It’s a Stroll for Seles in Final : Australian Open: She dominates with pinpoint baseline shots, beating Fernandez, 6-2, 6-3.

Monica Seles brought back the style and court supremacy of her 1920s idol, Suzanne Lenglen, with a show of ferocity in the Australian Open final and a fashion statement afterward.

Moments after routing Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-2, 6-3, Saturday for her fifth Grand Slam title, Seles donned the kind of flowery, crushed-silk pink bonnet and ankle-length print dress that Lenglen might have worn when she ruled tennis 70 years ago.

Seles, 18, spoke of emulating Lenglen before the Australian Open this year, and left by looking like her, even if her groundstrokes and grunts are of a new age. The money also is far different. Seles finished with a $270,000 payday.

Ignoring a slight sore throat and a lingering neck strain, Seles hit with such depth and precision that Fernandez had no chance to use the new attacking style she showed in a semifinal victory over Gabriela Sabatini.

“She creates shots from nowhere,” Fernandez said. “When she’s at her best, it’s very tough to play against her. She’s definitely beatable, but you have to play almost the perfect match to beat her. That’s not easy.

“The best part of her game is her tenacity. Under no circumstances does she play tentatively. I think that’s what wins her most of her matches.”

Seles said that she made good shots whenever she needed them.

“I did what I always do,” she said.

This was one of the most lopsided of championship matches for Seles, who followed her Australian title last year with her second victory in the French Open and first in the U.S. Open. The only Grand Slam title she hasn’t won in the past year was Wimbledon, which she skipped she said because of injury.

A winner of 13 of the 19 consecutive tournament finals she has made, Seles broke Fernandez’s serve all four times in the first set and twice in the second before Fernandez finally held to reach 2-4 in the second set.

Seles’ only deficiency was her own serve, a part of her game she has been working on in practice. She began the match with a double fault, and she was broken for the first time in the fifth game when she double-faulted on game point.

Seles hit 23 winners from the baseline to Fernandez’s eight and made only 21 unforced errors to Fernandez’s 32.

In the two years Seles has played the Australian Open, she is 14-0 in matches.

Fernandez warned that Seles is not developing her game enough.

“When you’re No. 1 and you win all the time, it’s hard to change,” Fernandez said. “I think that’s a mistake. Graf made the same mistake. Someone is going to come along who is going to beat her. She’s not improving. Eventually someone is going to catch up to her.”

Said Seles: “I really would like to have the serve strong, just come in more often. That’s going to be hard because I don’t feel secure (in serving and volleying).”

Seles said she could empathize with the pressure that Jennifer Capriati is under and the tears the 15-year-old shed after losing in the quarterfinals to Gabriela Sabatini.

“I think Jennifer will realize that she’s going to have to get the fun back into the game,” Seles said. “It’s the first year she’s had to defend a lot of points. She’s done very well, and she’s No. 7, and everyone now expects her to get into the top five. That’s a lot of pressure when you’re not even 16. It’s tough at that age. It’s not easy for anybody.”

Seles also said she had trouble imagining herself or the other young players now playing until their 30s like Martina Navratilova or Chris Evert.

“But we started so much younger than Martina, and we have a harder tour now than when Martina was 15,” she said. “So it’s a big difference.”