Randomly choose a number from 1-4.
I. Better if the violence happens offstage as in Greek drama. Just give me the plot, the facts. The nine-inch boning knife, the deranged fan of Steffi Graf coming out of the stands, the attempted killer walking free. Catharsis means the purging of pity and fear, what spectators should feel. Ok, ok. I just felt stunned, and then, like everyone, I went on with my life. Monica Seles? Wasn’t she the one who was stabbed?
II. One by one, a whole bag of Oreo cookies. Run a dozen 400 meters back to back, then train for three hours more. What’s on TV? What’s in the fridge? Are there any Pop-Tarts left? Overeating one way to cope with violence. Raped, stabbed, depression, doubt, numbness, withdrawal . . . How many struggle against demons we guess at but never know? How many, like Monica, come out free and clear on the other end?
III. The joyous all-out control-abandon-release of her ground strokes. The two pitched (uw whee) of gruntscream gruntscream gruntscream. Two hands of both sides, the forehand indistinguishable from the backhand. No one hurled more arms legs body mind propeller hips shoulders pinwheel buzzsaw grunt backhand scream forehand scream ferocity joy crazed ball machine double time triple time missiles torpedoes Monica’s game like a military weapon that even Leonardo with all his imagination could not have invented for the women’s game.
IV . From 91-93 captured seven grand slams. Three straight French, three straight Australian. Youngest ever in history to win the French open at 16 years old. Ranked #1 in 91 and 92. If not for being stabbed on the court in 1993, how many grand slams would Seles have won?
*This story was originally published in Mulberry Fork Review.
Art Announcement: If you know anyone in the tennis or arts community who would like to create an original drawing or painting in response to this writing on Monica Seles by Feb. 15, 2020, I will plan on including it (if appropriate) in a future post on “Tennis Players as Works of Art.” If you are interested, please send an electronic image of your original work to linebarg14@gmail.com. If you have any questions, just let me know.
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