3, Jana Novotn, before losing in the semifinal to first-seeded Davenport. [56][57] This was followed by a first-round straight-sets loss at Wimbledon to Lori McNeil, her only loss at Wimbledon between 1991 and 1997 and her first loss in a first round Grand Slam tournament in ten years. A worthy opponent, she is an exceptional and versatile player to have dominated the international women's tennis scene for a long time. [98][99] It was Graf and Snchez Vicario's first head-to-head meeting since 1996. 3. "[38], Graf followed this with easy victories in her next four tournaments at Washington, D.C., San Antonio, Texas, Boca Raton, Florida, and Hilton Head. From 1991 until the end of her career, Graf would only play doubles sporadically, forming short-term partnerships with a variety of players, including Lori McNeil, Anke Huber and her best friends on the tour, Rennae Stubbs, Patricia Tarabini and Ines Gorrochategui. At Wimbledon, after struggling through early-round three-setters against Mariaan de Swardt and Patty Fendick, she easily defeated Natasha Zvereva in the quarterfinal, Sabatini in the semifinal, and Seles in the final, 62, 61, with Seles playing in almost complete silence because of widespread media and player criticism of her grunting. In the womens tournament, Williams could repeat the achievement if she competes in what will be her fifth Olympic Games. She had some amazing rivalries with Hall of Fame opponents such as Navratilova, Evert, Sabatini and Seles. Graf lost to Conchita Martnez in her comeback tournament a month later in Philadelphia. . She basically became a backhand slice guru ,,, This became only single taint in Graf's tennis career. [134] During her career, Graf divided her time between her hometown of Brhl; Boca Raton, Florida; and New York City where she owned a penthouse in the former Police Headquarters Building in SoHo. And on 5 June 1988, the match for the championship against the Soviet Unions Natasha Zvereva lasted a mere 34 minutes, with Zverera mustering only a few points in a 6-0, 6-0 whitewash. Highly emotional and sensitive, with a temperament more suited to a poet than to a professional athlete, Steffi had a poignant sadness about . The match was notable for its dramatic ending. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:01. She did not drop a set en route to the final, defeating Czechoslovakias Hana Mandlkov in the quarter-final and compatriot Claudia Kohde-Kilsch in the semi-final. However, seeing the current situation, Graff also feels frightened. [146], In December 1999, Graf was named the greatest female tennis player of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by the Associated Press. On 13 August 1999, shortly after retiring with a strained hamstring from a second round match against Amy Frazier in San Diego, Graf announced her retirement from the women's tour at age 30. She reached a total of 31 singles major finals. [73] Graf came back to the tour in March, winning back to back titles in Indian Wells and Miami, followed by a record ninth title at the German Open in May and a quarterfinal defeat in Rome against Martina Hingis. Victories at Zurich and Brighton preceded the Virginia Slims Championships, where Graf cemented her top-ranked status by beating Navratilova in the four-set final. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks. A bout of rubella forced Graf to miss the first major event of 1992, the Australian Open. Graf then defeated Sabatini 63, 63 in the gold medal match at the Olympic Games in Seoul and achieved what the media had dubbed the "Golden Slam". Is it possible to have any other year Steffi Graf: yep, it would be like Monica's or Serena's type of dominance. [117] Early in her career, Graf used the Dunlop Maxpower Pro and Maxpower Kevlar racquets and then played with the Max 200G racquet from 1984 to 1993[118][119][120][121] before switching to Wilson from 1994 to 1999. Before Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi became the power tennis couple off court, the two were connected by a remarkable weekend 20 years ago at Roland Garros. [101] She was beaten in two out of three matches, with each match being one set. The US Open ended anti-climactically as Navratilova defeated Graf in the final 76, 61. [8] Furthermore, she is the only tennis player, male or female, to have won each major tournament at least four times. She had to overcome three difficult three set matches en route to this final, against Mariaan De Swardt in the second round, Venus Williams in the quarterfinals and Mirjana Lui in the semifinals. will, Steffi would don her stoical mask and use her cannon of a forehand, the most powerful weapon in the women's game, to overwhelm her opponents. Torture and boredom, boredom and torture, that's how it is for Steffi Graf. Martina Navratilova then defeated Graf 76, 67, 64 in a US Open semifinal, the first time she had beaten Graf in four years. She made it to the final and took the first set against Snchez Vicario but lost the next two sets Sanchez Vicario's last victory over Graf. She retired from tennis in 1999. steffi graf opponents. Both dominated opponents with power and movement. to overwhelm her opponents. She and Agassi, her husband, were on Team Elton John, which competed against Team Billie Jean King. [88] Sabatini said of the partnership: "doubles is all about communicating with each other, and we didn't communicate that much. David Douillet writes judo history in Sydney in 2000. She subsequently withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open and had arthroscopic surgery performed on her left knee. Graf then reached her ninth Wimbledon singles final, losing to third-seeded Davenport in straight sets. LEAVE A . She lost her first round match 64, 60 to Tracy Austin, a two-time US Open champion and former world No. . Feb 24, 2023. "Steffi Graf is the best all-around player," said Evert, whose name is also mentioned as one of the all-time greats. [22] She began practising on a court at the age of four and played in her first tournament at five. Graf then won all five of her Fed Cup matches, helping Germany defeat Spain in the final by defeating Arantxa Snchez Vicario, 64, 62. [149], Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, named Graf as the best female player of the 20th century. Graf beat opponents with spectacular precision, and Williams had a power game, unlike any woman in professional tennis. Seles and Graf met in the final, with Graf winning in three sets, saving a set point in the first set. But the world of tennis is still waiting for another player capable of securing a Golden Slam in one year. Notable features of Graf's game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork and powerful forehand drive. In a close French Open final, Graf again overcame Snchez Vicario, taking the third set 108. Though she lost the game to opponent Tracy Austin by 6-4, 6-0, this did very little to dishearten the young blood. Graf played in her first professional tournament in October 1982 at Filderstadt, Germany. Although she now lives in Las Vegas, Stefanie Maria Graf was born in Mannheim, West Germany on June 14, 1969. [33] Zvereva, who had eliminated Martina Navratilova in the fourth round, won only thirteen points in the match.[33]. Her parents are Heidi Schalk and Peter Graf. [55] In the Hamburg final, she lost for the first time in 1994 after 36 consecutive match victories, losing to Snchez Vicario in three sets. Graf lost an Australian Open quarterfinal to Jana Novotn, the first time she did not reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 1986 French Open. She was one of the most fierce Tennis stars of her generation and tasted great success on every court. The US Open was Monica Seles's first Grand Slam event since the 1993 attack, with much anticipation again around a potential Seles-Graf final. Graf said after the final that it would be her last French Open, fueling speculation about her retirement.[84]. She did not win a tournament but consistently reached tournament finals, semifinals and quarterfinals, with the highlight being her semifinal loss to Navratilova at the US Open. Graf then won the tournament in Berlin, losing only twelve games in five matches. [37] He went on to add, "I saw what Steffi did to Sabatini at the Australian Open this year, and that was it. Venus Williams. Her accuracy with the slice, both cross-court and down the line and her ability to skid the ball and keep it low, enabled her to use it as an offensive weapon to set the ball up for her forehand put-aways. At the 1999 French Open, Graf and Agassi . Graf lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at Amelia Island, Florida. As true as that forehand was, the mask was no less a lie. Graf also won the 1984 demonstration event at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, but this was for players aged 21 or under, and it was not an official Olympic event. All Rights Reserved. Martina Navratilova included Graf at the top of her list of the greatest players ever. [41][42] Graf, however, recovered to defeat Martina Navratilova 62, 67, 61 in the Wimbledon final after defeating Monica Seles 60, 61 in a fourth round match, Arantxa Snchez Vicario in a quarterfinal, and Chris Evert in a semifinal. They have two children. Her overall record in 56 Grand Slam events was 27832 (90 percent) (8410 at the French Open, 747 at Wimbledon, 739 at the US Open, and 476 at the Australian Open). Her winning streak (unbeaten since the 1989 French Open loss to Arantxa Snchez) continued with victories in Tokyo, Amelia Island, and Hamburg. In 1984, she first gained international attention when she almost upset the tenth seed, Jo Durie of the United Kingdom, in a fourth round Centre Court match at Wimbledon. And each time the opponent threw a problem her way, she . It just felt something special that I was going to, recalls Graf. She won five consecutive singles majors (1988 Australian Open to 1989 Australian Open), and seven out of eight, in two calendar years (1988 Australian Open to 1989 US Open, except 1989 French Open). She had just lost a three-set semifinal to No. Steffi Graf, byname of Stephanie Maria Graf, (born June 14, 1969, Brhl, West Germany [now in Germany]), German tennis player who dominated women's tennis in the late 1980s and '90s, winning 22 Grand Slam singles titles. Graf's semifinal match at the 1988 US Open was a walkover (so not counted as win), The main weapons in Graf's game were her powerful inside-out forehand drive (which earned her the moniker Frulein Forehand) and her intricate footwork. Her gold medal came after victories in the Grand Slam tournaments at Melbourne, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and New York, giving rise to a new term: the Golden Slam. She lost a lengthy one-set singles match to Clijsters and also the mixed doubles.[106]. (Twelve years later, Graf defeated Austin 60, 60 during a second round match at the Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California, which was their second and last match against each other. However, she finished her year with a highlight, winning her first Virginia Slims Championships since 1989 by beating Arantxa Snchez Vicario in the final despite needing painkillers for a back injury. [58] Graf still managed to win San Diego the following month but aggravated a long-time back injury in beating Snchez Vicario in the final. She married fellow Olympic champion Agassi in 2001, and the pair have two children together. "Peter Graf" redirects here. [122][129] Other companies she has endorsed include Barilla, Apollinaris, Citibank, Danone and Teekanne. "[89] Her endurance and superior footwork allowed her to excel on clay courts, where, in addition to six French Open titles, she won 26 regular tour events, including a record eight titles at the German Open. It was the days when the Williams . She hit the sliced backhand harder and with more underspin than any woman I have ever seen. Chicago was notable, however, for being the first tournament Graf played with her new coach, former Swiss player Heinz Gnthardt. After surviving a scare in a three-setter against Amanda Coetzer in the first round, Graf reached the final with relative ease, while Seles went through her side of the draw in even more convincing fashion. In the meantime, she lost surprisingly to Nicole Bradtke of Australia in a Fed Cup match on clay before winning the Acura Classic in San Diego and the Canadian Open in Toronto in preparation for the US Open. After breaking Novotn's serve, Graf won the next four games to take the match 76, 16, 64. She won there, comfortably beating Helena Sukov in the final after needing three sets to eliminate Gabriela Sabatini and Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. This time, Navratilova beat Graf 76, 63, 62. 29 Jan Tennis Norge . Less than three weeks after beating her in New York, Graf inflicted yet another defeat on the Argentinean, giving her no chance with an imposing 6-3, 6-3 victory. Opponent Score Loss: 1986: Year-end championships: Carpet (i) Martina Navratilova: 6-7 (8-10), 3-6, 2-6 Win: 1987: Year-end championships: Graf, Kerber's idol . Official match time was 34 minutes, which charitably included two minutes of rain delay. Next up were the grass courts of Wimbledon, where Graf was never in any danger until the final, when she came up against six-time defending champion Navratilova, unbeaten since 1981. But from 1990 onward, Graf hit fewer & fewer of those beautiful backhand drive/topspins for some reason. Following her tournament victory in German Open in Berlin, Graf suffered one of the worst defeats of her career in a French Open semifinal where she won only two games against Snchez Vicario and lost her first 60 set since 1984. [63][64], A strained right calf muscle forced Graf to withdraw from the Australian Open. That doesn't mean it will happen. She soon began taking the top prize at junior tournaments with regularity, going on to win the European Championships 12s and 18s in 1982. Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:01, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steffi_Graf_career_statistics&oldid=1142150918, Virginia Slims Championships, New York City, WTA Tour Championships, New York, United States. Graf secured the World 124th position in her first year. Graf later stated it was the best tennis she had ever played in a Grand Slam final. There really hasn't been anyone like her since. Do Not Disturb. Starting in the early 1990s, she used the slice almost exclusively in baseline rallies and mostly limited the topspin backhand to passing shots. She ended the 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, and 1996 tennis seasons as the worlds top-ranked player. #3. And so many times she was able to absorb her opponent's biggest blows and . Stefanie Maria Steffi" Graf 1969614 GOAT He claimed that he committed the attack to help Graf reclaim the world No. In 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. Furthermore, Graf's backhand was, in a subtle way, an extremely aggressive shot. I have complied some stats . 22 in 1984, and No. At the Roland-Garros trophy ceremony, after she . Only results in WTA Tour (incl. SAN DIEGO The shock was not that top-ranked Steffi Graf won another match, 6-0, 6-0. After several months injury lay off, Graf returned to play in the German Open in Berlin in front of a home crowd and had the worst defeat of her career in the quarterfinal, when Amanda Coetzer beat her in just 56 minutes 60, 61. In her semifinal match at the US Open, Graf defeated Sabatini 36, 64, 62. The German allowed Zvereva just 13 points, three of them in that one early game. Even discounting that result, no other player had played and won 27 Grand Slam matches in a single year before. Once was in Syndey early in the year at a small tournament, and again at Indian Wells, 1999. Having won the first three Majors of the year, Djokovic is three-fifths of the way to a . Meanwhile, her naturally aggressive style of play, effective backhand slice and speed around the court made her even more dominant on fast surfaces such as hard courts, grass and carpet. She struggled at the German Open in Berlin where she lost a 60 set to the unheralded Sabine Hack before defeating Mary Joe Fernndez and Sabatini in three-set matches to claim her seventh title there in eight years. No. She is better than them all. [65] She came back in February, winning four consecutive tournaments in Paris, Delray Beach, Miami and Houston. Her year continued indifferently with losses in three of her first four tournaments, including a semifinal loss to Jana Novotn in Chicago. [77][78] In the French Open Graf was again beaten by Amanda Coetzer in straight sets, 61, 64. [137] She started dating Andre Agassi after the 1999 French Open and they married on 22 October 2001, with only their mothers as witnesses. In the final, Evert was completely overwhelmed in the first set, losing 6-1. [115], Early in her career, Graf wore Dunlop apparel, before signing an endorsement contract with Adidas in 1985. It was the longest French Open women's singles final in history, both in terms of time (3 hours and 3 minutes) and number of games played (40). Zvereva endured a magical run at Roland Garros that year, but things unraveled in the final when she came up against a Steffi Graf that was in destructive mode. Graf's schedule was closely controlled by her father, who limited her play so that she would not burn out. Steffi Graf was a dominant force in tennis during the late 1980s and for much of the 1990s. Sela said: Is it possible to have another 1988 Golden Grand Slam Steffi Graf: yeah sure, anything's possible, like having all eight planets aligned in the solar system. . Graf won 6-0, 6-0. Graf had already won 5 Wimbledon titles by then and was hunting for her 6th trophy. At Wimbledon, Graf defeated Jana Novotn to win her third consecutive, and fifth overall, ladies' title.