"I didn't want to kill Monica Seles" - When crazed Steffi Graf fan made his feelings known about why he wanted to stab her arch-rival in Hamburg
Monica Seles' glittering career faced a massive setback when she was stabbed in Hamburg by Gunter Parche, who was a fan of Steffi Graf. Parche testified in court, saying that he intended to hurt the then-World No. 1 so that she wouldn't play for a few weeks.
Seles' pomp came during her teenage days in the early 1990s, when she dominated tennis. The then-Yugoslav had already won eight Grand Slams by the time she was 19. This included two years when she clinched three out of the four Majors.
However, Monica Seles suffered a major setback in 1993 when she was stabbed on the shoulder by Gunter Parche, a fan of her rival Steffi Graf's. The matter eventually went to trial and Parche said that his intention wasn't to stab Seles but to hurt her so that she wouldn't be available to play for a few weeks. The German added that he did not want to hurt the then-teenager on the head or neck.
"I didn't want to kill her. I just wanted to hurt her slightly so that Monica wouldn't be able to play for a couple of weeks," Parche said. "I didn't want to hurt the head or the neck under any circumstances. I couldn't reach the arm. Then came the shoulder. I aimed at the shoulder and struck."
Parche also had a message of apology for Seles, which was read by his lawyer. The German said he was sorry for his actions and asked for the then-youngster's forgiveness.
"I'm very, very sorry for what I did to you. I know that I cannot make it undone or make it up. I ask for forgiveness," the statement read.
Gunter Parche was eventually given a two-year suspended sentence for stabbing Seles.
Monica Seles was far from pleased with Gunter Parche's suspended sentence
Monica Seles was disappointed with Parche receiving just a suspended two-year sentence despite admitting to stalking and stabbing her.
“What kind of message does this send to the world?” Seles said, as quoted by the LA Times. “Mr. Parche has admitted that he stalked me, then he stabbed me once (and) now the court has said he does not have to go to jail for his premeditated crime. He gets to go back to his life, but I can’t because I am still recovering from this attack, which could have killed me."
Monica Seles eventually returned to tennis in 1995, and continued to play at a good level. However, she was far from being as lethal as she was during the early 90s and won just one more Grand Slam at the 1996 Australian Open. The American also reached the final of the US Open in 1995 and 1996. Her last appearance at a Major title clash came at the French Open in 1998.
All-in-all, Monica Seles won 21 titles after she returned to action, the last of which came at the 2002 Madrid Open, where she beat Chanda Rubin in the final.