Seles Now Letting Her Game Do All the Grunting for Her : Tennis: She is quietly efficient in 6-2, 6-2 victory over Tauziat, who complained in 1992.

Monica Seles knew that the minute she chose to step onto a tennis court again, after more than two years away from the tour, she would be facing some painful memories. Unbidden mental images, perhaps, or a thoughtless remark by a fan. She might not have expected to face them across the net.

In her second match back Wednesday, Seles became reacquainted with Nathalie Tauziat, the player who alerted the noise police about Seles’ grunting at Wimbledon in 1992 and caused Seles months of embarrassment and frustration.

Seles returned the favor here, taking only 56 minutes to dispatch the Frenchwoman, 6-2, 6-2, in the third round of the du Maurier Ltd. Canadian Open.

Seles was masterful in dismantling the 17th-ranked Tauziat, no doubt aided by memories of Tauziat’s petulant complaining during and after her Wimbledon quarterfinal loss to Seles.

Tauziat, and in the next match, Martina Navratilova, now a pal of Seles, urged tournament officials to silence Seles’ grunting, which they said was distracting and intentional.

The episode provided fodder for England’s mischievous tabloids, which rigged up “gruntometers” courtside to measure the decibel level of Seles’ twin-pitched exclamation after she struck a ball.

The grunt has gone the way of Seles’ red hair and disguises. She now emits a low growl on some shots but is otherwise silent as she mows down opponents with her powerful ground strokes.

But Tauziat, still harboring no abundance of good will toward Seles, has apparently maintained the sharp hearing that made her so sensitive three years ago.

“I think she screamed less than three years ago,” Tauziat said after Wednesday’s match. “Today it’s tough for players to play her. A lot of [media] stories are for her, the publicity is for her. The more you have against you, it’s difficult.”

Someone asked Tauziat if Seles, who is co-ranked No. 1, was playing near the same level as she had before she was stabbed during a tournament 2 1/2 years ago. Tauziat shook her head vigorously. While agreeing that Seles is hitting the ball hard, Tauziat added, “She is angry. She wants to play. It’s not about tennis.”

Add that pop psychology to the growing list of helpful hints being directed at Seles, who appears flustered and self-conscious off the court but in full control on it, as was evidenced by her match in the midday heat at the National Tennis Centre.

Seles had said after her first match Tuesday night that she was not fully going for shots and had not tried to bury her serves. That was not the case Wednesday afternoon. She held nothing back and blasted her trademark two-fisted forehand and backhand into corners and along both lines.

“I played well from the back today,” Seles said. “I played a lot better today than I did yesterday. I wasn’t as nervous, but I was stiff and holding my racket so tight. I was mad because I wasn’t returning well. I had to tell myself, ‘Monica, don’t expect too much from yourself. Have fun. Loosen up.’ I had to talk to myself.”

Seles said she didn’t get much sleep Tuesday night because of the excitement and is still relearning such simple tennis lessons as when to begin hitting lobs to her opponent during the prematch warm-up.

Seles intends this tournament to be her litmus test for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 28. Much will be determined by how she holds up here. Tendinitis in her left knee has been aggravated by having to play on consecutive days.

The heat and humidity here will also serve to prepare Seles for New York’s notoriously inhospitable weather. Can she hold up over the two weeks of a Grand Slam event?

“That’s what I don’t know,” Seles said. “Time will tell. I used to do a lot of running. I used to do a lot of distance running. I can’t do as much now. Hopefully, my knee will hold up. The hard courts are so hard. And I can’t do weight training.”

Yet she appears stronger than ever.

Seles’ serve may be her most improved weapon. She has grown nearly two inches and has substantially more power.

Tauziat is no lightweight, yet she managed to get only four points off Seles’ serve in the first set and seven in the second.

Tauziat tried creeping to the net in the second set, but Seles’ passing shots put an end to that strategy.