Monica Seles is one of the all-time greats when it comes to women’s tennis, given the clutch of Grand Slams she collected.
Coco Gauff recently equalled a long-standing Seles record, and her tournament wins place her among the best to have ever played the game.
Seles might have won a total of nine Grand Slam titles during her career, but it could and probably should have been more.
Indeed, there was one title that she dearly wished she could have got her hands on during her career, and it likely still haunts her to this day.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesThe one tournament Monica Seles said she really wanted to win in 1992
Way back in 1992, Seles came up against Steffi Graf at Wimbledon, and it’s no surprise what happened.
Graf famously won seven Wimbledon titles, and one of them came in 1992 smack in the middle of a run which saw her win three All England Club crowns in succession.
Seles was absolutely blown off the court by the German in a demolition job that saw her succumb to a 6-2, 6-1 defeat in next to no time.
After the final, she said in her post-match press conference that winning Wimbledon was something she hoped to achieve in the future.
Seles said: “I don’t want to do that. Wimbledon is extra special. I would love to play some great tennis there and win it.
“This year, it definitely helped getting into the finals, but I think when I got to the finals, I made the occasion too big. I just thought, “whoosh,” and I shouldn’t have. So next year when I go back, I will have learned a lesson from it.
“But I would not like to do that to myself, because it is like Lendl, I think it is almost like an obsession. It is a tennis tournament. Everything is, you know, with the number one ranking with the U.S. Open; you got to open it all and put it in perspective. That is why I don’t want any tournament to be something that I definitely have to do. If it happens, it was meant to happen; if it doesn’t, I am happy.”
Seles never won Wimbledon
Ultimately, 1992 was as good as it got for Seles, and she will look back on not winning the title with some sadness.
Three more quarterfinal berths would come her way during her career at Wimbledon, but the title so often escaped her grasp.
It’s quite intriguing that overseas players talk about Wimbledon being the holy grail when it comes to the Grand Slam events.
The traditional nature of it in the modern era can lead to some critique but it does very much sound like the one that all the players still want to win.
Indeed, Seles’ comments in 1992 suggest she dearly hoped she’d be in the winner’s circle at Wimbledon one day.