When Monica Seles first heard that the man who stabbed her had been set free, she could not believe it.
"I was out shopping with a friend at the mall and my brother, Zoltan, walked up to me and told me the verdict. I thought he was playing a joke on me. I was stunned," she told CNN on Thursday."Everyone expected him to get at least 10 or 15 years," she said. "It was obvious what he did to me. It was on tape. The state is appealing. There's nothing I can do at this point."
In her first interview since her assailant was set free, Seles also said she was still hoping to make her return to tennis next month at the Australian Open.
Seles was stabbed in the back April 30 during a tournament in Hamburg, Germany, by an obsessed fan who wanted Steffi Graf to return to the top ranking. The man, Gunter Parche, was given a two-year suspended sentence on Oct. 13 after being kept in police custody for six months following the attack.
"Why did he want to hurt me? Steffi couldn't understand it, either," Seles said. "There's no way to explain it. I'm angry with him when I think that my 1993 was washed out. Physically and mentally, it's tough. All I can say is, `Why?' "
Parche, 39, said he did not want to kill Seles, only wound her.
Seles, ranked No. 1 in the world at the time of the attack, has not played in a tournament since. She was interviewed in Sarasota, Fla., where she is preparing for her return to competitive tennis.
Seles, however, is not sure when she will be ready to play again.
"I could have played a lot of exhibitions in December, but I think the people deserve to see me at my best," she said. "I'm working toward the Australian Open, but I need some match play before that."