Seles gets the better of inner demons

Will the real Monica Seles please stand up? Impeccable in her first two matches, the American produced a Jekyll and Hyde performance yesterday to beat Ai Sugiyama in three sets.

It would have been very different 10 years ago, when Seles ruled the world and could finish matches with ease. But she has never been the same since her career was stolen from her when she was stabbed in 1993. She has, under the circumstances, done as well as she could, although even she ponders what might have been.

"I often sit back and wonder how much was lost that one day when it happened to me," she said. "But there's nothing I can do about that now."

Nor was Seles able to do much in the first set, as she struggled to establish any rhythm. It tells you everything that she made 16 unforced errors, only six fewer than she had recorded in her two previous rounds put together. Credit, though, must go to Sugiyama, whose success rested mainly on her ability to frustrate Seles. She showed bravery, too, when having to serve out the set at 5-4. In eight previous meetings, the 26-year-old had never won a set off the former world No 1.

If she was nervous, it did not show, as she dispatched an overhead winner on the first point, and then forced two errors from Seles to earn two set points. Following a nervy double fault, Sugiyama made no mistake with the second chance. Her punch in the air and short cry spoke volumes about her delight.

Seles responded in the only way she knows, namely by hitting the ball harder and harder. She won the opening game to love and then broke her Tokyo-born opponent twice in succession to race into a five-game lead. She eventually won the second set 6-1. The third was only marginally tighter, finishing 6-4.

"I started off sluggishly, so I was pleased to play well in the second and third sets," she said. "It was a really good wake-up call to lose the first – it made me more focused. Now I hope to carry my form through to next week."

This is only the third time in a decade that Seles has made it past the midway point. Her only appearance in the final came 10 years ago, when Steffi Graf beat her in straight sets. "I'm just looking forward to being in the event on Monday," the 28-year-old said. "I've got a tough opponent [Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand], who really enjoys this surface, but I must have a chance."

Seles' sternest test will probably come in the quarter-finals, when she is likely to face sixth seed Justine Henin who cruised to a 6-4 6-4 victory yesterday over the Swiss qualifier, Myriam Casanova.

Seles believes she is at the same career crossroads as her compatriots Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, who may not be at the end of the road but whose brilliance is waning. "We're all coming to the end of our runs," she said. "I think how much wear and tear I have on my body, and how much I have put in mentally.

"The last year has given me a perspective on what is important. I've realised what I want." Another Grand Slam? "Well, that would be nice," Seles smiled. "At this stage that is the one thing that really drives me very, very hard. Winning one more major is my reason for playing on."