Seles Wears Black and Wins Lots of Green : Tennis: Money winnings reach record $2.457 million for the year after victory over Navratilova.

The women’s tennis season arrived at a predictable conclusion Sunday--Monica Seles playing in a final, winning it by tearing through her opponent, holding up a trophy and getting a check.

Seles ended her most profitable year by winning her second consecutive Virginia Slims Championship in Madison Square Garden. She punched out Martina Navratilova as though merely ringing up another victory on the cash register.

How did Seles beat Navratilova? Let us count the ways: 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 for a very, very cool $800,000.

Asked to compare Sunday’s victory to her five-set win over Gabriela Sabatini last year, Seles said: “Both is unique in its own way.”

Naturally.

The 17-year-old Yugoslav transplant now living in Florida closed out the most lucrative year in the history of women’s tennis with three Grand Slam event titles, 16 finals in 16 tries, 10 tournament victories, a record $2.457 million in prize money and bonuses and a new car from tour sponsor Kraft.

There is no question what color Seles wants her new Jaguar to be.

“Black, of course,” said Seles, who wore a black-and-white tennis outfit and is devoted to her new favorite color. “Black seats, black top, black everything. It’s gonna look like a funeral car.”

Seles dispatched Navratilova in 2 hours 8 minutes, slipping only once, when she was momentarily rattled by a few line calls and allowed Navratilova to break her serve for a 5-3 lead in the second set.

Seles was chagrined at the time. “The whole one-hour work has gone into the water,” she said.

But that turned out to be Navratilova’s brightest moment in a day otherwise dominated by black. Relentlessly attacking from both sides, Seles short-circuited Navratilova’s tactic of hitting slices down the middle to prevent Seles from gaining any angles.

“I guess I didn’t quite have the mental toughness,” Navratilova said. “But you know, I guess against anybody else, you are OK.”

Seles broke Navratilova three times to claim the third set, ignored slight leg cramps and might as well have started placing calls to her accountant in the fourth set.

She required only 20 minutes to finish the final set and the match, which ended just as Navratilova punched a last backhand volley just past the baseline.

Navratilova said the best player had won.

“I mean, even the last game, she broke off good serves. I mean, I hit good serves, exactly where I wanted and she just nailed them,” Navratilova said.

Seles’ biggest payday worked out to $250,000 for winning the tournament and $550,000 in various bonuses. In addition, she cemented her standing as the No. 1-ranked player in the world and ended 1991 with a 74-6 record.

Yes, it has been a “wonderful” year, Seles said, which only means she has to motivate herself for something similar next year. At least she has a plan.

“How I usually do it, this tournament is over, I am going to take a few days off and then just forget about this year and thank my lucky stars how great a year I had and then just start from the Australia Open as a new year,” she said.

This seemed like a sensible approach, probably because the Australian Open actually is in 1992.

Anything past that, well, Navratilova for one isn’t sure what the future will hold for the reigning No. 1 player.

“In my time, I was going to reign forever, then Steffi (Graf) was going to be there forever, (then) here comes Monica now,” Navratilova said. “You (reporters) try to make a dynasty out of her. It’s hard to keep it up. But I am not a genie. I am not going to predict.”

On Sunday, the answer was as plain as black and white.