The US Open ended anti-climactically as Navratilova defeated Graf in the final 76, 61. Graf, Kerber's idol . [47] She would work with him for the remainder of her career. 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. [16] When asked in an interview to name the greatest players of all time, Serena Williams stated Graf and Roger Federer. thesportslegends. Stefanie Maria Graf (/rf, rf/ GRA(H)F, German: [tfi af] (listen);[4][5] born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. On this day in 1999, Steffi Graf bid adieu to the sport just weeks after winning the French Open and reaching the Wimbledon final. Soon after, she split with her long-time coach, Pavel Sloil. [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. She won 22 Grand Slam Singles' teetles, an in 1988 wis the only tennis player tae achieve the "Gowden Slam", winnin, in the Singles, aw fower Grand Slam teetles an the Olympic Gowd medal in the semme year. 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. [36] Graf also won her only Grand Slam doubles title that yearat Wimbledon partnering Sabatiniand picked up a women's doubles Olympic bronze medal. Graf lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at Amelia Island, Florida. [45] In Berlin, she extended her unbeaten streak to 66 matches (second in WTA history to Navratilova's 74) before losing the final to Monica Seles, 46, 36. Focus only on getting better. Extremely sound advice! 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. Both dominated opponents with power and movement. 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. At the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Graf lost to Jennifer Capriati in the final and claimed the silver medal. Just over 30 years old, Graf retired . She was in hard-court action in the capital of the Republic of Korea on 20 September and breezed through the rounds conceding just one set, against the Soviet Unions Larissa Savchenko in the quarter-final before coming up against Sabatini once again in the gold-medal match on 1 October 1988. n civa ani ajunge . No medals were awarded as this was not an official Olympic event.[23]. 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. Graf played in her first professional tournament in October 1982 at Filderstadt, Germany. That doesn't mean it will happen. [37] He went on to add, "I saw what Steffi did to Sabatini at the Australian Open this year, and that was it. Graf later stated it was the best tennis she had ever played in a Grand Slam final. In July 2005, Graf competed in one tie of World Team Tennis (WTT) on the Houston Wranglers team. [101] She was also in Berlin to host a charity gala, as well as inaugurating a tennis stadium renamed the "Steffi Graf Stadion". [98][99] It was Graf and Snchez Vicario's first head-to-head meeting since 1996. Is it possible to have any other year Steffi Graf: yep, it would be like Monica's or Serena's type of dominance. 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). She retired from tennis in 1999. [34] She then won tournaments in Hamburg and Mahwah (where she lost only eight games all tournament). In the third and deciding set, Novotn had a point to go up 51 on her serve. . For the German painter, see. While the Berlin tournament was being played, the largest-circulation German tabloid, Bild, ran a story about an alleged scandal involving Graf's father. 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. As the defending champion Graf lost in straight sets to Mary Pierce in the French Open semifinal. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams are two of the greatest women's tennis players ever. 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. That year Graf lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in straight sets to Amanda Coetzer. [63][64], A strained right calf muscle forced Graf to withdraw from the Australian Open. Only three other players have won the four majors plus the Olympic Games title, and never in the same calendar year. Her parents are Heidi Schalk and Peter Graf. (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. [9] She won 107 singles titles, ranking her third on the WTA's all-time list after Martina Navratilova (167 titles) and Chris Evert (157 titles). After breaking Sabatini's serve to even the third set at 66, Graf defeated Sabatini by winning the next two games to take the match 64, 36, 86. [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. 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. [141] Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. 6 in 1985. 3. 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 retired in August 1999 while ranked world No. Performance timelines. ", "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! 49 . Instead of being hailed as the undisputed female GOAT, people will always talk about her mysterious backhand deficiency. 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. 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. Do Not Disturb. "[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 is the only singles player (male or female) to have achieved a Grand Slam across three surfaces (grass, clay, and hard courts). [123] In 2006, she signed an endorsement deal with Head. . It was 1986, and Graf was 17. [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. She played Jelena Dokic in Christchurch, New Zealand, Amanda Coetzer in Durban, South Africa, and her former rival Arantxa Snchez Vicario in Zaragoza, Spain. 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. [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. AP Photo/Bruno Mosconi. She also won her fifth and final WTA Tour Championships title with a five set win over Martina Hingis, with Hingis cramping up in the fifth set. [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. She lost a lengthy one-set singles match to Clijsters and also the mixed doubles.[106]. [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. In the French Open final, Graf defeated Navratilova, who was the world No. " ( . And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. Steffi Graf collided against Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the finals of the 1995 Wimbledon. Graf was the first player other than Navratilova or Evert to hold the top spot since Tracy Austin in 1980.[27]. And stepping on the plane there was a big group of German athletes on it. At the beginning of 1999 Graf played the warm up event to the Australian Open in Sydney; she defeated Serena Williams in the second round and Venus in the quarterfinals before losing to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinal. Her 0.977 winning percentage is the second-highest in the open era behind Navratilova.[44]. Pause, rewind, play: Steffi Graf - only player to win all four Majors and the Olympic gold in a year. Seemingly free of injury for the first time in years, Graf began the year by winning the Australian Open, where she defeated Arantxa Snchez Vicario in the final with the loss of only two games. steffi graf opponents. In the Miami final, she lost her first set of the yearto Natasha Zverevaafter winning 54 consecutive sets. Peter Graf also kept a tight rein on Graf's personal life. Retiring from the sport in 1999, Graf's career remains one of the most looked upon in tennis history. In 1988, Graf became the third women's star to win the Golden Slam. At age 13 she became the second youngest player ever to earn an international ranking. But from 1990 onward, Graf hit fewer & fewer of those beautiful backhand drive/topspins for some reason. [116][13] Graf stated that grass was her favorite surface to play on, while clay was her least favorite. Just Don't Ask Her", "The Shadow of Steffi Graf: Before Serena, Women's Tennis Had Another Unconquerable Force ", "Remembering What Made Steffi Graf a Tennis Legend", "73 Questions with Serena Williams | Vogue", "Tennis in Reunified Germany: Then and Now The Tennis Island", "Serving Her Country A Grand Slam May Have Brought West Germany's Steffi Graf Fame And Fortune, But To The Delight Of Her Countrymen Who've Watched Her Climb To The Top, She Remains 'one Of Them', "Steffi's father Peter Graf dies after cancer battle", "Both on and Off Court, Graf Has Come a Long Way in Past Year", "Tennis Roundup: Mysterious Illness Forces Graf to Withdraw From Wimbledon", "Graf Defeats Evert, Gains No. She had just lost a three-set semifinal to No. n 1973 Steffi avea 3 ani cnd a luat prima oar n Brhl (Baden) o rachet de tenis n mn. My motivation wasn't what it was in the past. The shock was who she did it against. She then successfully defended her title at the US Open, defeating Monica Seles in the final. She hit the sliced backhand harder and with more underspin than any woman I have ever seen. [124][125][126] In 2010, Graf and Agassi collaborated with Head and developed the new line of Star Series tennis racquets. 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. Yet again, she dropped a minimal number of games on the DecoTurf surface at Flushing Meadows and took full advantage of Everts forfeit in the semi-final. The match was the Wimbledon women's singles semi-final between Ms Graf and Kimiko Date. [54] She then won her next four tournaments in Tokyo, Indian Wells, Delray Beach and Miami respectively. She would later become the world's number one female tennis player. . [17] Graf married former world No. And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. 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. 1 ranking to Martina Hingis and failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in ten years in 1997. She lost the world No. Stefanie Graf was awarded with the Golden Sports Pyramid, the highest distinction of the German Sports Fund in Herzogenaurach by the Adidas chairman Herbert Hainer on 24 June 2008. [28][29][30][31] The official time of the match given on the scoresheet was 34 minutes; however, just 32 minutes of that was spent on the court, as a rain break split the match into two periods of play, of nine and 23 minutes. Steffi Graf was born as Stefanie Maria Graf to Peter and Heidi Graf in Mannheim, Germany. She lost her first round match 64, 60 to Tracy Austin, a two-time US Open champion and former world No. All Rights Reserved. Once again, she reached the final without conceding a single set. 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.