Tennis: Seles takes advantage of Kournikova's errors

MONICA SELES once ruled the women's end-of-season championships. Now she hopes a "lucky" victory over Anna Kournikova will help break her recent jinx and fortify her for a showdown with her great rival, Steffi Graf.

Seles, weakened since Sunday by a mysterious stomach ailment, exploited 17 double-faults by the Russian teenager and achieved a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the Chase Championships on Wednesday night, her first in the season's finale since winning the event for the third successive time in 1992.

"I have had just terrible luck here the past four years since I have come back," said Seles, who also missed a couple of championships after being stabbed in Hamburg in 1993. Then, in 1996, she had to default in her match against Kimiko Date because of a shoulder injury. Last year she lost "one of the worst matches" of her career to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

The bad streak could well continue, since Seles is must meet a rejuvenated Graf, winner of her last two tournaments after coming back from an injury- disrupted season. Graf vanquished the Wimbledon champion and title holder, Jana Novotna, in her opening match at Madison Square Garden.

But Seles believes her Garden luck might be changing. "I was lucky to pull it out [against Kournikova] tonight," said the 24-year-old Seles, who revealed that she had not been able to keep any food down since Sunday afternoon.

"I just said, give it my best shot." said Seles. "If at some point I feel [sick] I will just default. I just said I would take it one point at a time and go from there on."

After posting her first win in the event for six years, Seles said she was looking forward to playing Graf in yesterday's evening match. Graf has won this event five times and Seles trails the 29-year-old 8-4 in career meetings, but she has not faced the German since losing to her in the final of the 1996 US Open.

Despite Graf's recent struggles with injury, Seles believes the former world No 1 will remain a force in the game."Steffi is such a perfectionist." said Seles. "Obviously she loves to play indoors and the surface suits her game very well."