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Steffi Graf: Grand Slam
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Born on June 14, 1969 in Manhiem, West Germany, Stephanie Marie Graf (Steffi Graf), the Golden Slam Winner 1988, is a former #1 tennis player in the world. She started playing at a very young age under the guidance of her father, Peter, and won many junior tournaments. She dominated the world tennis in the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s.
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Steffi Graf was a champion when she was at the start of her career. She never ceased to be one. She continued her professionalism and dedication to tennis even when she won many Grand Slams and earned millions of dollars. If you acquire the traits and beliefs of a champion, they stay with you.
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Steffi Graf won all four Grand Slams in addition to winning an Olympic gold medal in the same year... becoming the first and only Golden Slam winner in 1988. She held the longest #1 position in tennis among the women and men tennis players at 377 weeks. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004.
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LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Steffi Graf, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles and the 1988 Olympic champion, received the Olympic movement's highest honour Monday. International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch presented Graf with the Olympic order, praising her as an "outstanding example of fair play."
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Graf lost a 1991 Australian Open quarterfinal to Jana Novotna, the first time she could not reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 1986 French Open. She then lost to Sabatini in her next three tournaments before winning the U.S. Hardcourts in San Antonio, beating Seles in the final. After losing a fifth straight time to Sabatini at Amelia Island, Graf once again defeated Seles in the Hamburg final. Following her tournament victory in Berlin, Graf suffered one of the worst defeats of her career in a French Open semifinal where she won only two games against Sanchez Vicario and lost her first 6-0 set since 1984. Graf did... win her third Wimbledon title, defeating Sabatini in the final. Navratilova then defeated Graf 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 in a U.S. Open semifinal, the first time she had beaten Graf in four years.
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The indirect effects of Seles's injury on Graf's career is the subject of frequent speculation. Seles was number one at the time of the attack. In head-to-head matches, Graf never had a losing record versus Seles at any point in her career, and prior to the year the blackmail scandal first broke, Graf was undefeated versus Seles in three encounters. Seles... won four of the seven matches they played from 1990 through 1993, including a 3-1 advantage over Graf in Grand Slam tournaments. Graf retired with a 10-5 lifetime record over Seles, including a 6-4 winning record versus Seles in Grand Slam singles tournaments and a 5-2 winning record versus Seles while Seles was ranked #1.
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