SELES HOPES U.S. OPEN WILL RESCUE SAGGING YEAR.

Byline: Robin Finn The New York Times

With shoulder surgery looming in the near future and two nondescript Grand Slam results - not to mention a quarterfinal Olympic stumble - marring her rear-view mirror, Monica Seles can't help hoping the U.S. Open provides an immediate distraction of two weeks' duration.

Speaking Wednesday from her home in Sarasota, Fla., Seles admitted that her results in Grand Slam tournaments in this comeback year have fallen far short of the three-Slam-victory-per-year pace she had established before the stabbing that sidelined her for almost 28 months. After winning the 1996 Australian Open in January, she faltered in the quarterfinals at the French Open. Then, at Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam event she has never won, she made the earliest exit of her Slam career.

``It's been a little bit of a weird year - I usually like to play them,'' Seles said of the 1996 Slams, ``but those last two I won't look back on.''

Instead, Seles is counting on this Open to remedy her year and justify her continued co-ranking at No. 1 with Steffi Graf, who has already captured two Grand Slam events this year.

``But I'm going to be taking it a match at a time, not look too far forward or get too excited,'' said the second-seeded Seles, who promised to do some homework and scouting before she faces 64th-ranked Anne Miller in the opening round. The two have never played before, and an ill-prepared Seles was ambushed under similar circumstances by the unsung Linda Ferrando of Italy in the Open's third round in 1990.