Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 6, 1993                   TAG: 9305060167
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: VAIL, COLO.                                LENGTH: Medium

SELES WILL NOT GIVE UP

"I love this game too much," said Seles, who was making her first public comments about the incident last Friday in Hamburg. "I'm a strong person, mentally and on the court, too. I just want to get back, hit the ball, have fun and go forward with my life. Physically and mentally, it will take a while. I'll do the best I can, as I have done up until now."

Seles is not sure how long she will be unable to play. Her No. 1 ranking may be at stake if she is unable to play in the French Open, Wimbledon or the U.S. Open, all scheduled in the next four months.

"I am taking it day by day," Seles told The Associated Press. "For me, the big thing is to recover my arm. I don't want to say how well I'm going to do. Nobody knows that. . . . I'm going to have to be psychologically ready to play. But I'm sure I'll be thinking about the guy behind me: What are his intentions?"

Seles seemed relaxed but in some pain at the news conference at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Vail, where she arrived Sunday night for treatment of her wound. Seles, a left-hander, sat with her left arm motionless at her side. John Steadman, the doctor who is treating Seles, said she suffered a soft tissue injury to her back. He didn't reveal the depth of the wound.

"It was deep enough to affect the muscles that rotate the shoulder," Steadman said. "Her range of motion has improved in the last few days."

Steadman would not speculate on how long recovery would take.

The incident occurred when Seles was resting during a changeover. A 38-year-old German factory worker leaned out of the stands and plunged a knife between Seles' shoulder blades.

Keywords:
TENNIS