I think it was her shoulder injury more than one match. If it had to be one match it would be either her loss to Novotna on clay at the French Open, or her loss to Studenikova at Wimbledon.
@djphay I could not agree with you more. Monica's personality changed drastically in 1996, sometime during the months between the 96 Australian Open (which she dominated with absolute self-confidence)and the 96 US Open Final, in which Monica played timid, confused tennis against Steffi Graf. For reasons that are unclear, Monica seemed to walk onto the court already accepting that she could not defeat Steffi. After that, she never truly believed in herself again on the tennis court.
@JBlue761982 it was the two losses where she didnt get to the finals of the slams - french QF and wimbldeon 2nd round. This is where she had realised the dynamics of the womens game had changed. up until then she was steam rolling the opposition.
she knew she couldnt beat graf in the 96 final- no confidence
Her loss to Studenikova at Wimbledon broke my heart...
kljMN2 1 year ago
Some time in 1996 she lost her confidence... I wonder if it can be pinned down to one particular match?
djphay 3 years ago
I think it was her shoulder injury more than one match. If it had to be one match it would be either her loss to Novotna on clay at the French Open, or her loss to Studenikova at Wimbledon.
gayskatingfan 2 years ago
@djphay I dont know. At the French Open in 96 she wasnt playing as well as she had earlier right from the start.
russianskatingfan 1 year ago
@djphay I could not agree with you more. Monica's personality changed drastically in 1996, sometime during the months between the 96 Australian Open (which she dominated with absolute self-confidence)and the 96 US Open Final, in which Monica played timid, confused tennis against Steffi Graf. For reasons that are unclear, Monica seemed to walk onto the court already accepting that she could not defeat Steffi. After that, she never truly believed in herself again on the tennis court.
JBlue761982 4 months ago
@JBlue761982 it was the two losses where she didnt get to the finals of the slams - french QF and wimbldeon 2nd round. This is where she had realised the dynamics of the womens game had changed. up until then she was steam rolling the opposition.
she knew she couldnt beat graf in the 96 final- no confidence
olaraay 2 months ago