She won no titles during the next three years, but her ranking climbed steadily to world No. Angelique Kerber recalls memories of Steffi Graf at Wimbledon after becoming first German to win trophy since 1996 . 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. Fury's brother suggests alternative opponent if Usyk fight does not happen. 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. Feb 24, 2023. 3, She was not included in the official year end ranking. Steffi Graf went on to win Wimbledon in 1996, beating Arantxa . She won 7 Wimbledon, 6 French Open, 5 US Open and 4 Australian Open . Serena Williams, who will face Kerber in the final, beat Steffi Graf for the title at Indian Wells, Calif., in 1999. Proceeds from her match against Sabatini went to Graf's foundation, "Children for Tomorrow".[102]. Associations of International Sport Federations, Organising Committees for the Olympic Games. Answer (1 of 4): It isn't hard to replicate Steffi Graf's forehand, it's just not optimal. [133], In 1997, she left the Catholic Church, citing personal reasons. Graf then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles in two sets. [8] Furthermore, she is the only tennis player, male or female, to have won each major tournament at least four times. [75] Graf then had a straight-sets win against Snchez Vicario in the Wimbledon final. More than two years elapsed before Seles competed again. Graf lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at Amelia Island, Florida. Starting in the early 1990s, she used the slice almost exclusively in baseline rallies and mostly limited the topspin backhand to passing shots. 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. She was unstoppable. And the year began as expected, with Graf extending her Grand Slam tournament winning streak to five events at the Australian Open, defeating Helena Sukov in the final. Winner of as many as 22 Grand Slam titles, Steffi's presence was enough to send shivers down the spine of her opponents. The 19-year-old Graf lost the first set 7-5 before getting the measure of her rival and fighting back to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-1. Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi met for the first time during a tournament.Andre Agassi had been secretly pining for her since 1990, but she showed no interest in him.. At that time, Steffi Graf was dating Michael Bartels, a racing driver. Steffi is the GOAT in women's tennis because she's the most dominant player to ever play this game. Voted Most admirable German woman by Amica magazine, 2005. She ended the 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, and 1996 tennis seasons as the worlds top-ranked player. 6 in 1985. to overwhelm her opponents. She is the only singles player (male or female) to have achieved a Grand Slam across three surfaces (grass, clay, and hard courts). Most sliced shots float these days; Graf's seemed to reach her opponent's side in a straight line, skimming low over the net. [141] Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. She married fellow Olympic champion Agassi in 2001, and the pair have two children together. 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. Graf won a majority of her slams using her sharp slice backhand and her incredible forehand. Five months later, the world no. 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. [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. 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). It was important for me to win here, she said afterwards. And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. [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. She was one of the most fierce Tennis stars of her generation and tasted great success on every court. Defending champion Steffi Graf was seeded first again at the French Open and swiftly went about beating her opponents, dropping only 11 games until the semi-finals.. Up against fourth-seeded Argentine Gabriela Sabatini in the last four, Steffi Graf faced her first real test, but overcame it with ease, winning 6-3, 7-6 to go through to the final. Early life. Despite their differences, their careers, on and off the court . It is true that Graf had one of the best forehands of her era, but that doesn't mean that it is mechanically perfect. Graf and Kohde-Kilsch lost in the semifinals to Jana Novotn and Helena Sukov 75, 63. Finally Graf was given a match but prevailed 6-3, 7-6 where she would meet a surprise opponent in the final. Seles and Graf met in the final, with Graf winning in three sets, saving a set point in the first set. Official match time was 34 minutes, which charitably included two minutes of rain delay. "[89] The pair played their last major tournament together at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the quarterfinals. [95][96][97], In late 1999 and early 2000, as part of her Farewell Tour, Graf played a series of exhibition matches against former rivals in New Zealand, Japan, Spain, Germany and South Africa. And each time the opponent threw a problem her way, she . The Serbian tennis player this week surpassed Steffi Graf in the record of weeks at the top of the world ranking (both men's and women's) and there is curiosity to understand where Nole can arrive . 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. . But Vicario took the first set and Graf took the second. I have complied some stats . She lost her first round match 64, 60 to Tracy Austin, a two-time US Open champion and former world No. "[89] Her endurance and superior footwork allowed her to excel on clay courts, where, in addition to six French Open titles, she won 26 regular tour events, including a record eight titles at the German Open. The pair was moderately successful, winning the 1988 Wimbledon Championships together and reaching the finals of the French Open in 1986, 1987 and 1989. In 2010, Graf participated in the WTT Smash Hits exhibition in Washington, D.C. to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Graf lost to Conchita Martnez in her comeback tournament a month later in Philadelphia. This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. She lost twice to Sabatini in the early spring at the Lipton International and the Bausch & Lomb Championships, which now brought her to seven losses in her last eight matches against Sabatini; however, the Bausch & Lomb loss would be Graf's final loss to Sabatini, winning her next, and last eight matches against Sabatini.[49]. 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. Jaz Elle Agassi is best known as being a daughter of former tennis couple Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.. Parents Wedding. June 4, 2020 marks the 32nd anniversary of Steffi Graf's ruthless lesson in the 1998 French Open final with Natasha Zvereva on the receiving end. Graf developed a bone spur at the base of her spine due to a congenital condition of the sacroiliac joint. 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. At the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Graf lost to Jennifer Capriati in the final and claimed the silver medal. 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. . [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. As usual, the defining shot of the day was the one that earned Steffi her nickname, Frulein Forehand. She subsequently withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open and had arthroscopic surgery performed on her left knee. [citation needed] In the year of Graf's retirement, Billie Jean King said, "Steffi [Graf] is definitely the greatest women's tennis player of all time. Stefanie ("Steffi") Graf | Former German Tennis Pro and Champion. [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. 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? Some noted observers, such as Margaret Court, suggested that Graf could achieve the feat a couple more times. United States . 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. 98 in 1983, No. That was the last competitive match Graf and Snchez Vicario would ever play against one another. [123] In 2006, she signed an endorsement deal with Head. 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. AP Photo/Bruno Mosconi. [63][64], A strained right calf muscle forced Graf to withdraw from the Australian Open. The Trials of Steffi Graf. She and Agassi, her husband, were on Team Elton John, which competed against Team Billie Jean King. [122][129] Other companies she has endorsed include Barilla, Apollinaris, Citibank, Danone and Teekanne. Graf retired in August 1999 while ranked world No. 1 female player and won 22 Grand Slam singles titles. [58] Graf still managed to win San Diego the following month but aggravated a long-time back injury in beating Snchez Vicario in the final. 1999 Germany Television Award for her outstanding performance as tennis player and her importance to the German public. At the French Open, Graf successfully defended her title by defeating Natasha Zvereva 60, 60 in a 34-minute final. Monica Seles was an opponent in six major finals and the duo spilt at 3-3. 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. [62] Although Graf ended the year ranked No. [55] In the Hamburg final, she lost for the first time in 1994 after 36 consecutive match victories, losing to Snchez Vicario in three sets. She basically became a backhand slice guru ,,, This became only single taint in Graf's tennis career. [36] Graf also won her only Grand Slam doubles title that yearat Wimbledon partnering Sabatiniand picked up a women's doubles Olympic bronze medal. Sela said: Is it possible to have another 1988 Golden Grand Slam Steffi Graf: yeah sure, anything's possible, like having all eight planets aligned in the solar system. She then successfully defended her title at the US Open, defeating Monica Seles in the final. [142] The Graf-Agassi family resides in Summerlin, a community in the Las Vegas Valley. Venus Williams. Shortly after the US Open, she underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in her right wrist. If Steffi Graf could shut out the world the way she shuts down opponents on the court then, for her, life would be perfect. In the meantime, she lost surprisingly to Nicole Bradtke of Australia in a Fed Cup match on clay before winning the Acura Classic in San Diego and the Canadian Open in Toronto in preparation for the US Open. Graf lost her singles match to Elena Likhovtseva 54. . During a quarterfinal match between Seles and Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg, Seles was stabbed between the shoulder blades by a mentally ill German fan of Graf, Gnter Parche. In addition to being great as players, they were also great as husband and wife. Illness caused her to miss Wimbledon,[26] and an accident where she broke a toe several weeks later also curtailed her play. At the US Open, Graf beat Sabatini in a three-set final to win the Grand Slam by 63, 36, 61, a feat previously performed by only two other women, Maureen Connolly Brinker in 1953 and Margaret Court in 1970. Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf (German pronunciation: [tf gaf]; born 14 Juin 1969) is a umwhile Warld No. Steffi Graf: Steffi Graf has 22 grand slams to her name, most coming during the late 80s and 90s. 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. 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. " ( . Her singles winloss record was 900115 (88.7 percent). [69] In her defense, she stated that her father Peter was her financial manager, and all financial matters relating to her earnings at the time had been under his control. 1999 Prince of Asturias Award, one of the most important awards of Spain and named after the heir apparent of Spain. At the 1999 French Open, Graf and Agassi . Graf defeated Mary Joe Fernndez in the final of the Australian Open, which was her eighth Grand Slam singles title in the last nine she contested. [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. Steffi Graf was born in Mannheim, West Germany on June 14, 1969. [66] In August Monica Seles made her much anticipated return to tennis at the Canadian Open. Martina revolutionized women's tennis with her hardcore workout regimen to become more fit and stronger than her opponents. 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. She was absolutely right the term Golden Slam was born at that exact moment. [a] Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. Graf had already won 5 Wimbledon titles by then and was hunting for her 6th trophy. Notable features of Graf's game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork and powerful forehand drive. A bout of rubella forced Graf to miss the first major event of 1992, the Australian Open. 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. [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. The teenager had taken part at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 when tennis made its Olympic return as a demonstration sport, 60 years after it was dropped from the programme. . 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 won 6-0, 6-0. 2 Hingis and world No. 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. Whether this scandal affected Graf's form is open to debate. Focus only on getting better. Extremely sound advice! Her glittering career saw her occupy the world no.1 spot for a total of 377 weeks (a record), including a run of 186 consecutive weeks between August 1987 and March 1991. Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:01, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steffi_Graf_career_statistics&oldid=1142150918, Virginia Slims Championships, New York City, WTA Tour Championships, New York, United States. Following her tournament victory in German Open in Berlin, Graf suffered one of the worst defeats of her career in a French Open semifinal where she won only two games against Snchez Vicario and lost her first 60 set since 1984. And so many times she was able to absorb her opponent's biggest blows and . Highly emotional and sensitive, with a temperament more suited to a poet than to a professional athlete, Steffi had a poignant sadness about . 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. 1 ranking. 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. However, in the Federation Cup final in Vancouver, Canada, three weeks later, she defeated Evert easily 62, 61. 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. In 1985 and early 1986, Graf emerged as the top challenger to the dominance of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. [149], Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, named Graf as the best female player of the 20th century. [17] Graf married former world No. Meanwhile, her naturally aggressive style of play, effective backhand slice and speed around the court made her even more dominant on fast surfaces such as hard courts, grass and carpet. Martina Navratilova included Graf at the top of her list of the greatest players ever. [100] In September 2004, Graf dispatched her former doubles partner Gabriela Sabatini, in straight sets, in an exhibition match played in Berlin, Germany. 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. 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. Seles defeated Graf at the Australian Open 46, 63, 62. "[15] 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. The American then took her opponent to a tie-break in the second set, eventually going down 7-3. 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. 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. [73] Graf came back to the tour in March, winning back to back titles in Indian Wells and Miami, followed by a record ninth title at the German Open in May and a quarterfinal defeat in Rome against Martina Hingis. In 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. Novak Djokovic has arrived in Japan for the Tokyo Olympics 2020, and he is looking as confident as ever. [39] In the Boca Raton final, Graf lost the only set she conceded to Chris Evert in their final seven matches.[40]. Since then, four players managed a 271 winloss record, meaning all of them failed to win the Grand Slam: Graf in 1989 and 1993, Martina Hingis in 1997, Roger Federer in 2006 and Novak Djokovic in both 2015 and 2021. It was decided to grant her a joint number-one ranking with Graf who took her first loss of the year in the first round to Amanda Coetzer. She would either destroy opponents, clinically and . Four consecutive indoor tournament victories in the autumn helped improve her season, but for the third consecutive year, she failed to win the Virginia Slims Championships, where she lost in the first round to Lori McNeil. Graf was trailing Martina Navratilova in the final 75, 20 before winning the match 57, 62, 61. The American then took her opponent to a tie-break in the second set, eventually going down 7-3. One was 19 and one is pushing 34. Eighteen-time Grand Slam champion and former rival Chris Evert opined, "Steffi Graf is the best all-around player. Graf retired at the age of 30 in 1999 while ranked as the world No. In the final, Evert was completely overwhelmed in the first set, losing 6-1. [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. In their five previous head-to-head matches, Graf had defeated Martnez each time. I was not having fun anymore. The weeks following Wimbledon [in 1999] weren't easy for me. Retiring from the sport in 1999, Graf's career remains one of the most looked upon in tennis history. Graf is the first German to win the Spain's 'Prince of Asturias' award. Graf beat opponents with spectacular precision, and Williams had a power game, unlike any woman in professional tennis. . Graf's father had approached Gnthardt during the 1991 Virginia Slims Championships. First Grand Slam victory of the year for Graf: 6-1, 7-6. 22 in 1984, and No. In the 1980s and '90s Graf was ranked the top woman player by the Women's Tennis Association . [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 assailant, a fan of German tennis star Steffi Graf, Top women's tennis player Monica Seles is stabbed by a deranged German man during a match in Hamburg. After surviving a scare in a three-setter against Amanda Coetzer in the first round, Graf reached the final with relative ease, while Seles went through her side of the draw in even more convincing fashion. Next up were the grass courts of Wimbledon, where Graf was never in any danger until the final, when she came up against six-time defending champion Navratilova, unbeaten since 1981. [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. [143] Graf's mother and her brother also live there. 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. Online", "GOAT Vote: Steffi or Serena? Key; W F SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A . Once was in Syndey early in the year at a small tournament, and again at Indian Wells, 1999. . In August as a 15-year-old (and youngest entrant) representing West Germany, she won the tennis demonstration event at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Vicario was the no 2 seed while Graf was ranked no 1. She repeated the feat in 1993, 1995, and 1996. In Indian Wells Graf lost to Serena Williams in three sets. '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. She was also inducted to the German Sport Hall of Fame. [108] She was ranked world No. Steffi Graf, a Tennis champ is married to husband Andre Agassi with two children. It actually had several major flaws, especially based on today's understanding of stroke.
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