20 years after attack, Seles still unhappy with Germany

Berlin, April 29: The knife attack on Monica Seles, which took place in Hamburg 20 years ago on Tuesday, not only dictated security at sports events over the last two decades, but changed the victim’s life forever.

A similar attack must rank as every sports stars’ worst nightmare and any harmless fan, waiting for hours simply for their idols’ autograph, is now viewed as a potential threat by security staff.

French Open champion Maria Sharapova, who won her 20th consecutive claycourt match when she defended her Stuttgart WTA title on Sunday, is renown for having scores of bodyguards in the wings when she steps on court.

But Seles is the first to admit the attack robbed her of her self confidence.

She had finished both 1991 and 1992 as the world’s top ranked female player and in 1990, aged just 16, she had become the youngest-ever French Open champion.

On April 30, 1993, the tennis world was at her feet.

Having won her eighth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier that year, the Yugoslav (of Serbian origin) was still only 19 when she played her quarterfinal at Hamburg’s Rothenbaum in the day’s last match.

Having won the first set against Bulgaria’s Magdalena Maleeva, Seles

On April 30, 1983, Monica Seles, who was playing Bulgaria’s Magdalena Maleeva, at Hamburg in Germany, was attacked by Guenter Parche, a 38-year-old unemployed tool maker, with a 23cm-long knife during the break.

The knife, which was plunged into Seles’ back, missed her spine by just five centimetres.

The attacker was an ardent fanatic of Steffi Graf and was irritated that Seles had usurped the was resting during a break in play when Guenter Parche, a 38-year-old unemployed tool maker, plunged a 23cm-long knife into her back.

Her attacker had waited German in the world rankings.

Though Seles survived the attack, she lapsed into depression after her attack and her weight shot up by 30kg.

Seles made her comeback in July 1995 in Atlantic City against Martina Navratilova and eventually won the Oz Open for the fourth time in 1996.

Seles, who retired from tennis in 2008, hasn’t stepped foot in Germany ever since the horrible incident. four days for his chance.

His motive was that as an ardent admirer of Steffi Graf, he had been irritated that Seles had usurped the German in the world rankings.

After his arrest, he was found to be carrying 1000 Deutschemarks (511 euros) and had a ticket to fly to Italy where Seles was registered to play at the Rome tournament the following week.

He told Hamburg police he had been planning the attack for weeks but only wanted to harm Seles, not kill her.

At his trial, Parche’s lawyer said his client lived in a fantasy world and his interest in Graf had reached an unhealthy level, fuelling his hatred of Seles.

Experts confirmed Parche had a personality disorder and the judge ruled it was attempted assault, not murder, giving him a two-year suspended sentence.

Due to the light sentence, Seles has never set foot on German soil again.

“Germany is the country where that man attacked me from behind, yet was not sufficiently punished,” she said later in a television interview.

“I cannot understand why this man did not have to pay for his crime.” Two factors saved Seles from further harm. At the moment of her attack, she was bending forward to get up from her seat, sparing her the full length of the blade, which missed her spine by five centimetres.

A security guard then wrestled Parche to the ground to prevent a second stabbing, while others rushed to help Seles.

Incredibly, the tournament was not cancelled and Graf, ironically, went on to beat Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the final. — AFP