Williams vs. Graf, and Graf's Disciple - The New York Times [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. In a close French Open final, Graf again overcame Snchez Vicario, taking the third set 108. Steffi Graf | Biography, Titles, & Facts | Britannica [54] She then won her next four tournaments in Tokyo, Indian Wells, Delray Beach and Miami respectively. 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. Steffi Graf's 22 Grand Slam Championship Points - YouTube . Graf reached 13 consecutive singles major finals from the 1987 French Open to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. 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. [108] She was ranked world No. [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. 1 Lindsay Davenport en route to the Philadelphia title. 1 ranking for the first time in 22 months. 'It is Frightening' - Steffi Graf Opens up About the Negative Impact of The American then took her opponent to a tie-break in the second set, eventually going down 7-3. 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. In the fall, Graf won the Volkswagen Card Cup in Leipzig a day before her foot operation, losing only two games to Jana Novotn in the final. Stefanie ("Steffi") Graf | Former German Tennis Pro and Champion. 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. The 50 Greatest Players of the Open Era (W): No. 2, Steffi Graf 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. While the Berlin tournament was being played, the largest-circulation German tabloid, Bild, ran a story about an alleged scandal involving Graf's father. 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. Williams VS Graf MATCHES VS ALL OPPONENTS Novak Djokovic: 'I'm not in touch with Steffi Graf but' [138][139][140] They have two children, a son born in 2001 and a daughter born in 2003. [133], In 1997, she left the Catholic Church, citing personal reasons. 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]. #3. That year Graf lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in straight sets to Amanda Coetzer. Steffi Graf Remains Best Women's Tennis Player Of All Time - Forbes Graf is the first German to win the Spain's 'Prince of Asturias' award. [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. 1 for 186 consecutive weeks (from August 1987 to March 1991; tied with Serena Williams, a record in the women's game) and a record total 377 weeks overall. 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 an Adidas sneakers line known as the St. Graf Pro line. A commemorative plaque outside the venue in Seoul bears testament to the event: Historic Place for Golden Slam. As true as that forehand was, the mask was no less a lie. 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. Queens of the Court: Steffi Graf - Bleacher Report [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. [124][125][126] In 2010, Graf and Agassi collaborated with Head and developed the new line of Star Series tennis racquets. Notable features of Graf's game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork and powerful forehand drive. Steffi Graf vs. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario ** **Head to Head: **28-8, Graf . It was like a death by a thousand cuts for her poor opponents who would be . She is the only singles player (male or female) to have achieved a Grand Slam across three surfaces (grass, clay, and hard courts). Natasha Zvereva, the 13th seed had shocked Martina Navratilova with a straight sets fourth round . 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. Associations of International Sport Federations, Organising Committees for the Olympic Games. Voted Most admirable German woman by Amica magazine, 2005. She lost a lengthy one-set singles match to Clijsters and also the mixed doubles.[106]. [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. It actually had several major flaws, especially based on today's understanding of stroke. 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. [88] Sabatini said of the partnership: "doubles is all about communicating with each other, and we didn't communicate that much. 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. Graf then lost to Navratilova 75, 63 in the Wimbledon final, her first loss of the year. Her 63, 60 defeat of Gabriela Sabatini in a semifinal was described by veteran observer Ted Tinling as "probably the best tennis I've seen". It was important for me to win here, she said afterwards. The match was poised for a final set to decide the . On this day in 1999, Steffi Graf bid adieu to the sport just weeks after winning the French Open and reaching the Wimbledon final. I had one day to turn around, get home, change and get on the flight to Seoul. Began playing Tennis: 1973 Turned Professional: 18.10.1982. 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. Furthermore, Graf's backhand was, in a subtle way, an extremely aggressive shot. Graf served for the match at 53 in the third set but lost the game and won only three more points in the match. - As a result, she hit her forehand with exceptional pace and accuracy. "[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. 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. Tennis Abstract: Steffi Graf Match Results, Splits, and Analysis Only three other players have won the four majors plus the Olympic Games title, and never in the same calendar year. 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 . [66] In August Monica Seles made her much anticipated return to tennis at the Canadian Open. Selected for European Heroes in 2004 and 2005 by TIME Magazine. 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]. [59][60] She began to wear a back brace and was unsure about playing the US Open but elected to play while receiving treatment and stretching for two hours before each match. 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 later stated it was the best tennis she had ever played in a Grand Slam final. In her professional tennis career, Steffi Graf spent 377 weeks as the No. Steffi Graf - Wikipedia 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. And stepping on the plane there was a big group of German athletes on it. In the French Open final, Graf defeated Navratilova, who was the world No. Titles. 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. A bout of rubella forced Graf to miss the first major event of 1992, the Australian Open. Martina Navratilova then defeated Graf 76, 67, 64 in a US Open semifinal, the first time she had beaten Graf in four years. 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 won 6-0, 6-0. In their five previous head-to-head matches, Graf had defeated Martnez each time. 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. In 2008 Graf lost an exhibition match against Kimiko Date at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. [135][136], From 1992 to 1999, Graf dated racing driver Michael Bartels. 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]. The facts: American Amy Frazier was Graf's final opponent. Her name was Martina Hingis. In her semifinal match at the US Open, Graf defeated Sabatini 36, 64, 62. On 13 April 1986, Graf won her first WTA tournament and beat Evert for the first time in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head, South Carolina (she never lost to Evert again, beating her six more times over the next three and a half years). [94] At the 1999 Wimbledon Championships, Graf formed a much-publicized partnership with John McEnroe, with whom she reached the semifinals before withdrawing due to concerns that her uncertain hamstring, coupled with a bout of bronchitis, would affect her in the singles final. Head To Head | Venus Williams vs Steffi Graf H2H - Steve G Tennis In an unusual arrangement, she paired with her coaches Pavel Sloil at Wimbledon in 1988 and Heinz Gnthardt in 1992 and 1996, also at Wimbledon. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland. The partnership was the subject of much discussion, as the two women, both known to be shy, usually kept communication to a minimum during changeovers and between points, a highly unusual situation in doubles. American star Chris Evert, meanwhile, failed to take a set off Graf in three matches. Steffi Graf - Overpowering - Tennis, Forehand, Professional - JRank She would either destroy opponents, clinically and . Sabatini served for the match twice, and was two points away from her first Wimbledon title. [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. Her rivalries with Yugoslavias Monica Seles and Spains Arantxa Snchez Vicario in the 1980s and 1990s have gone down in tennis folklore. Steffi Graf Videos Thread | Tennis Forum [70][71] He was eventually released after serving 25 months. More to Graf's net worth, family, height, net worth, nationality, residence, mansion, stats, retirement, now, news, updates and facts. In 1988, there was no bronze medal match, and both beaten semifinalists received bronze medals. 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. . Djokovic is now into his 378th week as the world number one, surpassing Steffi Graf's record for the most weeks at the top of the sport, a feat that prompted some of his young rivals to express . Instead of being hailed as the undisputed female GOAT, people will always talk about her mysterious backhand deficiency. [115], Early in her career, Graf wore Dunlop apparel, before signing an endorsement contract with Adidas in 1985. [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. She hit the sliced backhand harder and with more underspin than any woman I have ever seen. In 1988, Graf became the first tennis player to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four major singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Steffi Graf - 22; The former German tennis star is third on the list with 22 grand slam titles victories. 1 ranking to Martina Hingis and failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in ten years in 1997. ", "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 ended 1989 with an 862 match record and the loss of only 12 sets. Five months later, the world no. Twice in the third set Snchez Vicario served for the championship but was broken each time by Graf. However, seeing the current situation, Graff also feels frightened. 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. [39] In the Boca Raton final, Graf lost the only set she conceded to Chris Evert in their final seven matches.[40]. Serena was 17. . [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.