One thing I've noticed about Seles is that she basically excises the two-and-a- half-year layoff after the stabbing from her age. She doesn't consider herself a tour veteran and sees herself more in the category of 22-year old Lindsay Davenport, as a player who is getting closer and closer to her peak.

I attempt to put one issue to rest just to keep my mind at ease. "Steffi retired so suddenly. But there's no end in sight for you, right?" I ask. "Oh no, no end in sight," she giggles. "You won't get that call from me tomorrow."

Thank goodness.

Imagine tennis without the stabilizing force of Monica. It might be a stretch, but a lot of tennis insiders noticed how Anna Kournikova tamed her image and watched her words more carefully after last fall--particularly after a few tournaments of playing doubles with Seles. Monica has that kind of effect on people.

She had a different effect on Steffi Graf. Steffi was completely dominating the game of tennis when Monica grunted and giggled her way onto the scene in 1988.

But Seles confused Steffi. Suddenly, Steffi found herself overpowered for the first time. She couldn't keep up with the lethal combination of two-fisted groundstrokes and relentless pace. As the rivalry intensified, Seles gradually obtained the stranglehold. After wining the Australian Open in 1993 over Graf, it seemed that Steffi simply couldn't challenge her.

It had potential to be great rivalry, Monica assesses, but it never truly became one. "It was starting to be, but so many thing happened. But we always played such unbelievable matches. I don't think there ever was a bad match or an easy match. I also don't think I ever just had one rival because so many things happened to me in between - it's always different players."