"If you're relaxed off the court, you're probably more relaxed on the court"- When Monica Seles won her fourth straight Canadian Open title
Monica Seles has won the Canadian Open four times, which is more than any woman in the Open Era. All of her titles came in succession, thus making her the only player, male or female, to win the tournament on four consecutive occasions in the Open Era.
Seles' first title at the Canadian Open (then known as the du Maurier Open) came in 1995 when she thrashed Amanda Coetzer 6-0, 6-1 in the final. She successfully defended her title in 1996 before doing the same in 1997, defeating Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Anke Huber in the respective title clashes.
In 1998, Seles entered the competition seeded fifth and reached the final after defeating then-World No. 1 Martina Hingis 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals. Here, she was up against third seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and beat her 6-3, 6-2 to win her first title of the 1998 season.
Seles said after the match that she had a good time in Canada, adding that her off-court relaxation led to the same on-court.
"I just think I have a good time here. I love both Toronto and Montreal and I've always thought that if you're relaxed off the court, you're probably more relaxed on the court, too. It just seems to work for me," Monica Seles said.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario spoke of Seles' dominance throughout the match, claiming:
"Monica wasn't missing much today, She served really well and didn't give me many chances.
Monica Seles ended up winning 46 out of 59 matches during the 1998 season, with two titles to her name. She reached the French Open final that year but was beaten by Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.
Monica Seles won 31 out of 34 matches at the Canadian Open
Monica Seles had an impressive record at the Canadian Open as she won 31 out of 34 matches there, with four titles to her name. Barring her fourth title in 1998, all of her triumphs in Montreal and Toronto came without dropping a single set.
Seles appeared in seven appearances at the competition and reached at least the final on six occasions. The only time she did not reach the title clash was in her last appearance in the tournament in 2002.
Seeded fifth, Seles reached the semifinals of the Canadian Open (then known as the Rogers AT&T Cup) before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams.