Graf had already won 5 Wimbledon titles by then and was hunting for her 6th trophy. [90][91] She played her last Grand Slam doubles tournament at the 1999 Australian Open with Gorrochategui, losing in the second round. Shortly after the US Open, she underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in her right wrist. United States . 1 men's tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001. Steffi Graf, byname of Stephanie Maria Graf, (born June 14, 1969, Brhl, West Germany [now in Germany]), German tennis player who dominated women's tennis in the late 1980s and '90s, winning 22 Grand Slam singles titles. She is better than them all. Voted The best female role model in sports in a survey by Barclays, sponsors of the Premier League, 2010. 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. Four Grand Slam wins and an Olympic title in the same year a feat that no male or female player had achieved before or has done since. In reaching and winning all four Grand Slam finals, Graf became the first player in history to contest and win 28 Grand Slam singles matches in a single year; albeit including the unplayed walkover against Evert in the US Open. 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. ", "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! LEAVE A . In the womens tournament, Williams could repeat the achievement if she competes in what will be her fifth Olympic Games. Seles won the match on her fifth match point; Graf came within two points of winning the match a few games earlier. 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. She has emerged as one of the strongest tennis players of all time. 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. will, Steffi would don her stoical mask and use her cannon of a forehand, the most powerful weapon in the women's game, to overwhelm her opponents. Having won the first three Majors of the year, Djokovic is three-fifths of the way to a . . In the final, Evert was completely overwhelmed in the first set, losing 6-1. A commemorative plaque outside the venue in Seoul bears testament to the event: Historic Place for Golden Slam. (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. "Steffi Graf is the best all-around player," said Evert, whose name is also mentioned as one of the all-time greats. 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. Venus Williams won her first Games titles 19 years ago, and she hasnt finished yet! Graf's schedule was closely controlled by her father, who limited her play so that she would not burn out. 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 . 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. Her year continued indifferently with losses in three of her first four tournaments, including a semifinal loss to Jana Novotn in Chicago. Voted Most admirable German woman by Amica magazine, 2005. She also . 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. Grand Slam tournament performance timeline. 1 German tennis player. [56][57] This was followed by a first-round straight-sets loss at Wimbledon to Lori McNeil, her only loss at Wimbledon between 1991 and 1997 and her first loss in a first round Grand Slam tournament in ten years. 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. No. Natasha Zvereva, the 13th seed had shocked Martina Navratilova with a straight sets fourth round . [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. 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". By August 1999, Graf had already announced twice that it was going to be her final year on the tour. 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. She then successfully defended her title at the US Open, defeating Monica Seles in the final. That year Graf lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in straight sets to Amanda Coetzer. . Last edited on 20 February 2023, at 18:23, BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, Learn how and when to remove this template message, 3 different Grand Slam titles won without losing a set, 2 titles won without losing a set in the same calendar year, Tennis records of the Open Era - women's singles, "Duden | Steffi | Rechtschreibung, Bedeutung, Definition", "The 10 most influential players in the history of tennis", "ON TENNIS; Graf Is Best, Right? 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. Graf served for the match at 53 in the third set but lost the game and won only three more points in the match. In 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. 1 was in peerless form on the clay courts of Roland Garros. The pair was moderately successful, winning the 1988 Wimbledon Championships together and reaching the finals of the French Open in 1986, 1987 and 1989. Fernandez had two break points to take a 30 and double break lead in the third set. On 1 October 1988, in winning the final at the Olympic Games in Seoul, German tennis player Steffi Graf achieved what no one else had done before or has done since. Illness caused her to miss Wimbledon,[26] and an accident where she broke a toe several weeks later also curtailed her play. Williams VS Graf MATCHES VS ALL OPPONENTS This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. In an interview with Stern magazine in July 1990, Graf stated, "I could not fight as usual."[46]. And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. 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. [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. n 1973 Steffi avea 3 ani cnd a luat prima oar n Brhl (Baden) o rachet de tenis n mn. She and Agassi, her husband, were on Team Elton John, which competed against Team Billie Jean King. 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 . Her career prize-money earnings totalled US$21,895,277 (a record until Lindsay Davenport surpassed this amount in January 2008). Graf is the only person to have won the 'Golden Slam' (1988). The last few years of Graf's career were beset by injuries, particularly to her knees and back. [152] She was voted the WTA Player of the Year in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996. [85][86] She was ranked No. Going back in time, one can recall the right-handed player who fearlessly outplayed her opponents. Graf secured the World 124th position in her first year. She won no titles during the next three years, but her ranking climbed steadily to world No. Steffi Graf with the Wimbledon trophy in 1989 after defeating Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-1 in the final. Proceeds from her match against Sabatini went to Graf's foundation, "Children for Tomorrow".[102]. [145], In 2001, Graf indicated that she preferred to be called Stefanie instead of Steffi. used to be curious about one player who will make the women's singles Grand Slam finals as the other name was always Steffi Graf. Graf has a 20863 (76.8%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[1]. Although she now lives in Las Vegas, Stefanie Maria Graf was born in Mannheim, West Germany on June 14, 1969. [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. Angelique Kerber recalls memories of Steffi Graf at Wimbledon after becoming first German to win trophy since 1996 . Tennis was a demonstration sport during the 1984 Olympic Games. At Wimbledon, Graf defeated Jana Novotn to win her third consecutive, and fifth overall, ladies' title. A worthy opponent, she is an exceptional and versatile player to have dominated the international women's tennis scene for a long time. [50][51], During Seles's absence, Graf won 65 of 67 matches,[52] three of four Grand Slam events and the year-end Virginia Slims championships. [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. At the US Open, Graf was upset in the quarterfinals by Snchez Vicario 76, 63. Only results in WTA Tour (incl. 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. We would just say the basic things, but nothing else. [144], In 1991, the Steffi Graf Youth Tennis Center in Leipzig was dedicated to her. Is it possible to have any other year Steffi Graf: yep, it would be like Monica's or Serena's type of dominance. TMF. '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. Chicago was notable, however, for being the first tournament Graf played with her new coach, former Swiss player Heinz Gnthardt. 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. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams played just twice. Like the exhibition match the previous year against Sabatini, proceeds went to "Children for Tomorrow". [133], In 1997, she left the Catholic Church, citing personal reasons. I had one day to turn around, get home, change and get on the flight to Seoul. However, seeing the current situation, Graff also feels frightened. [137] She started dating Andre Agassi after the 1999 French Open and they married on 22 October 2001, with only their mothers as witnesses. I was not having fun anymore. 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. 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. It actually had several major flaws, especially based on today's understanding of stroke. [16], In March 2012, Tennis Channel picked Graf as the greatest female tennis player ever in their list of 100 greatest tennis players of all time. However, she finished her year with a highlight, winning her first Virginia Slims Championships since 1989 by beating Arantxa Snchez Vicario in the final despite needing painkillers for a back injury. Though she lost the game to opponent Tracy Austin by 6-4, 6-0, this did very little to dishearten the young blood. All Rights Reserved. Twice in the third set Snchez Vicario served for the championship but was broken each time by Graf. [123] In 2006, she signed an endorsement deal with Head. Graf was trailing Martina Navratilova in the final 75, 20 before winning the match 57, 62, 61. Graf retired at the age of 30 in 1999 while ranked as the world No. Graf lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at Amelia Island, Florida. 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. The match was poised for a final set to decide the . [131][132] In 2015, she was appointed as the brand ambassador of Kerala tourism, for promoting Ayurveda in North America and Europe. [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. Steffi Graf was born as Stefanie Maria Graf to Peter and Heidi Graf in Mannheim, Germany. The 1995 Wimbledon final is regarded as one of the most dramatic women's major finals in history as Graf and Snchez Vicario battled in a tight third set that included a 16-minute long, 13-deuce game on Sanchez Vicario's serve at 55. Her toughest battle came against rising star Martina Hingis in the semifinal, with Hingis unable to convert on five set points. 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 . Graf was the first player other than Navratilova or Evert to hold the top spot since Tracy Austin in 1980.[27]. [74] Graf had led 41 in the second set tiebreak, only to lose six points in a row and force a decider. But the world of tennis is still waiting for another player capable of securing a Golden Slam in one year. At the 1999 French Open, Graf and Agassi . Graf won 6-0, 6-0. 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 . 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]. 2 (21-06-10) Titles. 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. After winning two more indoor tournaments at Zurich and Brighton, she failed once again in the Virginia Slims Championships, losing her quarterfinal to Novotn. 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. Opel Corsa Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary", "Steffi Graf is Longines' Newest Abassador", "SRK and Steffi Graf to represent Kerala tourism", "Steffi: proof that the rich don't get to heaven", "The Trials of Steffi Graf: with her father in jail and her own innocence being questioned, the world's best woman tennis player has finally been forced to take control of her life", "Tennis: Agassi taking different tact [sic] with fatherhood,", "Tennis legend Steffi Graf talks Royal Ascot and her career to HELLO! David Douillet writes judo history in Sydney in 2000. Opponent Score Loss: 1986: Year-end championships: Carpet (i) Martina Navratilova: 6-7 (8-10), 3-6, 2-6 Win: 1987: Year-end championships: 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. Graf lost her singles match to Elena Likhovtseva 54. [70][71] He was eventually released after serving 25 months. She claimed a prestigious and symbolic victory in the final against Yugoslavias Sabrina Gole on the courts at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Graf was ranked world No. I feel I have nothing left to accomplish. Kerber's opponent will be the defending champion, . [105] It was the first time in 14 years Graf had played Navratilova. 22 in 1984, and No. [101] She was also in Berlin to host a charity gala, as well as inaugurating a tennis stadium renamed the "Steffi Graf Stadion". On this day in 1999, Steffi Graf bid adieu to the sport just weeks after winning the French Open and reaching the Wimbledon final. 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. She did not win a tournament but consistently reached tournament finals, semifinals and quarterfinals, with the highlight being her semifinal loss to Navratilova at the US Open. n civa ani ajunge . Graf is the first German to win the Spain's 'Prince of Asturias' award. Graf who dated Michael Bartels is the daughter-in-law of Emmanuel Agassi. (Twelve years later, Graf defeated Austin 60, 60 during a second round match at the Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California, which was their second and last match against each other. Shortly after winning in Tokyo, Graf injured her right thumb while cross-country skiing in Switzerland and subsequently withdrew from the Virginia Slims of Florida and the Lipton Championships. Graf was the first tennis player to achieve the feat: wheelchair tennis players Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott achieved the Golden Slam in 2021.
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