Nobody Can Burst Balloon for Seles : Tennis: World’s top-ranked woman beats Katerina Maleeva, 6-1, 6-0. She will play Martinez in today’s final.

It’s becoming pretty clear that somebody has got to do something about Monica Seles. On Saturday, she spent more time planning a balloon ride than playing her semifinal match.

A balloon ride?

“Yeah,” Seles said. “What time is the final? Twelve? It should be over at 2, max. Then I’ll take the ride.”

And so it’s up, up and away for Seles in the Matrix Essentials Evert Cup at Hyatt Grand Champions, where the No. 1-ranked player in the world quickly deflated Katerina Maleeva, 6-1, 6-0, to reach her 21st consecutive final.

It will be played today against Conchita Martinez of Spain, who defeated Ann Grossman, 6-3, 6-1, in the other semifinal. The way things are going, Seles probably has noted the final in her daily planner as the activity immediately after breakfast but preceding her balloon ride.

Martinez seems to have two things going against her.

--She has never beaten Seles.

--She is afraid of Seles.

Other than that, it’s probably a tossup. Martinez is 0-6 against Seles and well aware of it.

“I think I have a chance,” Martinez said. “It is very difficult, but it is not impossible.”

Against Maleeva, one-third of the tennis-playing sisters from Sofia, Bulgaria, Seles needed 60 minutes to close out the match. This was a fairly swift result, but still an eternity compared to the 38-minute fire drill Seles conducted in her quarterfinal victory over Gigi Fernandez.

Against Maleeva, Seles lost only 26 points--only six in the second set--and moved into a tie for second place on the women’s tennis list for consecutive tournament finals.

Martina Navratilova also appeared in 21 finals in succession. Steffi Graf played in 23 consecutive finals.

Afterward, Seles said she doesn’t allow herself to feel sorry for beating anyone, regardless of the score.

“It’s a game out there,” she said. “I’ve lost before and I don’t think anyone felt sorry for me. I don’t go out there to beat somebody, 6-0, 6-0. I just go out there to play my game.”

The Seles game against Maleeva was what has become the routine: hit the ball like a rocket, play the angles, win quickly and then plan the balloon ride.

It is a simple pattern that others can follow, Seles said.

“Everybody has a chance,” she said. “Everybody can practice, everybody can improve. I’m sure, somebody is going to beat me. Sooner or later (the finals streak) is going to get broken. If it’s tomorrow, or if it’s in a year, it won’t matter.”

Chances are it would matter to Martinez, of course. Although she couldn’t do it, Maleeva said Seles remains beatable, and for a very apparent reason.

“I would say because she is a human being also,” Maleeva said. “She has her days on and her days off. This is tennis, so it is not 100% sure she’ll win every match.

“She goes for everything, and everything is going her way.”

Actually, Martinez may have more of a chance against Seles than might be imagined. The court at Hyatt Grand Champions is a slow, hard court, which won’t hurt Martinez, a slow-court specialist.

Besides, what has she got to lose?

Bjorn Borg and Marty Riessen beat Bob Lutz and Rod Laver, 6-4, 6-4, in a second-round match in the ATP senior tour event.