MONICA SELES went out to practise in light rain almost as soon she arrived in Sydney yesterday to demonstrate her commitment to her comeback.

The 22 year old joint world number one with Steffi Graf, is breaking with her normal habit by taking part in a Sydney tournament before going on to the Australian Open in Melbourne, where she has never been beaten.

"It's my first time here and I always like to have a look at the sights," she said. "But this week I'm going to tone it down because of the Australian Open."

Seles said she usually did not play in the week before a Grand Slam tournament, but she is experimenting this year. She is the major draw card for next week's Sydney International at White City, the third event of her comeback.

Following the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on January 15th, she has entered an event in Tokyo.

After being stabbed by an obsessed fan during a tournament in Germany in 1993 Seles, then the undisputed number one, did not play competitively until last August.

She started her comeback by winning the Canadian Open and advancing to the final of the US Open, where she lost to Graf.

She has since recovered from a knee injury that bothered her at the US Open, a subsequent ankle sprain and a mysterious virus. "My fitness has been okay, but not as great as I'd want," she said.

Seles won the Australian Open in the only three years she previously entered the event in 1991, 92 and 93. She has a 21-0 win loss record at the Open and has never lost a competitive match in Australia.

She has won a total of eight Grand Slam events, with Wimbledon the only major title to elude her to date.