Win Reflects Well on Seles
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INDIAN WELLS ā Itās easy to forget that Monica Selesā trip to greatness included some missteps as a 15-year-old. Not many, to be sure, but one tough loss was against Chris Evert in the fourth round at the U.S. Open in 1989.
The scene was an Evert love-in because her retirement was imminent and a nervous Seles won only two games.
āThat was a tough one,ā Seles said. āI didnāt want to be the person--God forbid I beat her.ā
Thursday, the racket was in the other hand, so to speak. Seles was the legend, facing a promising teenager playing her first WTA tournament, Maria Sharapova of Russia.
The score was the same, only this time in favor of Seles. She defeated the 14-year-old, 6-0, 6-2, in 59 minutes in the second round of the Pacific Life Open at the Tennis Garden. Seles saved two break points in the opening game and went on to take the first seven.
āShe played great,ā Seles said. āIāve seen her game. I knew she was going to be a tough opponent, and sheāll have a fantastic future.ā
Seles laughed when asked if the grunting, slightly built youngster reminded her of herself. āOh yeah, definitely,ā she said. āWe look alike. I was as skinny as she is.ā
Sharapova, who turns 15 in April, was earnest about her experience.
āIām going to remember this for the whole life of mine,ā she said. āThe match today was unbelievable. I felt good about it. Itās not just juniors, itās pros. I think I handled it pretty well.ā
Evidently Seles, a nine-time Grand Slam winner, made a distinct impression on Sharapova as a child.
āWhen I was 6, everyone was talking about Monica,ā Sharapova said. āI told my grandmother, āIām going to be her [Seles] someday.āā
Seles noted that Sharapovaās game looks a lot like Lindsay Davenportās. Which makes sense because Davenport was once coached by Robert Lansdorp, who is now coaching Sharapova.
āDavenport didnāt play like this when she was 14,ā Lansdorp said. āI think [Sharapova] played extremely well. Itās just a matter of time. She has got to get a little faster, stronger and put some more weight on. This match for her opened her eyes.ā
Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis pulled out of doubles play--Hingis was said to have tendinitis of the right wrist--but Martina Navratilova was at the heart of another stir, criticizing the tournamentās policy toward animals.
Navratilova, who is playing doubles with Natasha Zvereva, said that her Jack Russell terrier, Sophie, remained in her hotel room. Apparently this was not Sophieās choice.
āItās my family,ā Navratilova said. āIf I couldnāt bring my dog to a tournament, quite frankly, I would go somewhere else.... Itās tyranny of the minority.ā
WTA rules say that animals are not allowed in the player restaurant or locker room, and must be restrained by leash or carrying case.
Navratilova was incensed, she said, when a security guard called her dog a pollutant.
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