Chicago was notable, however, for being the first tournament Graf played with her new coach, former Swiss player Heinz Gnthardt. [21] Her father, an aspiring tennis coach, first introduced her to the game, teaching his three-year-old daughter how to swing a wooden racket in the family's living room. 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. [a] Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. Graf then lost a closely contested final to Monica Seles, 26, 63, 810. [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. International Olympic Committee. After losing a fifth straight time to Sabatini in Amelia Island, Florida, Graf again defeated Seles in the Hamburg final. Steffi Graf was born as Stefanie Maria Graf on 14th June 1969 in West Germany. Sport - Tennis: Novak Djokovic equals Steffi Graf's record for most weeks as world number one: Novak Djokovic equals Steffi Graf's record for most weeks as world. The experience of 88 in Seoul probably stands out, just coming from the US Open where I won the Grand Slam. According to her coaches Pavel Sloil and Heinz Gnthardt, Graf's superior sense of timing was the key behind the success of her forehand. This including playing basketball and working with specialists in nutrition, physical and mental strength. 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. Graf and Navratilova faced each other six times and Graf had the advantage, 4-2. [25] During that period, she lost six times to Evert and three times to Navratilova, all in straight sets. And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. 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. Even discounting that result, no other player had played and won 27 Grand Slam matches in a single year before. 1 Lindsay Davenport en route to the Philadelphia title. Graf then won her next three tournaments at Amelia Island, Charleston, and Berlin, culminating in a 62, 63 defeat of Navratilova in the final of the latter. I feel I have nothing left to accomplish. She is the only singles player (male or female) to have achieved a Grand Slam across three surfaces (grass, clay, and hard courts). A commemorative plaque outside the venue in Seoul bears testament to the event: Historic Place for Golden Slam. 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. Vicario was the no 2 seed while Graf was ranked no 1. 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. In February 2000, Graf played against Kimiko Date at Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Tokyo, winning in three sets. Home; Q & A; Blog; Contact; Taramati Baradari Resort, Weather Biarritz October, Central Gwinnett High School, Facts About Victoria, Australia, Quick Funeral Home Obituaries . Graf is the only person to have won the 'Golden Slam' (1988). 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. We would just say the basic things, but nothing else. Her birth name is Stefanie Maria Graf and she is currently 51 years old. She would later become the world's number one female tennis player. Graf ended 1989 with an 862 match record and the loss of only 12 sets. [47] She would work with him for the remainder of her career. . Graf is the only female athlete in the list of Forbes Top-30 Most recognizable and marketable athletes in 1995. . All Rights Reserved. And each time the opponent threw a problem her way, she . Graf said after the final that it would be her last French Open, fueling speculation about her retirement.[84]. In 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. She then successfully defended her title at the US Open, defeating Monica Seles in the final. . The match was played over two days with Navratilova finally winning after saving three match points 61, 67, 76. . [101] She was beaten in two out of three matches, with each match being one set. Voted Germans greatest role model by TV14 magazine, 2004. Highly emotional and sensitive, with a . Peter Graf also kept a tight rein on Graf's personal life. Seles was behind 26 in the first-set tiebreaker, but then came back to win six points in a row and take the set. After Wimbledon, for the first time in my career, I didn't feel like going to a tournament. Key; W F SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A . That doesn't mean it will happen. 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. [77] Grand Slam tournament performance timeline. Grand Slams) main-draw, Olympic Games and Fed Cup are included in winloss records. It actually had several major flaws, especially based on today's understanding of stroke. 1 . The Washington, D.C. tournament was notable because Graf won the first twenty points of the final against Zina Garrison. The Trials of Steffi Graf. In the final, Evert was completely overwhelmed in the first set, losing 6-1. Steffi Graf was already world number one, and just shy of 19 years old, when she began the 1988 season. [80][81] 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. Serena uses her hard and powerful groundstrokes to bully her opponents and uses her serve, like Federer, to set up the point before finishing it off . Chosen by World Economic Forum As Young Global Leader for 2008, Godmother of the Navigator of The Seas (Royal Caribbean Cruiselines), 2002. 3, She was not included in the official year end ranking. [67][68], In personal terms, 1995 was a difficult year for Graf, as she was accused by German authorities of tax evasion in the early years of her career. 1 was in peerless form on the clay courts of Roland Garros. [153] She was elected as the German Sportsperson of the Year in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1999. In the 1980s and '90s Graf was ranked the top woman player by the Women's Tennis Association . [154] Her unprecedented Golden Slam saw her receive the 1988 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year. Shortly after winning in Tokyo, Graf injured her right thumb while cross-country skiing in Switzerland and subsequently withdrew from the Virginia Slims of Florida and the Lipton Championships. [116][13] Graf stated that grass was her favorite surface to play on, while clay was her least favorite. Despite their differences, their careers, on and off the court . It was Graf's final Grand Slam singles title as she retired later that year. On 5 June 1999, backed by a passionate central court crowd at Roland Garros, Graf won an epic final 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 against world no. She was unstoppable. In a close French Open final, Graf again overcame Snchez Vicario, taking the third set 108. In their prime, they ruled their eras with their own dominating styles. She has appeared in many advertisements and television commercials with Andre Agassi including Canon Inc.[130] and Longines in 2008 (Agassi became Longines ambassador in 2007). 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. 1 ranking. 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. At the first round of the season-ending Chase Championships, Graf defeated world No. In October, Graf defeated Sabatini in an exhibition match in Mannheim, Germany, winning both of their sets. Monica Seles was an opponent in six major finals and the duo spilt at 3-3. This narrow focus meant that Graf, already shy and retiring by nature,[24] made few friends on the tour in her early years, but it led to a steady improvement in her play. In reaching and winning all four Grand Slam finals, Graf became the first player in history to contest and win 28 Grand Slam singles matches in a single year; albeit including the unplayed walkover against Evert in the US Open. 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. Graf's father had approached Gnthardt during the 1991 Virginia Slims Championships. While the Berlin tournament was being played, the largest-circulation German tabloid, Bild, ran a story about an alleged scandal involving Graf's father. 1 Martina Navratilova, and reached two finals, at Wimbledon and the US Open, losing out to Navratilova in both. I've always looked up to her and the way she approached the game" : Pete Sampras [113] She often positioned herself in her backhand corner and although this left her forehand wide open and vulnerable to attack, her court speed meant that only the most accurate shots wide to her forehand caused any trouble. In total, she won 22 Grand Slam titles: the Australian Open four times, Roland Garros six times, Wimbledon seven times and the US Open five times. "Peter Graf" redirects here. 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). 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. 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. 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. Steffi Graf - 22; The former German tennis star is third on the list with 22 grand slam titles victories. (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. Furthermore, Graf's backhand was, in a subtle way, an extremely aggressive shot. This was a major upset as Garrison had to save a match point to defeat Monica Seles in the quarterfinal, and was expected to easily fall to Graf, whom she had not beaten in four years. Steffi Graf was a dominant force in tennis during the late 1980s and for much of the 1990s. The earliest sign that Steffi Graf was going to be one of the sport's all-time winners came at the end of a defeat. 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. She retired from tennis in 1999. The match was notable for its dramatic ending. 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. She hit the sliced backhand harder and with more underspin than any woman I have ever seen. . As a result, she hit her forehand with exceptional pace and accuracy. [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. After breaking Novotn's serve, Graf won the next four games to take the match 76, 16, 64. Steffi Graf -vs- Opponent Name Score: Result: win/loss Part 1 : View Download Part 2 :View Download ., Steffi Graf - My Best: "Steffi is the goddess of Tennis" : John McEnroe "She let her racket do the talking. [101] She was also in Berlin to host a charity gala, as well as inaugurating a tennis stadium renamed the "Steffi Graf Stadion". [122][129] Other companies she has endorsed include Barilla, Apollinaris, Citibank, Danone and Teekanne. 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". Fury's brother suggests alternative opponent if Usyk fight does not happen. She won her first French Open title since 1988 with a three-set victory over Mary Joe Fernndez in the final. 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. 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. Her year continued indifferently with losses in three of her first four tournaments, including a semifinal loss to Jana Novotn in Chicago. This was not a first-round sacrifice, an opponent drawn at random. American star Chris Evert, meanwhile, failed to take a set off Graf in three matches. 124. In July, a left knee injury forced Graf to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The world of tennis is still waiting for another player capable of such a feat in the same calendar year! Decision", "TENNIS - For Seles, the Wound Still Hurts", "Troubled WTA Tour limps through '94 season", "Tennis: Graf footloose and pain-free: Germany's world No 1 in intimidating form at the Australian Open", "Pierce Applies The Pressure To Upset Graf", "This Date in French Open History: June 2", "McNeil Ousts Graf in an Upset for the Ages", "Graf Set for Her Comeback, Pained Mainly by Questions", "U.S.OPEN '94 - Sanchez Smiles As Graf Winces", "Pierce tops Graf; Navratilova loses last", "Calf injury forces Graf out of Australian Open", "In a Classic, Graf Captures Wimbledon On Sheer Will", "Graf's Year Is Difficult One Till the End, but Successful", "Steffi Graf Investigated for Tax Evasion", "Tennis;Graf finds real world full of ups and downs", "Peter Graf Is Sentenced To Prison in Tax Case", "OLYMPICS;Injuries Force Sampras and Graf to Skip Games", "Amanda Coetzer - Tennis Player from South Africa - Tennis-Heroes.net", "Surgery on Graf's Knee Requires a Long Layoff", "Wimbledon '99: The Steffi Graf Interview: Time for a golden goodbye? [145] She is the founder and chairperson of "Children for Tomorrow", a non-profit foundation established in 1998 for implementing and developing projects to support children who have been traumatized by war or other crises. Graf had a bone splinter in her right foot during this tournament (and for the next few months), finally resulting in surgery on 4 October.[53]. ", "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! Highly emotional and sensitive, with a temperament more suited to a poet than to a professional athlete, Steffi had a poignant sadness about . [127], Graf has signed many endorsement deals throughout the years including a ten-year endorsement deal with car manufacturer Opel in 1985,[128] and Rexona from 1994 to 1998. First Grand Slam victory of the year for Graf: 6-1, 7-6. [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. Four Grand Slam wins and an Olympic title in the same year a feat that no male or female player had achieved before or has done since. [44] Graf briefly regained the top ranking after winning at Wimbledon but lost it again after her loss to Navratilova at the US Open. Graf reached 13 consecutive singles major finals from the 1987 French Open to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. TMF. Graf then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles in two sets. Seles won the match on her fifth match point; Graf came within two points of winning the match a few games earlier. 3, having racked up a total of 107 tournament victories. This time, Navratilova beat Graf 76, 63, 62. Since Graf skipped the Italian Open, she did not take part in the vote. 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. [32] That was the shortest-ever and most one-sided Grand Slam final ever and the only double bagel in a Major final since 1911. Graf had already won 5 Wimbledon titles by then and was hunting for her 6th trophy. [39] In the Boca Raton final, Graf lost the only set she conceded to Chris Evert in their final seven matches.[40]. Graf did not lose a set during the tournament and lost a total of only 29 games. She teamed with Ansley Cargill in women's doubles against Anna Kournikova and Likhovtseva but lost 52. Graf then lost to Navratilova 75, 63 in the Wimbledon final, her first loss of the year. Along with Boris Becker, Graf was considered instrumental in popularizing tennis in Germany, where it remains one of the foremost national sports.[18][19][20]. [141] Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. Steffi Graf was born in Mannheim, West Germany on June 14, 1969. 1999 Athlete of the Century for the category Female Athlete in Ballsports by a panel of the, 1999 The Greatest Female Tennis Player of the 20th century, by a panel of tennis experts assembled by the Associated Press, 1999 Female Athlete of the Year, by the German television broadcaster ARD, 1999 Female Sports Award of the Last Decade, by, 1999 Olympic Order granted by Dr. Antonio Samaranch, president of the IOC, 2002 Medal of Honor, bestowed by the prime minister of Graf's home state, 2008 Cross of the Order of Merit awarded to her by German Federal President Horst Khler. ", "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! In 1988, Graf became the third women's star to win the Golden Slam. Graf beat opponents with spectacular precision, and Williams had a power game, unlike any woman in professional tennis. Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 18:23, BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, Learn how and when to remove this template message, 3 different Grand Slam titles won without losing a set, 2 titles won without losing a set in the same calendar year, Tennis records of the Open Era - women's singles, "Duden | Steffi | Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition", "The 10 most influential players in the history of tennis", "ON TENNIS; Graf Is Best, Right? The American then took her opponent to a tie-break in the second set, eventually going down 7-3. ), At the start of her first full professional year in 1983, Graf was 13 years old and ranked world No. . [76] Graf played only one warm-up event ahead of the US Open, the Acura Classic in Manhattan Beach, California, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals. 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. (not considered in winloss records). [37] He went on to add, "I saw what Steffi did to Sabatini at the Australian Open this year, and that was it. However, Graf admitted in 1995 that she would have preferred having a two-handed backhand in retrospect. [50][51], During Seles's absence, Graf won 65 of 67 matches,[52] three of four Grand Slam events and the year-end Virginia Slims championships. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:01. Graf defaulted before the 1997 final of this tournament, which is classified as a walkover and, therefore, does not count as a loss on her official record. As the defending champion Graf lost in straight sets to Mary Pierce in the French Open semifinal. She had some amazing rivalries with Hall of Fame opponents such as Navratilova, Evert, Sabatini and Seles. 1 was in peerless form on the clay courts of Roland . 1 Ranking", "Graf wastes no time reaching another final", "Roland-Garros - the 2021 Roland-Garros Tournament official site", "The 1988 French Open: how Agassi arrived, Graf ruled and Wilander won", "TENNIS; Graf Shuts Out Zvereva to Gain French Open Title", "Wimbledon; An Era Ends as Graf Beats Navratilova", "Forget Calendar Slam, "Surface Slam" Almost as Rare", "THE SEOUL GAMES: Women's Tennis: Graf Turns Her Slam Into a Golden One", "SURPRISE! Graf's technique on the forehand was unique and instantly recognizable: generating considerable racquet head speed with her swing, she reached the point of contact late and typically out of the air.
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