Appetite for Life

There have been many inspiring comebacks in professional tennis lately. Andre Agassi’s repeated returns from oblivion, Monica Seles’ comeback from her on-court stabbing, Jennifer Capriati’s rebound from drug and alcohol problems.

But can any of those really compare to what Debbie Graham has returned from?

Not when you consider that Graham has comeback from--”The Dead.”

No, it’s not some new horror movie. It’s Graham’s life. And if you haven’t heard about, it’s probably because Graham doesn’t possess the Grand Slam titles or star quality that Agassi, Seles and Capriati do.

It also might be because Graham, 28, hasn’t exactly made it all the way back--she’s ranked 345th in singles and 70th in doubles.

Although for someone who was clinically dead four years ago, simply a return to professional tennis is pretty amazing in itself. It’s even more amazing to think Graham owes much of her survival to The Unibomber.

The Unibomber?

“If not for the Unibomber, I probably wouldn’t be alive today,” said Graham, a high-school All-American at La Quinta and a three-time All-American at Stanford who continued her comeback this week at La Costa in doubles with Mary Pierce at the TIG Tennis Classic.

Graham also owes assists to her her mother Jaci’s paranoia of the Unibomber and to her friend, Patty Fendick, for her quick thinking.

Cheating Death

Graham’s brush with death began during the 1995 Wimbledon when she was treated by a trainer for a muscle strain that was actually a blood clot. Graham had planned to fly back from London to Los Angeles, but her mother’s fear of the hysteria surrounding the Unibomber at LAX caused her plans to change. Instead, she decided it would be better to fly into San Francisco, then catch a flight to Orange County.

She flew to San Francisco with Fendick, her best friend on the tour who also played at Stanford. When Graham attempted to get up from her seat after the long flight, she began hobbling. After limping off the plane, through baggage claim and into the customs line, Graham collapsed and lost consciousness. Her blood clot had spread through her heart into her lungs.

Most airport personnel thought Graham had simply fainted. But Fendick, who had similar complications from knee surgery, sensed Graham’s problems were related to a blood clot. She immediately called for an ambulance. Had Graham gone to Los Angeles, Fendick would not have been on the flight.

On the way to the hospital, Graham’s heart stopped beating. But after an injection of Adrenaline, the heart began pumping again. Graham didn’t realize what had happened until she was well on the road to recovery. She was told by several doctors that she was lucky to be alive after suffering a massive pulmonary thromboembolism--a blood clot of the lungs.

“They told me nobody survives what I went through,” she said. “They said the only thing that kept me alive was that I had a strong heart and was in great physical shape. Somehow, it kept pumping. I’m not very religious, but I think it was fate that Patty was there and was able to recognize what was wrong.”

Graham was in intensive care for nearly two weeks and was told by the same doctors who thought she should be dead, that a return to tennis was unlikely. Seven months later, Graham was trying to qualify for a WTA Tour event in Tokyo.

As she was lying in the hospital, Graham wondered if a return to tennis was even worthwhile. But she changed her mind when she saw the smile on Seles’ face as she played her first match back after the stabbing incident.

“I couldn’t believe how courageous she was,” Graham said. “I thought, ‘Even if I play only one more tournament, I want to enjoy it this time.’ ”

And there was another reason to come back.

“When someone’s telling you you can’t do something, it makes you a hundred times more determined to do it,” she said.

As she struggled to find her old game, Graham realized her perspective and her goals had changed.

“When people found out I was a tennis player, They’d always ask me what my ranking was,” Graham said. “I was so embarrassed to say 45. I’d mumble it under my breath. I always had such high expectations for myself. But now I think to myself, ‘What I wouldn’t do to be 45, or to just play singles again in regular tour events.’ ”

Graham’s new, lowered expectations the second time around include a return to the top 100 in singles rankings and a Grand Slam doubles title--she reached the Wimbledon doubles semifinals in 1998 and the mixed doubles semifinals at the 1998 U.S. Open and 1999 Australian Open.

“I thought I could do better for myself,” Graham said. “I’m so much a perfectionist that it’s tough for me to swallow where I’m at now.”

Graham, who has won more than $830,000 in her pro career, said she finds herself envious and a bit jealous of today’s stars. She only watches tennis when one of her friends, such as Lindsay Davenport, is playing and she won’t read any of the tennis magazines.

“I try to distance myself from it because it hurts too much,” said Graham, who owns at condominium in Newport Beach. “When I some young star coming onto the tour and playing well, it brings back memories of what I was. I know a lot of people look at me now and think ‘What an incredible waste of talent.’ ”

New Attitude

Graham, at 6 feet and 150 pounds with a huge serve, was a big-time talent when she turned pro in 1991 after three illustrious seasons at Stanford. She lost only two of 73 dual matches in college and won the NCAA singles championship in 1990 and was a NCAA doubles finalist in 1989 and 1990. As a junior player, Graham was a two-time national champion. Before turning pro, Graham already was ranked in the top 100.

Her tall, solid frame resembles that of Davenport and so does her hard, flat-hitting, hard-serving game. In 1992, Graham was the WTA Tour’s Most Impressive Newcomer and Tennis Magazine’s rookie of the year. Her ranking reached 35 in December of 1992, but she never won a WTA Tour singles title and she never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam.

“I never even thought she’d have a pro career,” Jaci Graham said. “And now I’m just glad she’s recovered and that she’s playing at any level.”

Though she’d love to be among her sport’s elite players again, Graham says she’s much more appreciative of everything this time around.

“Before, I never stopped to smell the flowers,” she said. “I’d miss things like my best friend’s wedding because I was so into tennis. I took a lot of things for granted. I was so regimented. I thought I didn’t need anybody. I had a boyfriend at Stanford that I broke up with when I went on tour because I thought all I needed to be successful was myself.”

But this time around, Graham is dating more, taking friends on the road with her and enjoying an occasional In--N-Out Burger.

“I was so into taking care of my body,” she said. “I wouldn’t eat sweets or anything bad for you. Now, I eat whatever I want. Life is too short to eat rice cakes forever.”

Jaci Graham believes that new carefree outlook might be taking the edge off her daughter’s tennis.

“She doesn’t really go out on the court with that killer instinct anymore,” Jaci Graham said. “And I think that has hurt her in singles.”

Graham’s singles ranking is hurting so badly that it’s not high enough to qualify for entry in the main draw of Challenger tournaments, the second lowest level on tour. So she plays the qualifying rounds of Challenger events or Futures, which offer even less prize money and ranking points than Challengers.

This month, Graham will play doubles at the U.S. Open with Ells Callens of Belgium, but she probably won’t play singles unless the USTA accepts her request for a wild card into qualifying.

“It’s so tough out there now,” Graham said. “It’s such a young game. I feel like it’s kind of passed me by.”

Fortunately for Graham, it’s only tennis that has passed her by.