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October 14, 1993, Page 00012Buy Reprints The New York Times Archives

Guenter Parche, a fanatic fan of Steffi Graf, was convicted today of stabbing her tennis rival, Monica Seles. The Hamburg District Court gave Parche a suspended two-year sentence and the 39-year-old German, an unemployed lathe operator, walked away a free man.

Seles, 19 years old, suffered a half-inch-deep wound in her back and has not played in a tournament since Parche stabbed her during a changeover in a quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg. Her ranking has dropped to No. 4 in the world; Graf, 24, has since regained the No. 1 spot.

The news of the verdict brought outrage from Seles and some fellow players on the women's tour.

"What kind of message does this send to the world?" Seles said in a statement released today by International Management Group, her management company. "Mr. Parche has admitted that he stalked me, then he stabbed me once and attempted to stab me a second time. And now the court has said he does not have to go to jail for this premeditated crime.

"He gets to go back to his life, but I can't because I am still recovering from his attack, which could have killed me."

Martina Navratilova was also shocked by the suspended sentence.

"You guys need some serious help with the laws here in Germany," she said from a tournament in Filderstadt, Germany.

"Forget the fact it was Monica Seles, it has cost her millions of dollars, and it was done on television," Navratilova said. "When one human being can stab another with the intent of seriously injuring him, and they walk away, then there is something wrong with the law."

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In giving Parche a suspended sentence, Judge Elke Bosse said she believed Parche's contention that he wanted only to disable Seles for a brief period of time and never intended to kill her, although he had clearly planned the attack for a long time.

Bosse took into account a psychiatrist's testimony that the defendant had a highly abnormal personality that could have diminished his ability to reason. She said Parche had given a full confession and had shown remorse.

German television said Parche chose to spend the night in jail even though the judge said he was free. One network speculated Parche was afraid of being harmed by someone who didn't agree with the sentence. Parche was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum five years in prison.

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