Seles finally gives up on reviving former glories

By Simon Evans

DELRAY BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Monica Seles's brilliant career, disrupted by a stabbing and cut short by injury, ended quietly on Thursday.

The former world number one may never have fully recovered from being stabbed by a spectator during a match in 1993 but it was injuries that stopped her making a comeback, as well as a stubborn refusal to return at a level below her best.

Seles, 34, last played a competitive match at the 2003 French Open but thoughts of a comeback were never far from her mind.

"My personal theory is, if you're retired, you're retired," she told the Houston Chronicle last year. "You don't come back. And I don't feel like I'm ready to say that.

"I'm in such good shape. I only wish I was in this good a shape when I was playing. It's hard to accept that, just because of an injury, you're finished."

Equally hard to accept was the fear that she may return to the court a pale shadow of her former self.

Lindsay Davenport, another former world number one who made her own comeback last year, said in 2005 that she did not expect Seles to return because she would not accept lower standards.

"I think she loved her last year and won't go out there and play unless she's the good Monica that's everyone's used to," Davenport said.