YU-Qwest SIGs: SPORT


YU_SPORT_1: MONIKA SELES

MONIKA SELES

alejew@aol.com
Sun, 02 Jul 95 21:26:29 -0800

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Monica Seles' comeback match against
Martina Navratilova on July 29 will take place in Atlantic City.

Seles, who has not played in more than two years since being
stabbed in Germany, had announced on June 6 the date and opponent
for the match, with only the site unclear.

It is not known if the match will be a prelude to an appearance
a month later at the U.S. Open in New York.

The three-set exhibition, billed as the ``Return of Champions,''
will be played at the Atlantic City Convention Center on a Saturday
afternoon. It will be televised by CBS and shown internationally.

Seles, 21, also is to hold a clinic July 8 at the Special
Olympics World Games at New Haven, Conn.

At the time Seles was stabbed in the back in Hamburg in April
1993 she was ranked No. 1 in the world, a position she had held
since becoming the youngest to be top-ranked at age 17.

Seles was No. 1 for more than two years. She had won seven of
the previous eight Grand Slam tournaments she had entered before
the attack.

``This is a great opportunity for me to play Monica one more
time before I completely retire,'' Navratilova said when the
exhibition was first announced. ``One of my biggest regrets when I
did retire last year was that I didn't get to compete against
Monica at the end of my career. I really don't know which one of us
will be more thrilled to be playing each other.''

Navratilova, 38, retired from singles events in November after
winning more tournaments than any tennis player in history. She is
scheduled to play doubles with Steffi Graf at Wimbledon, which
begins next week.