In the subsequent Amelia Island final on clay, Graf lost her first match of the year to Sabatini but returned to European clay with easy victories at Hamburg and Berlin. In 2008 Graf lost an exhibition match against Kimiko Date at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. I was not having fun anymore. 1 female player and won 22 Grand Slam singles titles. All Rights Reserved. Stefanie Graf was born on 14 June 1969, in Mannheim, Baden-Wrttemberg, West Germany, to Heidi Schalk and car-and-insurance salesman Peter Graf (18 June 1938 30 November 2013).When she was nine years old, her family moved to the neighboring town of Brhl.She has a younger brother, Michael. Graf was ranked world No. Graf was the first player other than Navratilova or Evert to hold the top spot since Tracy Austin in 1980.[27]. 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. Even discounting that result, no other player had played and won 27 Grand Slam matches in a single year before. "[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. She retired from tennis in 1999. Whether this scandal affected Graf's form is open to debate. Peter Graf also kept a tight rein on Graf's personal life. Official match time was 34 minutes, which charitably included two minutes of rain delay. WATCH THIS STORY: When Roger Federer toyed his opponent so bad, he asked for advice from Andre Agassi in the crowd Wimbledon championships. 1, Reached the final of every tournament played in a calendar year, Two streaks of 5 years with winning percentage of 90%+, 8 WTA Tier 1/Premier-5/Premier Mandatory clay titles, 89.63% win rate (147-17) in WTA Tier 1/Premier-5/Premier Mandatory events, This page was last edited on 20 February 2023, at 18:23. [88] Sabatini said of the partnership: "doubles is all about communicating with each other, and we didn't communicate that much. (W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (WL) winloss record. [123] In 2006, she signed an endorsement deal with Head. Serena was 17. The assailant, a fan of German . [147] In November 2018, Tennis.com polled its readers to choose the greatest women's tennis player of all time and Graf came in first. On 1 October 1988, in winning the final at the Olympic Games in Seoul, German tennis player Steffi Graf achieved what no one else had done before or has done since. Working with her father and then-coach Pavel Sloil, Graf typically practiced for up to four hours a day, often heading straight from airports to practice courts. 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. A commemorative plaque outside the venue in Seoul bears testament to the event: Historic Place for Golden Slam. Graf did not lose a set during the tournament and lost a total of only 29 games. 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. Graf served for the match at 53 in the third set but lost the game and won only three more points in the match. 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. Graf has a 20863 (76.8%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[1]. [104] As part of the event, billed as "Dream Match 2008", she defeated Martina Navratilova in a one-set affair 87, with Graf winning a tiebreaker 105. My motivation wasn't what it was in the past. [151], Graf was voted the ITF World Champion in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1996. . Talk Tennis Guru. While the Berlin tournament was being played, the largest-circulation German tabloid, Bild, ran a story about an alleged scandal involving Graf's father. She won no titles during the next three years, but her ranking climbed steadily to world No. Began playing Tennis: 1973 Turned Professional: 18.10.1982. 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. She hit the sliced backhand harder and with more underspin than any woman I have ever seen. 1 ranking for the first time in 22 months. 3, Jana Novotn, before losing in the semifinal to first-seeded Davenport. The match was notable for its dramatic ending. [37] He went on to add, "I saw what Steffi did to Sabatini at the Australian Open this year, and that was it. Her rivalries with Yugoslavias Monica Seles and Spains Arantxa Snchez Vicario in the 1980s and 1990s have gone down in tennis folklore. . Tennis H2H Venus Williams vs Steffi Graf. 1 . 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. 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. It is true that Graf had one of the best forehands of her era, but that doesn't mean that it is mechanically perfect. Five months later, the world no. Graf ended 1989 with an 862 match record and the loss of only 12 sets. [36] Graf also won her only Grand Slam doubles title that yearat Wimbledon partnering Sabatiniand picked up a women's doubles Olympic bronze medal. Steffi Graf with the Wimbledon trophy in 1989 after defeating Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-1 in the final. 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. Graf won 6-0, 6-0. The 1995 Wimbledon final is regarded as one of the most dramatic women's major finals in history as Graf and Snchez Vicario battled in a tight third set that included a 16-minute long, 13-deuce game on Sanchez Vicario's serve at 55. Like the exhibition match the previous year against Sabatini, proceeds went to "Children for Tomorrow". 3. 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 played a singles exhibition match against Kim Clijsters and a mixed doubles exhibition alongside husband Andre Agassi against Tim Henman and Clijsters as part of a test event and celebration for the newly installed roof over Wimbledon's Centre Court in 2009. In 1988, there was no bronze medal match, and both beaten semifinalists received bronze medals. No medals were awarded as this was not an official Olympic event.[23]. She was successful, however, in the mixed doubles match. She teamed with Ansley Cargill in women's doubles against Anna Kournikova and Likhovtseva but lost 52. As usual, the defining shot of the day was the one that earned Steffi her nickname, Frulein Forehand. [92][93], Graf also occasionally played mixed doubles, although she never won a title. [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. [89][114], Graf also had a powerful backhand drive but over the course of her career tended to use it less frequently, opting more often for an effective backhand slice. Titles. Retiring from the sport in 1999, Graf's career remains one of the most looked upon in tennis history. Her 0.977 winning percentage is the second-highest in the open era behind Navratilova.[44]. She subsequently withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open and had arthroscopic surgery performed on her left knee. Though she did not win any title for the . However, in the Federation Cup final in Vancouver, Canada, three weeks later, she defeated Evert easily 62, 61. 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. The American then took her opponent to a tie-break in the second set, eventually going down 7-3. [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. 'The Ten' went one way; you went another", "The greatest female tennis player of the last 50 years: the fans' verdict", "Exclusive Interview with Steve Flink about the career of Chris Evert", "A celebration of Martina Navratilova's multifaceted legacy", "Special events and records at the 1988 Australian Open Tennis Tournament", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steffi_Graf&oldid=1140574067, Golden Slam (4 majors + Olympic gold in same calendar year), Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam in addition to already winning a Grand Slam, 100% match winning percentage in 1 season, 100% match winning percentage in 3 separate seasons, 89.67% (278-32) match winning percentage overall, 5 calendar years winning 3+ Grand Slam titles, Defeated the top 3 seeded players in the same tournament, Reached the final of all four Grand Slams tournaments in a calendar year, Reached the final of all four Grand Slams tournaments in a calendar year three times, 5 years as wire-to-wire (all 52 weeks) No. Graf then won in Leipzig, with her 500th career victory coming in a quarterfinal against Judith Wiesner. Steffi Graf Youth Tennis Center was founded and dedicated October 1991 in Leipzig, Germany.Founder and Chairperson of Children for Tomorrow, a non-profit foundation with the goal of implementing and developing projects to support children who have been traumatized by war or other crises, and she is directly involved in the running of the . (W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (WL) winloss record. First Grand Slam victory of the year for Graf: 6-1, 7-6. Graf lost her singles match to Elena Likhovtseva 54. Steffi Graf was born as Stefanie Maria Graf to Peter and Heidi Graf in Mannheim, Germany. Graf who dated Michael Bartels is the daughter-in-law of Emmanuel Agassi. On this day in 1999, Steffi Graf bid adieu to the sport just weeks after winning the French Open and reaching the Wimbledon final. 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. Prosecutors dropped their case against Graf in 1997, when she agreed to pay a fine of 1.3million Deutsche Marks to the government and an unspecified charity.[72]. [54] She then won her next four tournaments in Tokyo, Indian Wells, Delray Beach and Miami respectively. 1 ranking. 1 player. [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. 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. 1 in women's singles for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles,[7] the second-most since the start of the Open Era in 1968 and the third-most of all-time. He claimed that he committed the attack to help Graf reclaim the world No. Her father was arrested in August and was sentenced to 45 months in jail. 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. Seles won the match on her fifth match point; Graf came within two points of winning the match a few games earlier. However, there was also a 15-year-old who shot into the scene in 1995 that would take the tennis world by storm. Since Graf skipped the Italian Open, she did not take part in the vote. Graf became the first player in the open era to defeat the first, second, and third ranked players in the same Grand Slam tournament by beating second-ranked Davenport in the quarterfinals and third-ranked Seles in the semifinals. She then successfully defended her title at the US Open, defeating Monica Seles in the final. Graf is the first German to win the Spain's 'Prince of Asturias' award. In the late eighties and nineties Graf dominated. 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. Stefanie Graf was born on 14 June 1969, in Mannheim, Baden-Wrttemberg, West Germany, to Heidi Schalk and car-and-insurance salesman Peter Graf (18 June 1938 30 November 2013). 1988 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, 1996 Most Exciting Player of the Year, by the WTA, 1998 Most Exciting Player of the Year, by the WTA, 1999 Most Exciting Player of the Year, by the WTA. Online", "GOAT Vote: Steffi or Serena? And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. Graf then lost to Navratilova 75, 63 in the Wimbledon final, her first loss of the year. In the Miami final, she lost her first set of the yearto Natasha Zverevaafter winning 54 consecutive sets. At age 13 she became the second youngest player ever to earn an international ranking. As the defending champion Graf lost in straight sets to Mary Pierce in the French Open semifinal. This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. After missing almost half of the tour in 1998, Graf lost in the third round at Wimbledon and in the fourth round at the US Open. SANCHEZ BEATS GRAF 17-YEAR-OLD WINS TITLE", "TENNIS - Sanchez Surprises Graf to Win the French Open", "Graf and Navratilova March to a Showdown", "WTA | Players | Head to Head | Steffi Graf", "TENNIS - Seles Struggles With Injury and W.T.A. As true as that forehand was, the mask was no less a lie. 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. On 17 August, after defeating Evert in a straight set final in the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles, Graf overtook Navratilova for the world No. TMF. Voted Most admirable German woman by Amica magazine, 2005. In 1988, Graf became the third women's star to win the Golden Slam. [44] Graf briefly regained the top ranking after winning at Wimbledon but lost it again after her loss to Navratilova at the US Open. In 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. The German allowed Zvereva just 13 points, three of them in that one early game. Victories at Hamburg and Berlin (beating Snchez Vicario in the finals of both) prepared her for the French Open, where she defeated Snchez Vicario in the semifinals after losing the first set 60. Just over 30 years old, Graf retired . In the third and deciding set, Novotn had a point to go up 51 on her serve. The following day, Andre Agassi won the mens singles tournament, coming back from two sets down to beat Russias Andrei Medvedev, and he and Graf later started dating. Martina Navratilova then defeated Graf 76, 67, 64 in a US Open semifinal, the first time she had beaten Graf in four years. It was Graf's final Grand Slam singles title as she retired later that year. 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 basically became a backhand slice guru ,,, This became only single taint in Graf's tennis career. [145], In 2001, Graf indicated that she preferred to be called Stefanie instead of Steffi. LEAVE A . 1 men's tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001. Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf; 14. 1969, , ) . ", "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!

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