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Despite their differences, their careers, on and off the court . 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. Voted Germans greatest role model by TV14 magazine, 2004. In her semifinal match at the US Open, Graf defeated Sabatini 36, 64, 62. 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. Steffi Graf went on to win Wimbledon in 1996, beating Arantxa . Stefanie Graf was awarded with the Golden Sports Pyramid, the highest distinction of the German Sports Fund in Herzogenaurach by the Adidas chairman Herbert Hainer on 24 June 2008. Graf is the first German to win the Spain's 'Prince of Asturias' award. In their prime, they ruled their eras with their own dominating styles. At the Roland-Garros trophy ceremony, after she . Voted The best female role model in sports in a survey by Barclays, sponsors of the Premier League, 2010. Seles and Graf met in the final, with Graf winning in three sets, saving a set point in the first set. 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. It was the longest French Open women's singles final in history, both in terms of time (3 hours and 3 minutes) and number of games played (40). She returned to win a small tournament at Mahwah just before the US Open where, in one of the most anticipated matches of the year, she encountered Navratilova in a semifinal. [68] 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. Graf then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles in two sets. In 1996, Steffi Graf was famously proposed to by a fan as she was getting ready to serve. At the first round of the season-ending Chase Championships, Graf defeated world No. She has a younger brother, Michael. Steffi Graf, a Tennis champ is married to husband Andre Agassi with two children. Like the exhibition match the previous year against Sabatini, proceeds went to "Children for Tomorrow". Graf then won in Leipzig, with her 500th career victory coming in a quarterfinal against Judith Wiesner. 3, She was not included in the official year end ranking. 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. "[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. 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. Once again, she reached the final without conceding a single set. In the late eighties and nineties Graf dominated. Having won the first three Majors of the year, Djokovic is three-fifths of the way to a . 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. Graf has a 20863 (76.8%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[1]. Kerber's opponent will be the defending champion, . In their five previous head-to-head matches, Graf had defeated Martnez each time. [17] Graf married former world No. [83], At the French Open, Graf reached her first Grand Slam final in three years and fought back from a set and twice from a break down in the second set to defeat the top ranked Hingis in three sets for a memorable victory. 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. Their bond was unbreakable, and as Steffi became a force in tennis, Peter was right beside hercontrolling her life and business off the court while she controlled the rhythms on it. She soon began taking the top prize at junior tournaments with regularity, going on to win the European Championships 12s and 18s in 1982. After breaking Novotn's serve, Graf won the next four games to take the match 76, 16, 64. 3 at that time and said, "I have done everything I wanted to do in tennis. 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. All Rights Reserved. The match was notable for its dramatic ending. [76] Graf played only one warm-up event ahead of the US Open, the Acura Classic in Manhattan Beach, California, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals. 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. Graf, Kerber's idol . [124][125][126] In 2010, Graf and Agassi collaborated with Head and developed the new line of Star Series tennis racquets. [101] She was beaten in two out of three matches, with each match being one set. I have complied some stats . . [107] Graf played in the celebrity doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles before straining her left calf muscle and being replaced by Anna Kournikova. 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. [144], In 1991, the Steffi Graf Youth Tennis Center in Leipzig was dedicated to her. 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. She was absolutely right the term Golden Slam was born at that exact moment. [141] Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. Highly emotional and sensitive, with a . 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. And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. When she was nine years old, her family moved to the neighboring town of Brhl. Graf's Grand Slam tournament winning streak ended at the French Open, where 17-year-old Spaniard Arantxa Snchez Vicario beat Graf in three sets. 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. [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. 1 was in peerless form on the clay courts of Roland Garros. who often frustrated opponents with variety and consistency. The Trials of Steffi Graf. . She was successful, however, in the mixed doubles match. . Graf remains one of the greatest champions in the history of her sport. Some noted observers, such as Margaret Court, suggested that Graf could achieve the feat a couple more times. 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]. She had to overcome three difficult three set matches en route to this final, against Mariaan De Swardt in the second round, Venus Williams in the quarterfinals and Mirjana Lui in the semifinals. . She hit the sliced backhand harder and with more underspin than any woman I have ever seen. Martina Navratilova then defeated Graf 76, 67, 64 in a US Open semifinal, the first time she had beaten Graf in four years. There really hasn't been anyone like her since. [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. [9] She won 107 singles titles, ranking her third on the WTA's all-time list after Martina Navratilova (167 titles) and Chris Evert (157 titles). 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. 1 player. [131][132] In 2015, she was appointed as the brand ambassador of Kerala tourism, for promoting Ayurveda in North America and Europe. More to Graf's net worth, family, height, net worth, nationality, residence, mansion, stats, retirement, now, news, updates and facts. They have two children. The match was the Wimbledon women's singles semi-final between Ms Graf and Kimiko Date. 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]. 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. 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. [63][64], A strained right calf muscle forced Graf to withdraw from the Australian Open. After winning two more indoor tournaments at Zurich and Brighton, she failed once again in the Virginia Slims Championships, losing her quarterfinal to Novotn. 1 men's tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001. At the French Open, Graf successfully defended her title by defeating Natasha Zvereva 60, 60 in a 34-minute final. Stefanie Maria Steffi" Graf 1969614 GOAT [98][99] It was Graf and Snchez Vicario's first head-to-head meeting since 1996. Winner of as many as 22 Grand Slam titles, Steffi's presence was enough to send shivers down the spine of her opponents. Her 0.977 winning percentage is the second-highest in the open era behind Navratilova.[44]. Eighteen-time Grand Slam champion and former rival Chris Evert opined, "Steffi Graf is the best all-around player. 29 Jan Tennis Norge . In February 2000, Graf played against Kimiko Date at Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Tokyo, winning in three sets. 3. I've always looked up to her and the way she approached the game" : Pete Sampras [77] Even discounting that result, no other player had played and won 27 Grand Slam matches in a single year before. She then won her eighth German Open, but there were signs that her form was worsening as she almost lost to Julie Halard in a quarterfinal. 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. [75] Graf then had a straight-sets win against Snchez Vicario in the Wimbledon final. [137] She started dating Andre Agassi after the 1999 French Open and they married on 22 October 2001, with only their mothers as witnesses. 667 (25-02-23) Best Rank. It was like a death by a thousand cuts for her poor opponents who would be . [22] She began practising on a court at the age of four and played in her first tournament at five. Graf began 1993 with four losses in her first six tournaments of the year: two to Snchez Vicario and one each to Seles and the 36-year-old Martina Navratilova. A mixture of injury problems, personal difficulties, and loss of form made 1991 a tough year for Graf. [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. She then lost to Sabatini in her next three tournaments before winning the U.S. Hardcourt Championships in San Antonio, beating Monica Seles in the final. [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. By August 1999, Graf had already announced twice that it was going to be her final year on the tour. The weeks following Wimbledon [in 1999] weren't easy for me. [156], Graf was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004 and the German Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.[157][158]. Since Graf skipped the Italian Open, she did not take part in the vote. 1, 64, 46, 86 after beating Sabatini in a three-set semifinal. It just felt something special that I was going to, recalls Graf. Highly emotional and sensitive, with a temperament more suited to a poet than to a professional athlete, Steffi had a poignant sadness about . However, there was also a 15-year-old who shot into the scene in 1995 that would take the tennis world by storm. Angelique Kerber recalls memories of Steffi Graf at Wimbledon after becoming first German to win trophy since 1996 . Steffi Graf is seen as one of tennis' best ever players, winning 22 Grand Slams but 1988 was the year that will never be beaten. Graf then capped the year by beating countrywoman Anke Huber in a five-set final at the season-ending WTA Championships in 2 hours and 46 minutes. At Wimbledon, Graf defeated Jana Novotn to win her third consecutive, and fifth overall, ladies' title. Graf reached 13 consecutive major singles finals, from the 1987 French Open through to . In July, a left knee injury forced Graf to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The last few years of Graf's career were beset by injuries, particularly to her knees and back. Ideea de a ncerca jocul de tenis aparine tatlui ei, Peter Graf, care era agent la o asociaie de asigurri i vnztor de automobile pn la vrsta de 27 de ani cnd descoper posibilitile sale n domeniul sportului de tenis. She has appeared in many advertisements and television commercials with Andre Agassi including Canon Inc.[130] and Longines in 2008 (Agassi became Longines ambassador in 2007). Her birth name is Stefanie Maria Graf and she is currently 51 years old. Graf said after the final that it would be her last French Open, fueling speculation about her retirement.[84]. I had one day to turn around, get home, change and get on the flight to Seoul. . Her father, an aspiring tennis coach, first introduced her to the game, teaching his . As true as that forehand was, the mask was no less a lie. Seles defeated Graf at the Australian Open 46, 63, 62. 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. "[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. "Peter Graf" redirects here. [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. Graf's father had approached Gnthardt during the 1991 Virginia Slims Championships. [82] Upon her return Graf defeated world No. She lost a lengthy one-set singles match to Clijsters and also the mixed doubles.[106]. Graf and Navratilova faced each other six times and Graf had the advantage, 4-2. 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. 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. [152] She was voted the WTA Player of the Year in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996. At the end of the year, the municipality of Brhl, her hometown, gave her the title of honorary citizen. Opponent Score Loss: 1986: Year-end championships: Carpet (i) Martina Navratilova: 6-7 (8-10), 3-6, 2-6 Win: 1987: Year-end championships: #3. 1 female player and won 22 Grand Slam singles titles. Zvereva endured a magical run at Roland Garros that year, but things unraveled in the final when she came up against a Steffi Graf that was in destructive mode. Graf vs Williams H2H MATCHES PLAYED All Rounds Final 1/2 1/4 First Second Third Fourth Qualifying q-First q-Second Pre-q Rubber 1 Rubber 2 Rubber 3 Rubber 4 Rubber 5 Robin Bronze N/A [133], In 1997, she left the Catholic Church, citing personal reasons. Graf started 1988 by winning the Australian Open, defeating Chris Evert in the final 61, 76. Her winning streak (unbeaten since the 1989 French Open loss to Arantxa Snchez) continued with victories in Tokyo, Amelia Island, and Hamburg. [8] Furthermore, she is the only tennis player, male or female, to have won each major tournament at least four times. [47] She would work with him for the remainder of her career. 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. Graf who dated Michael Bartels is the daughter-in-law of Emmanuel Agassi. The German, born on 14 June 1969 in Mannheim, was already showing the qualities that would lead to her being world no. It was important for me to win here, she said afterwards. This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. [79] Only one week later, she underwent reconstructive knee surgery in Vienna and subsequently missed the 1997 Wimbledon and US Open championships. 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. [34] She then won tournaments in Hamburg and Mahwah (where she lost only eight games all tournament). 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. Graf retired at the age of 30 in 1999 while ranked as the world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks. (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. Graf then lost to Navratilova 75, 63 in the Wimbledon final, her first loss of the year. Her overall record in 56 Grand Slam events was 27832 (90 percent) (8410 at the French Open, 747 at Wimbledon, 739 at the US Open, and 476 at the Australian Open). 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). Illness caused her to miss Wimbledon,[26] and an accident where she broke a toe several weeks later also curtailed her play. 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. Titles. "[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 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. Even though she lost the opening set, Graf went on to prevail in three sets. She lost her first round match 64, 60 to Tracy Austin, a two-time US Open champion and former world No. This including playing basketball and working with specialists in nutrition, physical and mental strength. Instead of being hailed as the undisputed female GOAT, people will always talk about her mysterious backhand deficiency. 1 ranking to Martina Hingis and failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in ten years in 1997. 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. Graf and Kohde-Kilsch lost in the semifinals to Jana Novotn and Helena Sukov 75, 63. Social invitations on the tour were often declined as Graf's focus was kept on practicing and match play. Steffi Graf collided against Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the finals of the 1995 Wimbledon. In the final, Evert was completely overwhelmed in the first set, losing 6-1. Graf then won all five of her Fed Cup matches, helping Germany defeat Spain in the final by defeating Arantxa Snchez Vicario, 64, 62. In Indian Wells Graf lost to Serena Williams in three sets. Shortly after the US Open, she underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in her right wrist. "Steffi Graf is the best all-around player," said Evert, whose name is also mentioned as one of the all-time greats. [92][93], Graf also occasionally played mixed doubles, although she never won a title. In 1985 and early 1986, Graf emerged as the top challenger to the dominance of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. As the defending champion Graf lost in straight sets to Mary Pierce in the French Open semifinal. Graf did not lose a set the whole tournament. 1 ranking. Starting in the early 1990s, she used the slice almost exclusively in baseline rallies and mostly limited the topspin backhand to passing shots. 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. Steffi Graf on how social media impacts the mental health of children. 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]. Steffi Graf with the Wimbledon trophy in 1989 after defeating Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-1 in the final. Voted Most admirable German woman by Amica magazine, 2005. . Her father was arrested in August and was sentenced to 45 months in jail. [66] In August Monica Seles made her much anticipated return to tennis at the Canadian Open. 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. [122] Graf's racquets were strung at 29 kilograms (64 pounds), significantly above the 50-60 pound range recommended by Wilson. 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 . [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. 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 reached 13 consecutive singles major finals from the 1987 French Open to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams. Graf lost an Australian Open quarterfinal to Jana Novotn, the first time she did not reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 1986 French Open. [90][91] She played her last Grand Slam doubles tournament at the 1999 Australian Open with Gorrochategui, losing in the second round. She retired from tennis in 1999. 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. Although she now lives in Las Vegas, Stefanie Maria Graf was born in Mannheim, West Germany on June 14, 1969. Though she lost the game to opponent Tracy Austin by 6-4, 6-0, this did very little to dishearten the young blood. Steffi Graf vs Serena Williams vs Martina Navratilova - Who is the Greatest Female tennis player of all time? [80][81] Graf later stated it was the best tennis she had ever played in a Grand Slam final. The assailant, a fan of German . [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.