[25] During that period, she lost six times to Evert and three times to Navratilova, all in straight sets. [70][71] He was eventually released after serving 25 months. [61] She took the following nine weeks off, returning only for the Virginia Slims Championships where she lost in straight sets to Pierce in the quarterfinal. In Indian Wells Graf lost to Serena Williams in three sets. [109], Note: The German allowed Zvereva just 13 points, three of them in that one early game. [8] Furthermore, she is the only tennis player, male or female, to have won each major tournament at least four times. She and Margaret Court are the only players, female or male, to win three majors in a calendar year five times (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1996). 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. No. The pair was moderately successful, winning the 1988 Wimbledon Championships together and reaching the finals of the French Open in 1986, 1987 and 1989. [101] She was also in Berlin to host a charity gala, as well as inaugurating a tennis stadium renamed the "Steffi Graf Stadion". This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. 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. It is true that Graf had one of the best forehands of her era, but that doesn't mean that it is mechanically perfect. I don't care who believes Court and Serena are greater than her because I don't subscribe to highest slam count is the be-all and end-all in GOAT. Tennis's 10 Greatest Rivalries | GQ 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. Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf (German pronunciation: [tf gaf]; born 14 Juin 1969) is a umwhile Warld No. Seles won the match on her fifth match point; Graf came within two points of winning the match a few games earlier. First professional tournament: 1982 Porsche Grand Prix at Filderstadt, Germany Plays: right handed, one handed backhand Raquet: Dunlop / Wilson Former Clubs: HTC Heidelberg, LTTC Rot-Weiss Berlin, BASF Ludwigshafen Favorite Tournament: Wimbledon Favorite Surface: Grass court Former Coaches: Pavel Slozil (1986-1991), Heinz Guenthardt . [152] She was voted the WTA Player of the Year in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996. She is now a naturalized American citizen, and has even been nominated as one of 2022's Great US Immigrants by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Kerber's opponent will be the defending champion, . . Her father, an aspiring tennis coach, first introduced her to the game, teaching his . [68] A bout of rubella forced Graf to miss the first major event of 1992, the Australian Open. She hit the sliced backhand harder and with more underspin than any woman I have ever seen. 1, 64, 46, 86 after beating Sabatini in a three-set semifinal. steffi graf opponents Official match time was 34 minutes, which charitably included two minutes of rain delay. The facts: American Amy Frazier was Graf's final opponent. ", "Graf edges Hingis, captures sixth and 'last' French title", "Do Not Disturb: If Steffi Graf could shut out the world the way she shuts down opponents on the court then, for her, life would be perfect", "Tennis | Martinez wins controversial clash", "Results Archive - Steffi Graf - Australian Open Tennis Championships", "Tennis: Wimbledon 99 - Magic mixture of McEnroe and Graf", "TENNIS; Without Dad Around To Disturb Her, Lucic Upsets Fourth-Seeded Seles at Wimbledon", "Graf overcomes layoff to beat Coetzer in farewell exhibition", "* NZine * Tennis - The Biggest Participant Sport In New Zealand - Tennis, Steffi Graf, Indoor Tennis Centre, Davis Cup, Anthony Wilding, Wilding Park, Maurice Agar, Scenic Circles Indoor Tennis Centre, New Zealand Tennis", "Steffi Graf delights crowd at Westside Tennis Club - Houston Chronicle", "Steffi Graf: The Queen Returns to Centre Court", "Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Elton John headline an evening of tennis for charity in Washington", "ASAP Sports Transcripts - Tennis - 1995 - WTA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS - November 18 - Steffi Graf", "Today in Performance Sneaker History: Steffi Graf Becomes First Female with 500 Wins in Signature adidas Model", "Take a look at this Dunlop Steffi Graf ad from 1989! Graf won four indoor tournaments after the US Open, including a pair of straight-set wins over Sabatini in the finals of Zrich and Worcester. . Twice in the third set Snchez Vicario served for the championship but was broken each time by Graf. [85][86] She was ranked No. Graf secured the World 124th position in her first year. The weeks following Wimbledon [in 1999] weren't easy for me. n civa ani ajunge . Graf remains one of the greatest champions in the history of her sport. 'It is Frightening' - Steffi Graf Opens up About the Negative Impact of [14][13], An exceptionally versatile competitor, Graf remains the only player, male or female, to have won the calendar-year Grand Slam on three surfaces or to have won each Grand Slam at least four times. I've always looked up to her and the way she approached the game" : Pete Sampras It was important for me to win here, she said afterwards. [24] In 1985, for instance, she played only ten events leading up to the US Open, whereas another up-and-coming star, Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, who was a year younger than Graf, played 21. Seles defeated Graf at the Australian Open 46, 63, 62. Graf then won the tournament in Berlin, losing only twelve games in five matches. [115], She built her powerful and accurate serve up to 183km/h (114mph), making it one of the fastest serves in women's tennis and was a capable volleyer. United States . In addition to being great as players, they were also great as husband and wife. [34] She then won tournaments in Hamburg and Mahwah (where she lost only eight games all tournament). The USAs Andre Agassi sealed his Career Golden Slam with the gold medal at Atlanta 1996, Spains Rafael Nadal did so at Beijing 2008 and American Serena Williams completed hers at London 2012. Graf reached 13 consecutive singles major finals from the 1987 French Open to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. Steffi Graf's 22 Grand Slam Championship Points - YouTube As true as that forehand was, the mask was no less a lie. #WimbledonThrowback: "Steffi (Graf), Will You Marry Me?" Her Epic Response [83], At the French Open, Graf reached her first Grand Slam final in three years and fought back from a set and twice from a break down in the second set to defeat the top ranked Hingis in three sets for a memorable victory. That year Graf lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in straight sets to Amanda Coetzer. In an interview with Stern magazine in July 1990, Graf stated, "I could not fight as usual."[46]. 3, Jana Novotn, before losing in the semifinal to first-seeded Davenport. Though she did not win any title for the . She then won her eighth German Open, but there were signs that her form was worsening as she almost lost to Julie Halard in a quarterfinal. 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. Highly emotional and sensitive, with a temperament more suited to a poet than to a professional athlete, Steffi had a poignant sadness about . At the end of the year, the municipality of Brhl, her hometown, gave her the title of honorary citizen. [90][91] She played her last Grand Slam doubles tournament at the 1999 Australian Open with Gorrochategui, losing in the second round. At Wimbledon, however, Graf captured her third women's crown, this time at Sabatini's expense. Only three other players have won the four majors plus the Olympic Games title, and never in the same calendar year. [148] In July 2020, The Guardian polled its readers to determine the greatest female tennis player of the past 50 years, and Steffi was the clear favorite, picking up nearly twice as many votes as any other player. First Grand Slam victory of the year for Graf: 6-1, 7-6. Graf, meanwhile, was back to defend her Olympic title on the clay courts of Barcelona 1992, where she took silver after losing to the USAs Jennifer Capriati in the final. Having won the first three Majors of the year, Djokovic is three-fifths of the way to a . Most sliced shots float these days; Graf's seemed to reach her opponent's side in a straight line, skimming low over the net. Graf's father had approached Gnthardt during the 1991 Virginia Slims Championships. Shortly after the stabbing, during a players meeting at the Italian Open in Rome, 17 of the world's top 25 WTA members voted against preserving Seles' world No. The last few years of Graf's career were beset by injuries, particularly to her knees and back. Sabatini served for the match twice, and was two points away from her first Wimbledon title. [17] Graf married former world No. Suffering from food poisoning, she had struggled to beat Monica Seles in their semifinal 63, 36, 63 and said that she had menstrual cramps in the final. 1 German tennis player. Angelique Kerber recalls memories of Steffi Graf at Wimbledon after becoming first German to win trophy since 1996 . Serena did that only for a few tournaments in her career while Steffi did . Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf; 14. 1969, , ) . ", "An Evolutionary History of Tennis Racquets", "Marketing to the female target audience", "OFFBEAT: Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf team up for new tennis racquet", "Viewing Gallery: Happy Birthday! Graf was ranked world No. Graf won a majority of her slams using her sharp slice backhand and her incredible forehand. For the German painter, see. Graf's schedule was closely controlled by her father, who limited her play so that she would not burn out. She reached a total of 31 singles major finals. The treatment was for a fracture of the cartilage as well as a shortening and partial rupture of the patellar tendon of her left knee. Illness caused her to miss Wimbledon,[26] and an accident where she broke a toe several weeks later also curtailed her play. Graf and Kohde-Kilsch lost in the semifinals to Jana Novotn and Helena Sukov 75, 63. My father taught me that if you really do want to reach your goals, you can't spend any time worrying about whether you're going to win or lose. This time, Navratilova beat Graf 76, 63, 62. [88] Sabatini said of the partnership: "doubles is all about communicating with each other, and we didn't communicate that much. She started the year strongly, with six tournament victories heading into the French Open, with the highlight being at the tournament in Miami, where she defeated Martina Navratilova in a semifinal and Chris Evert in the final and lost only 20 games in the seven rounds of the tournament. [37] He went on to add, "I saw what Steffi did to Sabatini at the Australian Open this year, and that was it. Ranking. The match was notable for its dramatic ending. [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. The greatest: Steffi Graf - power and perfect timing personified Began playing Tennis: 1973 Turned Professional: 18.10.1982. 2 Hingis and world No. She partnered with doubles specialist Mark Woodforde at the Australian Open in 1994, with Henri Leconte at Wimbledon in 1991 and at the French Open in 1994, and with Charlie Pasarell at the US Open in 1984. Graf then won three consecutive indoor titles at Tokyo, Zurich, and Brighton, before once again contending with Navratilova at the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships in New York. 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. Although Sabatini got the best of Graf in the semifinals of the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships, Graf still finished the year as the top-ranked player. Voted Germans greatest role model by TV14 magazine, 2004. Chosen by World Economic Forum As Young Global Leader for 2008, Godmother of the Navigator of The Seas (Royal Caribbean Cruiselines), 2002. 1 Martina Navratilova, and reached two finals, at Wimbledon and the US Open, losing out to Navratilova in both. "[87], From the beginning of her career until 1990, Graf regularly played doubles matches in Grand Slams and other tournaments, winning a total of 11 doubles titles. 3, She was not included in the official year end ranking. Talk Tennis Guru. . [63][64], A strained right calf muscle forced Graf to withdraw from the Australian Open. She was anchored in the top spot in the Women's Tennis Association rankings for a record 377 weeks, including 186 consecutive from August 1987 to March 1991. [92][93], Graf also occasionally played mixed doubles, although she never won a title. Graf again lost to Monica Seles in the final of the French Open 67, 46. In 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. . Just over 30 years old, Graf retired . 1 for 186 consecutive weeks from 17 August 1987: incredible footwork, a devastating forehand, an effective backhand and a powerful, reliable serve an all-round game that proved successful on every surface. Steffi Graf Bio, Affair, Married, Husband, Net Worth, Ethnicity Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis played out a thrilling final at the 1999 French Open, with the former winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. She survived an intense three-set battle with Helena Sukova in the semis, breaking in the tenth and final game to win the third set 64. 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. Graf was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004. All right, yes, there is the winning and, with it, the money, but they come too easily and bring only temporary relief. 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.