This woman is truly a hero to me..Monica Seles

[144000]

she invented the women's power game, and made the sport interesting. she was indeed the most hated woman in recent sports history, being hated for everything from her unorthodox style to her grunt. she stormed onto the scene and started a revolution, and, unfortuantely suffered the fate of those who usually do. and yet, she survived. people have been copying her game ever since, and, apparently, she was so dominant, that the only thing somebody thought that they could do to stop her was to stab her. the stabber got away with his crime, and was not imprisoned. that's how hated she was..and to some degree, still is. now, she's on dancing with the stars....and, personally, i love her performance. she is my favorite athlete of all time.

i think she'll still be on next week...http://youtube.com/watch?v=xB32eVy3HsQ

 

[arXter]

she is greatness but..

she invented the women's power game, and made the sport interesting.

that's very arguable as Martina Navratilova was the undisputed force to change women's style and fitness to become this powerful...

the stabber got away with his crime, and was not imprisoned. that's how hated she was..

this is no conspiracy, he was deemed mentally ill to be imprisoned. Navratilova was hated more than she was and got so far through it without any conspiracies. it was just so unfortunate.

 

[144000]

she is greatness but..


that's very arguable as Martina Navratilova was the undisputed force to change women's style and fitness to become this powerful...

this is no conspiracy, he was deemed mentally ill to be imprisoned. Navratilova was hated more than she was and got so far through it without any conspiracies. it was just so unfortunate.

well..i feel differently since hate that breeds violence is greater than that that doesn't. Why should the Monicas of the world have to look over their shoulder, and the 'mentally ill' do not? someone deemed 'mentally ill' was allowed out and then massacred many at virginia tech. i really don't think that the value of Monica's life and the tragedy that happened to her should be reduced to simply...'unfortunate'. all this is doing is adding to the atmosphere of lawlessness.

And, of course, my view on Monica is my own. i do know that the ratings for womens' tennis went up sharply since the days of Monica. i don't remember Martina's serve reaching upwards of 120 miles per hour. what i'm saying is that Monica's game was a prelude to a game that couldn't be told apart from the men's game, except that there was more volleying and excitement on the women's side.

 

[arXter]

i don't want to get into a debate on whether or not the mentally ill should be imprisoned.

as to the legacies, it's certainly incorrect to attribute Seles for "inventing" the women's 'power game'. Navratilova heralded in to women's tennis a level of fitness and more serve/drop style that had not been seen before. and this was continued and improved upon by Seles paving the way for the Williams sisters.

 

[144000]

i don't want to get into a debate on whether or not the mentally ill should be imprisoned.

as to the legacies, it's certainly incorrect to attribute Seles for "inventing" the women's 'power game'. Navratilova heralded in to women's tennis a level of fitness and more serve/drop style that had not been seen before. and this was continued and improved upon by Seles paving the way for the Williams sisters.

i don't understand your second paragraph. which choice are you making? the williams sisters game is comparable to seles...not martina. i hardly see the difference between martina and chris everett..but seles is a whole new ballgame, and every woman since then copied that style. the womens game and mens game was like badminton prior to seles.... it's definitely correct to credit seles with the power game. you are very vague in your description of martina's style... i don't even know what you are describing that was not seen before. there's no subtlety of explanation needed for seles. the layman can see the difference. it's very obvious..just for starters..the use of two hands, and the baseball style swing, and the feeling that you definitely have to get out of the way of the ball.

 

[arXter]

what was not seen before was the raised level of aggression and power on court. this is widely known and credited to her and also why she is considered a legend. these became the hallmarks of her game and Seles followed suit.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/wimbledon_2003/history/2966596.stm

In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Navratilova raised the women's game to a new level with power and aggression.

The Czech-born left-hander, who became a naturalised American in 1975, also set new standards with her astonishing fitness levels and commitment.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/tennis/features/newsid_3254000/3254604.stm

Her all court game and amazing fitness sparked a new era in women's tennis.
She was more muscular than many women on Tour and took training to a new level whether it was in the gym or on a basketball court.

And she wasn't the type who held back against easy opponents.
Instead she'd wipe the floor with them.

∴ to say Seles invented the power game is misinformed.

 

[144000]

what was not seen before was the raised level of aggression and power on court. this is widely known and credited to her and also why she is considered a legend. these became the hallmarks of her game and Seles followed suit.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/wimbledon_2003/history/2966596.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/tennis/features/newsid_3254000/3254604.stm



∴ to say Seles invented the power game is misinformed.

no..it's not misinformed. it depends on who is reporting it. and, by the way, ratings do have a place in this debate.

even you are willing to concede the words 'followed suit.' i don't see the difference in martina's game and everett's game, so there's nothing for me to concede. everybody has a different style of play, but seles' achievments are dramatic, to say the least. and as far as fitness is concerned..who in pro tennis isn't fit? no one.

also, i disagree with you about the idea of a conspiracy. for the first time in history, a young woman who is upcoming has been ordered to not grunt when she plays, or she won't be allowed to make a living playing her sport. the first and only comparison that was made, in the media, was to Monica. people in all sports make noises when exerting effort. i hear it on nba courts all the time. since when is it so worth endangering someone's career in sports over a noise they make..unless it's golf. men make the noise all the time on the court, and it's ok by the media. it's just another part of Monica's unique style which she was berated for, in the media.

 

[arXter]

if you can't see a difference in Evert's and Navratilova's play then i'd advise you to go youtube hunting and watch at least one game after 1977 when she brought in her unique aggressiveness and fitness into the women's court.

their rivalry is what set Martina onto this legacy of being known for raising the bar.

that's not to take anything away from Evert, simply because they're different - she was a baseline player and Martina was a serve and volleyer (with Chris playing the best baseline game ever seen then). Seles also took a lot from Evert in that respect along with the other bold baseline players.

no one invented anything here. without the likes of Navratilova and Evert, there'd be no Seles.

 

[144000]

if you can't see a difference in Evert's and Navratilova's play then i'd advise you to go youtube hunting and watch at least one game after 1977 when she brought in her unique aggressiveness and fitness into the women's court.

their rivalry is what set Martina onto this legacy of being known for raising the bar.

that's not to take anything away from Evert, simply because they're different - she was a baseline player and Martina was a serve and volleyer (with Chris playing the best baseline game ever seen then). Seles also took a lot from Evert in that respect along with the other bold baseline players.

no one invented anything here. without the likes of Navratilova and Evert, there'd be no Seles.

i never agree with the 'there never would be no seles' type argument. there's no real basis for that. i'm not denying that every tennis player has someone they look to for influence..but to say 'there would be no seles' is extreme. and i have seen footage of all three players...and yes..there was a rivalry between martina and chris.

 

[arXter]

my "without the likes of Navratilova and Evert, there'd be no Seles" remark means that without Martina's evident raising of the fitness/power bar (this is engraved in Tennis stone) and Chris's superior baseline play and accuracy, Seles would not have been the awesomely aggressive player she turned out to be.

again, she is as great as any other widely revered player and i'd even say underrated
but i'm simply arguing against the notion that she somehow invented this style of play.

 

[LindaC781]

I guess none of you were around during the days of Billy Jean King...she busted Bobby Rigg's ass...it was the matchup of the century - Men vs Women in Tennis...LOL!

 

[arXter]

a great aggressive player, but doesn't match up to neither Navratilova nor Seles when it comes to devastating athletic prowess. as great as she was, i'd say she was born a decade behind her time.

 

[144000]

my "without the likes of Navratilova and Evert, there'd be no Seles" remark means that without Martina's evident raising of the fitness/power bar (this is engraved in Tennis stone) and Chris's superior baseline play and accuracy, Seles would not have been the awesomely aggressive player she turned out to be.

again, she is as great as any other widely revered player and i'd even say underrated
but i'm simply arguing against the notion that she somehow invented this style of play.

i don't think it's tennis stone. people are born with whatever talent and style they have. there are a lot of players with accuracy and who use the baseline. i think Davenport can work from the baseline. i'm talking about Seles' way of turning the racket into a baseball bat. that's original. to treat the ball like it's her worst enemy, and try to destroy it with that velocity is def a Seles original. that speed with which the ball can compete with a hockey puck for velocity, is def a Seles original. i'm talking about where you have to strain to see the ball, it's moving so fast. i'm talking about something that both genders took notice of. i'm talking about a game that no one can any longer fall asleep while watching.

 

[arXter]

great, as long as you don't overlook the impact Martina had on the modern-day power game then i'd agree with you because no one can dispute that Monica's ground strokes are like no one else's with that sheer power and accuracy put in them. she, like Navratilova, was a tennis player's tennis player.