[145], In 2001, Graf indicated that she preferred to be called Stefanie instead of Steffi. [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. Graf retired in August 1999 while ranked world No. She teamed with Ansley Cargill in women's doubles against Anna Kournikova and Likhovtseva but lost 52. Graf remains one of the greatest champions in the history of her sport. Graf retired at the age of 30 in 1999 while ranked as the world No. In 2008 Graf lost an exhibition match against Kimiko Date at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. #3. Seles and Graf met in the final, with Graf winning in three sets, saving a set point in the first set. Pause, rewind, play: Steffi Graf - only player to win all four Majors and the Olympic gold in a year. Graf did not lose a set the whole tournament. '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. At Wimbledon, Graf defeated Jana Novotn to win her third consecutive, and fifth overall, ladies' title. However, Graf admitted in 1995 that she would have preferred having a two-handed backhand in retrospect. 3, Jana Novotn, before losing in the semifinal to first-seeded Davenport. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams played just twice. Steffi Graf - Wikipedia Having suffered from leg cramps since the middle of the third set, Graf ran off the court seconds after match point to seek medical treatment. 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. 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. [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 again lost to Monica Seles in the final of the French Open 67, 46. 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. [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. The day Steffi Graf announced her retirement - Tennis Majors The greatest: Steffi Graf - power and perfect timing personified [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. Steffi Graf vs. Serena Williams: Who's the GOAT? | Stadium Talk Graf was ranked world No. [109], Note: 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. The weeks following Wimbledon [in 1999] weren't easy for me. At Wimbledon, however, Graf captured her third women's crown, this time at Sabatini's expense. - It just felt something special that I was going to, recalls Graf. She was also inducted to the German Sport Hall of Fame. Winner of as many as 22 Grand Slam titles, Steffi's presence was enough to send shivers down the spine of her opponents. Her career prize-money earnings totalled US$21,895,277 (a record until Lindsay Davenport surpassed this amount in January 2008). [66] In August Monica Seles made her much anticipated return to tennis at the Canadian 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. Steffi is the GOAT in women's tennis because she's the most dominant player to ever play this game. Venus Williams. I had one day to turn around, get home, change and get on the flight to Seoul. 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. [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. She always said: I never look back, I look forward, but she also said: You can't measure success if you have never failed. "[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. 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. 1 ranking. Williams vs. Graf, and Graf's Disciple - The New York Times In 1988, Graf became only the second tennis player in history to win a Slam on hardcourt, clay, and grass all in the same season. SAN DIEGO The shock was not that top-ranked Steffi Graf won another match, 6-0, 6-0. First Grand Slam victory of the year for Graf: 6-1, 7-6. Before Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi became the power tennis couple off court, the two were connected by a remarkable weekend 20 years ago at Roland Garros. She played Jelena Dokic in Christchurch, New Zealand, Amanda Coetzer in Durban, South Africa, and her former rival Arantxa Snchez Vicario in Zaragoza, Spain. A commemorative plaque outside the venue in Seoul bears testament to the event: Historic Place for Golden Slam. 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. Steffi Graf: Steffi Graf has 22 grand slams to her name, most coming during the late 80s and 90s. The German allowed Zvereva just 13 points, three of them in that one early game. She ended the 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, and 1996 tennis seasons as the worlds top-ranked player. "Such a cruel moment" - Steffi Graf once spoke about Martina Hingis 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. [70][71] He was eventually released after serving 25 months. Stefanie Graf - International Tennis Hall of Fame [98][99] It was Graf and Snchez Vicario's first head-to-head meeting since 1996. All right, yes, there is the winning and, with it, the money, but they come too easily and bring only temporary relief. [153] She was elected as the German Sportsperson of the Year in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1999. Next came Wimbledon, where Martina Navratilova had won six straight titles. 1 on the computer the ITF named Sanchez Vicario its World Champion for the year, while the WTA backed their official rankings and named Graf. Steffi Graf's 1988 Golden Slam - an unprecedented achievement Fernandez had two break points to take a 30 and double break lead in the third set. 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. Graf then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles in two sets. 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. 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. Answer (1 of 4): It isn't hard to replicate Steffi Graf's forehand, it's just not optimal. The win elevated Graf to the world No. 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. Steffi Graf | Player Stats & More - WTA Official Graf had complained of an issue with her left knee but showed little trouble outplaying her opponent. Stefanie Maria "Steffi" Graf; 14. 1969, , ) . [a] Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. Navratilova, therefore, . She retired from tennis in 1999. 49 . As true as that forehand was, the mask was no less a lie. #WimbledonThrowback: "Steffi (Graf), Will You Marry Me?" Her Epic Response Having also won bronze in the womens doubles with Claudia Kohde-Kilsch in Seoul, her Olympic record stands at four podium finishes, including two titles counting the one she won in Los Angeles aged 14 when tennis was a demonstration sport! steffi graf opponents. 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. No medals were awarded as this was not an official Olympic event.[23]. Is it possible to have any other year Steffi Graf: yep, it would be like Monica's or Serena's type of dominance. . 1 ranking for the first time in her career, a ranking she would hold for the next 186 consecutive weeks, a record (it was tied by Serena Williams in 2016). The Tennis 128: No. 2, Steffi Graf - Heavy Topspin [115], Early in her career, Graf wore Dunlop apparel, before signing an endorsement contract with Adidas in 1985. This was not a first-round sacrifice, an opponent drawn at random. Jaz Elle Agassi is best known as being a daughter of former tennis couple Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.. Parents Wedding. 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. Finally Graf was given a match but prevailed 6-3, 7-6 where she would meet a surprise opponent in the final. United States . The match was notable for its dramatic ending. Steffi Graf's 22 Grand Slam singles titles put her second on the list of major wins in the female competition since the introduction of the Open Era in 1968 . . Barbara Schett: "Novak Djokovic will exceed 400 weeks as no.1" The facts: American Amy Frazier was Graf's final opponent. After breaking Novotn's serve, Graf won the next four games to take the match 76, 16, 64. The Trials of Steffi Graf With Her Father in Jail and Her Own Innocence She and Margaret Court are the only players, female or male, to win three majors in a calendar year five times (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1996). In February 2000, Graf played against Kimiko Date at Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Tokyo, winning in three sets. Graf is the only person to have won the 'Golden Slam' (1988). And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. "[89] The pair played their last major tournament together at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the quarterfinals. Graf did not lose a set during the tournament and lost a total of only 29 games. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams are two of the greatest women's tennis players ever. 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. T365 Recall: Steffi Graf's brutal 32-minute 6-0, 6-0 - Tennis365 This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. She was absolutely right the term Golden Slam was born at that exact moment. Proceeds from her match against Sabatini went to Graf's foundation, "Children for Tomorrow".[102]. AP Photo/Bruno Mosconi. [141] Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. In their five previous head-to-head matches, Graf had defeated Martnez each time. 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 . 3 at that time and said, "I have done everything I wanted to do in tennis. About - Steffi Graf 2019 The assailant, a fan of German . [105] It was the first time in 14 years Graf had played Navratilova. 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. In Indian Wells Graf lost to Serena Williams in three sets. 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. It was Graf's final Grand Slam singles title as she retired later that year. Martina revolutionized women's tennis with her hardcore workout regimen to become more fit and stronger than her opponents. It would also be the last loss Graf would ever have to Novotna in a match she completed (she did have a loss after withdrawing with injury after the first set of a late 1996 match). She first used the Wilson Pro Staff 7.0 lite, then switched to the Pro Staff 7.5 in 1996 and to the Pro Staff 7.1 in 1998. Opponent W L Win% TB W L TB% First Last MS DR A% DF% 1stIn 1st% 2nd% SPW RPW BPSvd% BPCnv% 40: Gabriela Sabatini [ARG] 29: 11: 72.5%: 14: 7: 7: 50.0%: . [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. From Margaret Court to Steffi Graf: Players With Most Grand - News18