Tennis legend Seles still serves a treat
Nine-time Grand Slam champion shows off her moves and shares some secrets
She was once near-unbeatable, after becoming the youngest female to win a French Open title at the age of 16.
That was in 1990.
Monica Seles has long retired and these days is regarded as a tennis legend and, why not, after winning eight of her nine Grand Slam titles before she turned 20.
The 42-year-old is in Singapore as an ambassador for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and yesterday, she served up a treat.
Organised by the Singapore Tourism Board, Seles agreed to provide a tennis clinic for at least 10 people at the OCBC Arena Hall 1 in the morning, including the local media.
She showed off some of her special moves used in tournaments and displayed her secret weapon: angles.
She also indulged a terrified me, who picked up a tennis racket for the first time yesterday.
Seles was warm and welcoming throughout, including the short question-and-answer session with all of the participants, where she revealed why she was able to play both hands.
"When I started playing, at the age of six, we didn't have things like mini-rackets made for kids," she said.
"I had to play with a regular-sized adult racket, which was bigger than me - I was a small kid.
"Naturally, I had to use both hands to hold the racket up, and the habit grew as I got older."
BETTER CHANCE
Talking about today's leading ladies, Seles believes they have a better chance of growing and maturing.
She said: "The young ladies in today's tournaments are allowed to mature at a much later age and it's better for them because they learn about their bodies and all that.
"Winning a Grand Slam at 16 is not such a big thing any more compared to when I was playing, when it felt like the end of the world if that didn't happen.
"That's why I think a lot of the players now can play until later in their ages, like (Angelique) Kerber and Serena (Williams), who is playing into her 30s, whereas people from my generation start way too early and then retire in our 30s."
Seles enjoyed a storied rivalry with Steffi Graf until that fateful day when a man stabbed her in the back on court and forced her to miss the game for more than two years.
Born in then-Yugoslavia and now a naturalised American, she picked out Argentina's Gabriela Sabatini as her favourite opponent when she was playing.
"I definitely remember playing against Sabatini and I enjoyed playing against her.
"I particularly enjoy playing against players who allow their opponents to set up.
"That's why I'd rather not play against the Williams sisters, because they seldom allow their opponents to set up."
Seles will be in town until the end of the WTA Finals on Sunday and she said: "I'm very excited to be here and now I'm working with children and I enjoy working with children.
"So working with you guys this morning is also very good, a very good initiative by the Singapore Tourism Board."
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