Serena did that only for a few tournaments in her career while Steffi did . Graf reached 13 consecutive major singles finals, from the 1987 French Open through to . 667 (25-02-23) Best Rank. 1 ranking. The match was the Wimbledon women's singles semi-final between Ms Graf and Kimiko Date. 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. [85][86] She was ranked No. Pause, rewind, play: Steffi Graf - only player to win all four Majors and the Olympic gold in a year. Having won the first three Majors of the year, Djokovic is three-fifths of the way to a . Steffi Graf collided against Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the finals of the 1995 Wimbledon. Once again, she reached the final without conceding a single set. 49 . n 1973 Steffi avea 3 ani cnd a luat prima oar n Brhl (Baden) o rachet de tenis n mn. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams are two of the greatest women's tennis players ever. (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. [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. 1 . Both dominated opponents with power and movement. [141] Agassi has said that he and Graf are not pushing their children toward becoming tennis players. [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. At Wimbledon, however, Graf captured her third women's crown, this time at Sabatini's expense. In 1984, she first gained international attention when she almost upset the tenth seed, Jo Durie of the United Kingdom, in a fourth round Centre Court match at Wimbledon. Graf did not lose a set during the tournament and lost a total of only 29 games. . She was also inducted to the German Sport Hall of Fame. [116][13] Graf stated that grass was her favorite surface to play on, while clay was her least favorite. The German, born on 14 June 1969 in Mannheim, was already showing the qualities that would lead to her being world no. In the third and deciding set, Novotn had a point to go up 51 on her serve. Even discounting that result, no other player had played and won 27 Grand Slam matches in a single year before. Steffi Graf - 22; The former German tennis star is third on the list with 22 grand slam titles victories. [59][60] She began to wear a back brace and was unsure about playing the US Open but elected to play while receiving treatment and stretching for two hours before each match. 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 . Four consecutive indoor tournament victories in the autumn helped improve her season, but for the third consecutive year, she failed to win the Virginia Slims Championships, where she lost in the first round to Lori McNeil. [47] She would work with him for the remainder of her career. 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. [101] She was beaten in two out of three matches, with each match being one set. Graf reached 13 consecutive singles major finals from the 1987 French Open to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. The partnership was the subject of much discussion, as the two women, both known to be shy, usually kept communication to a minimum during changeovers and between points, a highly unusual situation in doubles. She has emerged as one of the strongest tennis players of all time. 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. Steffi Graf was a dominant force in tennis during the late 1980s and for much of the 1990s. In July 2005, Graf competed in one tie of World Team Tennis (WTT) on the Houston Wranglers team. Grand Slam tournament performance timeline. Some noted observers, such as Margaret Court, suggested that Graf could achieve the feat a couple more times. I feel I have nothing left to accomplish. Argentinas Gabriela Sabatini reached her first ever final, but Graf secured a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory. Graf developed a bone spur at the base of her spine due to a congenital condition of the sacroiliac joint. At the French Open, Graf successfully defended her title by defeating Natasha Zvereva 60, 60 in a 34-minute final. She was one of the most fierce Tennis stars of her generation and tasted great success on every court. This is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player Steffi Graf. [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. Graf's semifinal match at the 1988 US Open was a walkover (so not counted as win), The main weapons in Graf's game were her powerful inside-out forehand drive (which earned her the moniker Frulein Forehand) and her intricate footwork. 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 1987, Grafs career truly took off: she won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating world no. 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! 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. 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. Chosen by World Economic Forum As Young Global Leader for 2008, Godmother of the Navigator of The Seas (Royal Caribbean Cruiselines), 2002. Titles. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:01. [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. 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. At age 13 she became the second youngest player ever to earn an international ranking. She has a younger brother, Michael. In the meantime, she lost surprisingly to Nicole Bradtke of Australia in a Fed Cup match on clay before winning the Acura Classic in San Diego and the Canadian Open in Toronto in preparation for the US Open. [133], In 1997, she left the Catholic Church, citing personal reasons. Her birth name is Stefanie Maria Graf and she is currently 51 years old. . Graf again missed the Australian Open after undergoing surgery in December 1995 to remove bone splinters from her left foot. No medals were awarded as this was not an official Olympic event.[23]. Chicago was notable, however, for being the first tournament Graf played with her new coach, former Swiss player Heinz Gnthardt. 98 in 1983, No. Graf is the only female athlete in the list of Forbes Top-30 Most recognizable and marketable athletes in 1995. 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. It actually had several major flaws, especially based on today's understanding of stroke. 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). Highly emotional and sensitive, with a temperament more suited to a poet than to a professional athlete, Steffi had a poignant sadness about . Stefanie Maria Steffi" Graf 1969614 GOAT [44] Graf briefly regained the top ranking after winning at Wimbledon but lost it again after her loss to Navratilova at the US Open. Despite their differences, their careers, on and off the court . thesportslegends. Notable features of Graf's game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork and powerful forehand drive. And Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, arguably the most accomplished sports couple there ever was, had good reason to be on campus that day. Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis played out a thrilling final at the 1999 French Open, with the former winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Shortly after the stabbing, during a players meeting at the Italian Open in Rome, 17 of the world's top 25 WTA members voted against preserving Seles' world No. Sabatini served for the match twice, and was two points away from her first Wimbledon title. 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. . Focus only on getting better. Extremely sound advice! 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). 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks. 1 Ranking", "Graf wastes no time reaching another final", "Roland-Garros - the 2021 Roland-Garros Tournament official site", "The 1988 French Open: how Agassi arrived, Graf ruled and Wilander won", "TENNIS; Graf Shuts Out Zvereva to Gain French Open Title", "Wimbledon; An Era Ends as Graf Beats Navratilova", "Forget Calendar Slam, "Surface Slam" Almost as Rare", "THE SEOUL GAMES: Women's Tennis: Graf Turns Her Slam Into a Golden One", "SURPRISE! Voted The best female role model in sports in a survey by Barclays, sponsors of the Premier League, 2010. [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. [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). . 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. Graf and Kohde-Kilsch lost in the semifinals to Jana Novotn and Helena Sukov 75, 63. Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams. Graf ended 1989 with an 862 match record and the loss of only 12 sets. Her father, an aspiring tennis coach, first introduced her to the game, teaching his . Seles and Graf met in the final, with Graf winning in three sets, saving a set point in the first set. Home; Q & A; Blog; Contact; Taramati Baradari Resort, Weather Biarritz October, Central Gwinnett High School, Facts About Victoria, Australia, Quick Funeral Home Obituaries . 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). During a quarterfinal match between Seles and Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg, Seles was stabbed between the shoulder blades by a mentally ill German fan of Graf, Gnter Parche. 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. 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. 3, having racked up a total of 107 tournament victories. . It was the days when the Williams . Graf who dated Michael Bartels is the daughter-in-law of Emmanuel Agassi. [82] Upon her return Graf defeated world No. ", "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! 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. WATCH THIS STORY: When Roger Federer toyed his opponent so bad, he asked for advice from Andre Agassi in the crowd Wimbledon championships. 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. [74] Graf had led 41 in the second set tiebreak, only to lose six points in a row and force a decider. ), At the start of her first full professional year in 1983, Graf was 13 years old and ranked world No. 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. Graf and Navratilova faced each other six times and Graf had the advantage, 4-2. She soon began taking the top prize at junior tournaments with regularity, going on to win the European Championships 12s and 18s in 1982. In the late eighties and nineties Graf dominated. 2021 International Olympic Committee. Graf had a winloss record of 752 for a 97.4 winning percentage in 1987, both losses coming to Navratilova as they split the four matches they played during the year. 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. [68] 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. 2 (21-06-10) Titles. 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. In 2010, Graf participated in the WTT Smash Hits exhibition in Washington, D.C. to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Talk Tennis Guru. Her accuracy with the slice, both cross-court and down the line and her ability to skid the ball and keep it low, enabled her to use it as an offensive weapon to set the ball up for her forehand put-aways. [80][81] [122] Graf's racquets were strung at 29 kilograms (64 pounds), significantly above the 50-60 pound range recommended by Wilson. In 2015, Graf was the recipient of the International Club's Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award. Date biografice. The 19-year-old Graf lost the first set 7-5 before getting the measure of her rival and fighting back to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-1. [43] In the final, Navratilova led 63, 42 before Graf rallied to win 36, 75, 61 for her third Grand Slam singles title of the year. At Wimbledon, Graf defeated Jana Novotn to win her third consecutive, and fifth overall, ladies' title. 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. [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. [67][68], In personal terms, 1995 was a difficult year for Graf, as she was accused by German authorities of tax evasion in the early years of her career. 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. In the Miami final, she lost her first set of the yearto Natasha Zverevaafter winning 54 consecutive sets. Although Sabatini got the best of Graf in the semifinals of the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships, Graf still finished the year as the top-ranked player. 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 was born as Stefanie Maria Graf on 14th June 1969 in West Germany. I had one day to turn around, get home, change and get on the flight to Seoul. [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. 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. . AP Photo/Bruno Mosconi. Instead of being hailed as the undisputed female GOAT, people will always talk about her mysterious backhand deficiency. Meanwhile, her naturally aggressive style of play, effective backhand slice and speed around the court made her even more dominant on fast surfaces such as hard courts, grass and carpet. It was 1986, and Graf was 17. More than two years elapsed before Seles competed again. LEAVE A . Graf was ranked world No. [124][125][126] In 2010, Graf and Agassi collaborated with Head and developed the new line of Star Series tennis racquets. There really hasn't been anyone like her since. [a] Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. On 17 August, after defeating Evert in a straight set final in the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles, Graf overtook Navratilova for the world No. 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). [154] Her unprecedented Golden Slam saw her receive the 1988 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year. Wimbledon authorities then threatened to immediately shut down any subsequent press conferences where questions about the issue were asked. That doesn't mean it will happen. She won there, comfortably beating Helena Sukov in the final after needing three sets to eliminate Gabriela Sabatini and Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. She would either destroy opponents, clinically and . [135][136], From 1992 to 1999, Graf dated racing driver Michael Bartels. 1 German tennis player. 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. 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. 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. The earliest sign that Steffi Graf was going to be one of the sport's all-time winners came at the end of a defeat. Graf warmed up for the US Open with easy tournament victories in San Diego and Mahwah. That year Graf lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in straight sets to Amanda Coetzer. They have two children. Working with her father and then-coach Pavel Sloil, Graf typically practiced for up to four hours a day, often heading straight from airports to practice courts. 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. Djokovic is now into his 378th week as the world number one, surpassing Steffi Graf's record for the most weeks at the top of the sport, a feat that prompted some of his young rivals to express . More to Graf's net worth, family, height, net worth, nationality, residence, mansion, stats, retirement, now, news, updates and facts. 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). In an unusual arrangement, she paired with her coaches Pavel Sloil at Wimbledon in 1988 and Heinz Gnthardt in 1992 and 1996, also at Wimbledon. [48] In Boca Raton, Florida, Graf reached her first final of the year, where she faced Conchita Martnez for the title. Graf then won all five of her Fed Cup matches, helping Germany defeat Spain in the final by defeating Arantxa Snchez Vicario, 64, 62. 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. At the end of the year, the municipality of Brhl, her hometown, gave her the title of honorary citizen. Graf was the first player other than Navratilova or Evert to hold the top spot since Tracy Austin in 1980.[27]. Winner of as many as 22 Grand Slam titles, Steffi's presence was enough to send shivers down the spine of her opponents. Steffi Graf was born as Stefanie Maria Graf to Peter and Heidi Graf in Mannheim, Germany. 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. If Steffi Graf could shut out the world the way she shuts down opponents on the court then, for her, life would be perfect. 1 ranking while she was sidelined. Steffi is the GOAT in women's tennis because she's the most dominant player to ever play this game. "Steffi Graf is the best all-around player," said Evert, whose name is also mentioned as one of the all-time greats. Natasha Zvereva, the 13th seed had shocked Martina Navratilova with a straight sets fourth round . Is it possible to have any other year Steffi Graf: yep, it would be like Monica's or Serena's type of dominance. Graf retired in August 1999 while ranked world No. Though she did not win any title for the . [24] In 1985, for instance, she played only ten events leading up to the US Open, whereas another up-and-coming star, Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, who was a year younger than Graf, played 21. 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. [90][91] She played her last Grand Slam doubles tournament at the 1999 Australian Open with Gorrochategui, losing in the second round. Steffi Graf on how social media impacts the mental health of children. She played Jelena Dokic in Christchurch, New Zealand, Amanda Coetzer in Durban, South Africa, and her former rival Arantxa Snchez Vicario in Zaragoza, Spain. [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. (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. [65] She came back in February, winning four consecutive tournaments in Paris, Delray Beach, Miami and Houston. Her 0.977 winning percentage is the second-highest in the open era behind Navratilova.[44]. Prosecutors dropped their case against Graf in 1997, when she agreed to pay a fine of 1.3million Deutsche Marks to the government and an unspecified charity.[72]. She reached a total of 31 singles major finals. Steffi Graf Youth Tennis Center was founded and dedicated October 1991 in Leipzig, Germany.Founder and Chairperson of Children for Tomorrow, a non-profit foundation with the goal of implementing and developing projects to support children who have been traumatized by war or other crises, and she is directly involved in the running of the . At the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Graf lost to Jennifer Capriati in the final and claimed the silver medal. Graf lost her singles match to Elena Likhovtseva 54. He claimed that he committed the attack to help Graf reclaim the world No. 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. Like the exhibition match the previous year against Sabatini, proceeds went to "Children for Tomorrow". to overwhelm her opponents. . [79] Only one week later, she underwent reconstructive knee surgery in Vienna and subsequently missed the 1997 Wimbledon and US Open championships. "[89] The pair played their last major tournament together at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the quarterfinals. 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 . [75] Graf then had a straight-sets win against Snchez Vicario in the Wimbledon final. I have complied some stats . "Peter Graf" redirects here. In their five previous head-to-head matches, Graf had defeated Martnez each time. 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. Graf, Kerber's idol . Graf again lost to Monica Seles in the final of the French Open 67, 46. 1 ranking for the first time in 22 months. Graf served for the match at 53 in the third set but lost the game and won only three more points in the match. On 13 August 1999, shortly after retiring with a strained hamstring from a second round match against Amy Frazier in San Diego, Graf announced her retirement from the women's tour at age 30. However, seeing the current situation, Graff also feels frightened. Martina Navratilova included Graf at the top of her list of the greatest players ever. Began playing Tennis: 1973 Turned Professional: 18.10.1982. In an interview with Stern magazine in July 1990, Graf stated, "I could not fight as usual."[46]. Graf then reached her ninth Wimbledon singles final, losing to third-seeded Davenport in straight sets. 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. After breaking Novotn's serve, Graf won the next four games to take the match 76, 16, 64. Most sliced shots float these days; Graf's seemed to reach her opponent's side in a straight line, skimming low over the net. One was 19 and one is pushing 34. The win elevated Graf to the world No. On 13 April 1986, Graf won her first WTA tournament and beat Evert for the first time in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head, South Carolina (she never lost to Evert again, beating her six more times over the next three and a half years). Graf then went on to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before losing to Monica Seles in two sets. Steffi Graf was already world number one, and just shy of 19 years old, when she began the 1988 season. 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 lost twice to Sabatini during the spring, once on hardcourts in Boca Raton, Florida, and once on clay at Amelia Island, Florida.