Seles was well on her way to being one of the greatest female tennis players in history when she was stabbed by an insane German man who wanted to see Steffi Graf back at number one. At the time, Seles was primarily known for two things: her powerful groundstrokes off both sides, and her loud grunt (which sounded more like a piercing shriek). Monica herself acknowledged that she didn't like hearing herself grunt on replays of her matches, and John McEnroe has said that he's never gotten used to the Seles sound. However, there's nothing unfair or unsporting about it, as long as you don't do it when your opponent is about to hit the ball; many players grunt when they hit hard, including McEnroe. I remember when Lendl played Agassi in the 1988 U.S. Open semifinal; Lendl, getting his butt kicked soundly in the first set, began complaining to the chair umpire about Agassi's grunts. The chair's response? "It's part of the game of tennis." In 1992, Seles was dominating the women's game, and she made it to the Wimbledon final against Graf. For the whole fortnight, the London tabloids had mercilessly pilloried Seles, going so far as to introduce a "grunt-ometer" to measure Seles' decibel level. In the final, Seles surprised everyone by coming out and not making a peep. She let the tabloids get to her. Of course, it wasn't a fair fight. Seles was a teenager who admired glamorous movie stars like Julia Roberts, so it's not too surprising that the daily rags were able to make her self-conscious. The result was a one-sided Graf victory, 6-2, 6-1. No one could have predicted it. At the time, I didn't feel too bad about it; I was tired of seeing Seles blow everyone off the court, so I was glad to see her share the wealth a little. Who could have imagined that Seles would soon literally be stabbed in the back, and that she would never be the same again? Seles was great, and she deserved a Wimbledon title. Of course, it's not a sure thing Seles would have won in '92 even if she'd grunted to the moon and the stars. Graf was a great champion, playing on a surface much better suited to her game than to Seles'. But if Seles hadn't been stabbed, she wouldn't have been denied on the grass courts for long. She had the best groundstrokes I've ever seen on the women's side.