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[34] She then won tournaments in Hamburg and Mahwah (where she lost only eight games all tournament). Voted Germany's Sportswoman of the Century in 1999 by the German press. Answer (1 of 4): It isn't hard to replicate Steffi Graf's forehand, it's just not optimal. 98 in 1983, No. 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? WATCH THIS STORY: When Roger Federer toyed his opponent so bad, he asked for advice from Andre Agassi in the crowd Wimbledon championships. At Tokyo 2020, current world no. Illness caused her to miss Wimbledon,[26] and an accident where she broke a toe several weeks later also curtailed her play. It just felt something special that I was going to, recalls Graf. Titles. 49 . [122][129] Other companies she has endorsed include Barilla, Apollinaris, Citibank, Danone and Teekanne. Steffi Graf collided against Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the finals of the 1995 Wimbledon. The match was notable for its dramatic ending. Graf's 1988 Grand Slam remains the only one in history completed on three surfaces (grass, clay, hard court), as all other Grand Slams in tennis history were achieved prior to the introduction of hard court at the US Open in 1978.[35]. 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. On 24 January 1988, on a Rebound Ace surface on Centre Court in Melbourne, Graf took on Evert in the final of the Australian Open. [48] In Boca Raton, Florida, Graf reached her first final of the year, where she faced Conchita Martnez for the title. . In the French Open final, Graf defeated Navratilova, who was the world No. [82] Upon her return Graf defeated world No. In 2010, Graf participated in the WTT Smash Hits exhibition in Washington, D.C. to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation. . 6 in 1985. She retired from tennis in 1999. played a game called "Can you last an hour on court with Graf" because throughout her career she used to beat her opponents 6-0 6-1. She was also inducted to the German Sport Hall of Fame. Graf was ranked world No. 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. 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 . [100] In September 2004, Graf dispatched her former doubles partner Gabriela Sabatini, in straight sets, in an exhibition match played in Berlin, Germany. Graf did not lose a set the whole tournament. Graf retired in August 1999 while ranked world No. [138][139][140] They have two children, a son born in 2001 and a daughter born in 2003. And stepping on the plane there was a big group of German athletes on it. [70][71] He was eventually released after serving 25 months. Steffi Graf vs. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario ** **Head to Head: **28-8, Graf . Since Graf skipped the Italian Open, she did not take part in the vote. 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. Though she lost the game to opponent Tracy Austin by 6-4, 6-0, this did very little to dishearten the young blood. It was the days when the Williams . The loss deprived her of the Golden Super Slam. 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. The Trials of Steffi Graf. Graf retired at the age of 30 in 1999 while ranked as the world No. In 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. Venus Williams won her first Games titles 19 years ago, and she hasnt finished yet! At Wimbledon, Graf defeated Jana Novotn to win her third consecutive, and fifth overall, ladies' title. [25] During that period, she lost six times to Evert and three times to Navratilova, all in straight sets. Grand Slam tournament performance timeline. She reached a total of 31 singles major finals. Voted The best female role model in sports in a survey by Barclays, sponsors of the Premier League, 2010. ", "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! [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. Having won the first three Majors of the year, Djokovic is three-fifths of the way to a . 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. Graf was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004. However, there was also a 15-year-old who shot into the scene in 1995 that would take the tennis world by storm. More to Graf's net worth, family, height, net worth, nationality, residence, mansion, stats, retirement, now, news, updates and facts. [74] Graf had led 41 in the second set tiebreak, only to lose six points in a row and force a decider. 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. After breaking Novotn's serve, Graf won the next four games to take the match 76, 16, 64. Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams. Graf, Kerber's idol . In addition to being great as players, they were also great as husband and wife. This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. "[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. First Grand Slam victory of the year for Graf: 6-1, 7-6. She won no titles during the next three years, but her ranking climbed steadily to world No. [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. 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 secured the World 124th position in her first year. At age 13 she became the second youngest player ever to earn an international ranking. Early life. 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. Furthermore, Graf's backhand was, in a subtle way, an extremely aggressive shot. She also . "[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. 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. Serena was 17. When she was nine years old, her family moved to the neighboring town of Brhl. Online", "GOAT Vote: Steffi or Serena? Her year continued indifferently with losses in three of her first four tournaments, including a semifinal loss to Jana Novotn in Chicago. Five months later, the world no. 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). #3. Highly emotional and sensitive, with a temperament more suited to a poet than to a professional athlete, Steffi had a poignant sadness about . [37] He went on to add, "I saw what Steffi did to Sabatini at the Australian Open this year, and that was it. Five months later, the world no. [11][12][13][14] She won six French Open singles titles (second to Evert), seven Wimbledon singles titles, four Australian Open titles, and five US Open singles titles. There really hasn't been anyone like her since. Graf said after the final that it would be her last French Open, fueling speculation about her retirement.[84]. However, seeing the current situation, Graff also feels frightened. 1999 Germany Television Award for her outstanding performance as tennis player and her importance to the German public. Graf's father had approached Gnthardt during the 1991 Virginia Slims Championships. [22] She began practising on a court at the age of four and played in her first tournament at five. [88] Sabatini said of the partnership: "doubles is all about communicating with each other, and we didn't communicate that much. 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. 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. "[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. Stefanie ("Steffi") Graf | Former German Tennis Pro and Champion. (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.