THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, No. 10

Can Seles still contend for Slams? Ex-coach says yes

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

There is no better time of year for Monica Seles than January, when her feet don't hurt after months of pounding and she is able to take that extra half step she needs to lace her groundies down the line.

Last week, Seles said that she is planning to play another two years and has hired a new coach, former South African doubles player Davis Nainkin.

Her ex-coach, Mike Sell, is now with USTA High Performance (formerly Player Development) and says that he still believes that the 29-year-old Seles can contend for majors, despite the fact that she hasn't won a Slam since the '96 Australian Open.

"She can definitely contend for the top 5 and win another Grand Slam," said former Georgia star Sell, who decided to end their relationship because he is newly married, living in Southern California and wants to spend more time closer to home working with juniors. "With her heavy schedule it's tough, because she can be tired late in a Slam, but with enough rest, she can still do it. She's still a tremendous talent and hates to lose."

Sell says that Seles is a workaholic who has a hard time resting, which is why instead of resting her weary bones in December, she decided to play a series of exhibitions.

"She needs to play an intelligent schedule and cut down on some tournaments, but she also needs to have matches under her belt to be confident, " Sell said "It's a Catch 22: if she wants to compete well at the majors she has to be fresh, but she feels like she needs a lot of matches to be striking the ball well. Another thing that's made it hard for her is the depth of the women's game increases every year and even early round matches can take a toll on top players – even if they're winning them. Tennis is more physical now."

For Seles to continue to play with the big girls, she must make her first serve into more than a weapon and learn to close out at least a handful of points at net. But she may never do so.

"We worked a lot on her serve and she obviously has a lot of room to grow there," Sell said. "She could get more into the net and does it well in practice, but it's so hard to get a player to do it when she's been playing and winning for the most part one way all of her life."

FOUR-TIME AUSSIE CHAMP
Seles has been one of the impressive performers in Aussie Open history, winning the title four times. Last year, she stunned Venus Williams before losing a heartbreaker to Martina Hingis in the semis. This year, she has at least a puncher's chance to reach the final, as leading contenders like Venus will come in rusty, and she recently knocked off Lindsay Davenport and has had success against Kim Clijsters.

"She seems to be playing well so far," Sell said. "It's a good surface for her and she has a lot of confidence playing there."

Beating tour queen Serena Williams is another story altogether. Sell thinks that not only can Serena complete a "Serena Slam" (four straight majors), but can win them all in 2003.

"Serena's more than capable but it will be extremely tough because she'll have to work just as hard physically and want it just as much. But she has the game to do it," he said.

Seles has been though a number of coaches and trainers since her father and former coach, Karolj, passed away in 1998, including Sell, Bobby Banks and Bobby Kersee. Sell loved working with her.

"I learned so much being around Monica," Sell said. "She has so much drive and she's just a great human being."