“If Monica were around, I’d have someone to prove against” – When Steffi Graf spoke about Monica Seles’ absence after stabbing incident

Steffi Graf’s rise to the top of the women’s game was rather rapid; by her late teens she was already the most dominant player on the tour. Graf frequently beat her rivals with lopsided scorelines too. However, the early 90s saw the rise of another capable challenger in the form of Monica Seles, who wasn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with the German.

Their rivalry marked the beginning of a new dawn in WTA history. Unfortunately, however, in the year 1993 Seles became the victim of a horrific knife attack. On April 30, she was stabbed by a crazed Graf fan during her quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva at the Citizen Cup in Hamburg.Seles wouldn’t return to the tour for two years following the incident. Her absence benefited Graf to an extent; the German, after a brief period of injury struggles, enjoyed a career renaissance while her rival was recovering.

However, Graf did acknowledge the fact that while she’s playing at a high level, she would love to prove herself against a worthy adversary.
“I’m playing such good tennis, and I would like to prove it. If Monica were around, I’d have someone to prove it against,” Steffi Graf said in 1994, speaking about her main rival’s absence from the tour.

News of Seles making her comeback picked up steam around the time of Graf’s triumph at the 1995 French Open. When quizzed about her possible return, the German stated that the best matches are the ones in which a player is tested thoroughly.Seles was one of the few players who did that to Graf frequently, and she missed having her on the tour.
“The most fun you get is when you have tough matches and you’re pushed to your limits. She was one of the players who did that to me…. I’ve missed her,” Graf expressed.