated sense of herself, and even when the field improved and she began losing more, she still was delusional based on her super dominant 97. She did not even try and start making the improvements she needed until 2000 or later, when it was too late to stem the tide of the big hitters taking over.
Monica played really well here, it’s just that 1997 was Martina’s year, where she was the undisputed top player in the world, if that stabbing incident didnt happen, probably Monica couldve been the greatest female tennis player in history, well that distinction belongs now to Serena.
Interestingly, this was the exact same tournament where Graf played her last tournament in 99 before officially retiring. I believe she didn't finish her last match, injuries got the best of her.
Monica's lack of movement and fitness would be her downfall when she came back to the game in 1995 because I find that she hit the ball harder but not with the same consistency that she used to like when she dominated the game before that awful stabbing incident in 1993 which ruined her career.
I couldn't figure out why Seles was so outta shape only many years later she admitted to binge eating out of control to deal with emotional issues such as the death of her father, the stabbing, why Gunther Parche was set free, etc. There's an interview she did with Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News here on YT where they go into depth why the binge eating. It really sidelined Monica's comeback pretty much until she unofficially retired. There were some big losses due to her being out of shape, the 95 and 96 U.S. Opens against Graf. The one that really stung was the 98 French final against Arancha, she was in control of that match until fatigue set in.
The 96 US Open final vs Graf she was behind from start to finish. It is hard to say she lost by fitness unless you mean maybe she has a better chance moving better all around, but she definitely didn't lose due to tiring after being in control. She never was in control of that match from the start. Graf served lights out that match though, so Seles was never winning, Graf would have found a way to get atleast the 1 break each set she needed even if Seles were playing better. And the 98 French final loss to Sanchez could be blamed more on her choking when serving for the 1st set, in which case there never would have been a 3rd set so fatigue would be irrelevant.
@@travisstrong5389Yes, a case could be made for your argument. But Seles's movement was such a big part of her game. People never talk abt Monica's movement, but pre-stabbing, she got to so many unreachable balls. After stabbing, you can see opponents like Hingis and Graf, their strategy was to move Monica around as much as possible. Evidently, binge eating is still very much on Monica's mind these days as she serves as a spokesperson against binge eating.
@@shihlin1 She also had the longest arms on tour according to Navratilova. It was a joke she made about her often, but despite never looking like the absolute fastest (even pre stabbing when she was moving way better) she had an incredible arm when it came to reaching balls apparently. So when she was moving even pretty well her long arm made it hard to get balls past her.
I think it also would have helped Hingis long term if Graf and Seles (and Sanchez too who was dealing with burn out but Hingis would always be an awful match up for her still) had stayed stronger during this period. She rose to dominance too easily, too fast, got complacent and lazy and did not make the needed improvements to ward off the next age power players comping up like Davenport and most of all the Williams, and later Henin and Clijsters.
Hingis OWNED Monica in 1997, winning all their head to head matches though their Family Circle Cup final went to a 3rd set tiebreak and their 97 French semi went the full distance. Reason for Hingis domination of Seles in 97 is her exploitation of Monica's lack of mobility on the court. At the time I couldn't understand why Seles was so out of shape only to realize after she admitted many years later that she was binge eating out of control. It was Seles's way to deal with the death of her dad, the stabbing, and other emotional issues. Hingis is such a smart, crafty player, she'll find any way to exploit a player's weakness for her own benefit.
shihlin1 such a way to write is badly for Hingis, Hingis played the smart game she would have played anyone. I don't think she particularly wanted to exploit any of Seles circumstance per se. Hingis herself had her own issues - her laziness to train and work out her body. so let's just the put facts of Hingis dominance (15:5) ahead of trying to think who did what exploitation to whom.
Hingis won in straight sets. Why are everyone constantly praising Seles and talking about that she "could have become" the greatest ever. Why speculate? She didn't become the greatest ever. Period. She had amazing groundies and her angles were supreme. But personally I think she lacked some in the other aspects of the game. She wasn't a great mover, didn't serve specifically well and her defence wasn't that great. Still she made huge results and is still a legend of the game. Her greatness cannot be undermined, but most certainly not exaggerated either. I put Navratilova, Graf and Williams higher, regardless of the stabbing. The had more of a complete game.
Hingis OWNED Monica in 1997, winning all their head to head matches though their Family Circle Cup final went to a 3rd set tiebreak and their 97 French semi went the full distance. Reason for Hingis domination of Seles in 97 is her exploitation of Monica's lack of mobility on the court. At the time I couldn't understand why Seles was so out of shape only to realize after she admitted many years later that she was binge eating out of control. It was Seles's way to deal with the death of her dad, the stabbing, and other emotional issues. Hingis is such a smart, crafty player, she'll find any way to exploit a player's weakness for her own benefit.
Hingis OWNED Monica in 1997, winning all their head to head matches though their Family Circle Cup final went to a 3rd set tiebreak and their 97 French semi went the full distance. Reason for Hingis domination of Seles in 97 is her exploitation of Monica's lack of mobility on the court. At the time I couldn't understand why Seles was so out of shape only to realize after she admitted many years later that she was binge eating out of control. It was Seles's way to deal with the death of her dad, the stabbing, and other emotional issues. Hingis is such a smart, crafty player, she'll find any way to exploit a player's weakness for her own benefit.
