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Steffi Graf Admiration Thread Vol 2

864K views 6K replies 140 participants last post by  Michael! 
#1 ·
This is a great idea to start this topic...
I shall dedicate this thread to the player who made me notice tennis and follow it eversince I saw her play.....

Steffi Graf!
:bounce: :bounce:
 
#4,013 ·
Jerry Diamond, honorary WTA Sorority Sister. As per the Los Angeles Times, "Both Graf and Martina Navratilova, the top-seeded player, were asked to play night matches." As per the Evening Tribune of San Diego, CA: "In the original schedule, Graf would have played tonight." So, the primary sources say Diamond was not being truthful about never intending a night semifinal, or at least the communication failure was Diamond's.

Of course, nobody wanted to play the night semi. The split semi sessions potentially give an advantage to the winner of the day session. Plus, the VS of LA's lights were notoriously bad, even into 1993. Navratilova: "Definitely not high enough. Did you see me put away an overhead after it got dark? High balls are a disaster. They need to do something." Seles: "I really had a hard time seeing the ball. I don't know if it's because of my eyesight or if it's just the lights." Alycia Moulton, in 1984 (she won the match, so it's not an excuse for
losing): "Usually, I'd play more aggressive than I did today. But I was having a hard time seeing because of the lights." In 1989, there was even an 18-minute blackout during the Sabatini-Shriver night semi. In 1994, Diamond stated his company finally installed new lights on the stadium court. Gee, Jerry, when did it dawn on you that the lights were bad and the players weren't just complaining for no reason? "Just shut up and play, girls. It's only one week."

(It also annoys the paying customers. If you want to see both semis, you have to buy two tickets and either find a way to kill a lot of time at or near the tourney site between sessions or drive home and then drive back in the evening. It's the kind of thing that leaves the fans feeling over-exploited.)

In Steffi's case, the Graf camp had obviously made it clear from the beginning that she would only take the wildcard on the condition that she did not play the night semi. If Diamond was put off by the demand, he should have said "No scheduling guarantees, take the wildcard or leave it." Maybe he was used to getting away with bait-and-switch tactics, maybe it was a one-time-only scheme to try to delay/derail the palace coup, but he didn't have much basis for complaint when Papa Graf threatened a walk-out.

His recount of the "1987" player commitment dust-up seems to be a blend of the 1988 player commitment "play down rule" dust-up and his 1987 reaction to Papa Graf's walk-out threat.

Attentive readers will recall the rather low attempt during the 1988 USO to psych Steffi out of the Grand Slam and make it easier for Navratilova to get "her" No. 1 ranking back. Attentive readers will also recall that it was Merrett Stierheim who publicly said the bit about the sport being bigger than one person, but we allow the possibility that Diamond said it first at the private meeting. At any rate, it was not the mere comment that angered the Graf camp, nor even the idea that Steffi was not bigger than the sport, but the underhanded ploy by the very organization that is supposed to safeguard the equity and integrity of the competition. "But why would anyone get upset about that?"

Diamond's response to the 1987 walk-out threat: "I guarantee you, if he would have pulled her out of this tournament, I would have asked action to ban her from U.S. competition and probably got it. You can't capriciously pull out of anything." He obviously did not understand the way the modern game works, even though he himself helped create the "star system." A player can capriciously pull out of anything. A player, especially a star player, would never be banned "from U.S. competition" for a capricious withdrawal. Jerry Diamond did not have the clout to achieve such a ban, even when he was the head honcho of the WTA.

And, after this public display of gross, self-serving inaccuracies/omissions and the public insinuation that the Grafs are the ones with the attitude problem, he has the nerve to say "I'd love to have [Steffi] play here." Maybe he even expected the Graf camp to have no problem with this compounded antagonism.

This is a great example of what was, and still is, wrong with pro tennis. "Why don't these younger players enter my tournaments? I only lie about them and try to screw them over every chance I get. And then, if they stand up for themselves, I only have small tantrums of delusional power trips and revenge fantasies, nothing that should make them want to avoid me for years or anything. And there's only a couple dozen other tour stops that would be truly happy to have them in the field and treat them with at least a modicum of fairness. You can't work with these kids. What am I going to do now that Navratilova is retiring?" And this person was involved in making tour policy for 20 years and was considered to have solutions to the then-current problems. That someone like this was not immediately identified as "part of the problem" and marginalized accordingly was/is one of tennis' true problems.

Steffi played the Los Angeles tour stop again, in a clear attempt to mend things between them before Diamond died, which says a lot about Steffi as a human being. She might not forget, but she does try to forgive. Rest in peace, Jerry.

Graf and her father never forget a slight
The Washington Times
Wednesday, August 17, 1994
Josh Young

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. - Steffi Graf never forgets.

There is no better example of Graf's stubborn memory than the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles. Graf took over the No. 1 ranking for the first time here in 1987, but she hasn't been back - thereby keeping an angry promise made by her father.

Here's the checkered history between Graf and tournament owner Jerry Diamond, as told that year by the late Ted Tinling, who often was assigned to pacify Graf's testy father, Peter. Diamond filled in the details last week.

The first verbal volleys were thrown during the 1987 tournament. Before it began, Diamond promised Graf's father that Steffi could play her semifinal match during the day on Saturday.

On Friday, Peter Graf learned that Diamond had told Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova that their semifinal would be during Saturday's day session. Assuming that Diamond was breaking his promise, Peter began yelling at Diamond's wife, Jan, who is the tournament director.

But Diamond had no such intention. He scheduled both semifinal singles matches for the afternoon, a move that forced him to refund money to disgruntled evening ticket-holders.

The stakes were as high as the tempers, because Graf was closing in on the No. 1 ranking that Navratilova held. Graf could pass Navratilova by winning the tournament, provided that Evert beat Navratilova in the semifinals - a scenario that ultimately played itself out.

The second round of Papa Graf vs. Diamond came during the 1987 [sic] U.S. Open. Steffi was balking at signing the player commitment for the following year, and Diamond spoke out.

"I said that no one player is bigger than women's tennis and that the game could survive without Steffi Graf," recalled Diamond, who was a very competent head of the Women's Tennis Association before he became a promoter.

Though Diamond would have said the same thing about any other player, Peter Graf took it personally. The angry father announced to Tinling, "My daughter will never play one of Jerry Diamond's tournaments again."

And she hasn't.

Graf's agent, Phil de Picciotto, and Diamond both say that the feud doesn't really exist, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Since 1987, Graf hasn't played in any tournament wholly owned by Diamond.

"I think that's been blown out of proportion," Diamond said. "I don't know if those two incidents are the reason she has never come here. I think Steffi's a neat lady, and I'd love to have her play here."

De Picciotto, the smartest person in women's tennis, explained that there has been a scheduling conflict each year, but that remark seems to be damage control. It's true that Graf usually plays the tournament in San Diego the week before L.A. and the Canadian Open the week after, but it seems a pretty strong coincidence that Graf has managed to avoid all other Diamond events.

Diamond owned the tour events in Oakland until 1991 and in Chicago until 1990, and Graf never played them during that time. She did play Chicago in 1992, well after Diamond had sold that event to International Management Group.

The L.A. Slims has been supported by the continued presence of Navratilova, who played here for the final time last week, and Monica Seles, whose status for any future tournament is in serious doubt.

So what will Diamond do for players?

He is proposing to the leaders of women's tennis that the top players be required to choose three new tournaments each year, which means that Graf probably would play here before she retires.

Unfortunately for Diamond, he probably is going to lose his sponsor. This is the final year for Slims' contract with this event, and given the cigarette company's reduced involvement in tennis, renewal seems doubtful.

While we're on this subject of Graf's stubborn memory, it's worth noting that she also doesn't forget those who doubted her ability when she was an up-and-comer.

Earlier this year in Indian Wells, Calif., she was scheduled to play Tracy Austin.

Coincidentally, Austin had beaten Graf in the German's first big pro match, when she was 14. So the day before the 1994 Austin-Graf match, I asked Graf if she remembered the first time she had played Austin.

"I remember she was not too nice," Graf replied. "She said afterward that there are hundreds of players like me back in the States. There aren't now."

The next day Graf beat Austin 6-0, 6-0.
 
#4,014 ·
Rusedski posts upset - Pierce on course to meet Graf in Matinee
The Hamilton Spectator
Ontario, Canada
Thursday, August 18, 1994
FROM SPECTATOR WIRE SERVICES

Greg Rusedski of Pointe Claire, Que., stayed calm and cool yesterday to upset Thomas Muster, the world's No. 12 player, at the RCA Championships tennis tournament.

Rusedski, ranked 59th in the world, defeated the Austrian 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a match he called his best of the year.

"I was really relaxed out there," said Rusedski. "I went out there and made him play a lot of balls. I played very well and that was the difference today."

Rusedski will next take on Frenchman Olivier Delaitre tomorrow for a place in the quarter-finals.

"Greg played like a top tenner today," said Keith Diepraam, Rusedski's coach. "He kept in control of his emotions, I was very proud of his effort.

"If he can keep it up, he'll be difficult to beat from now on."

In another upset yesterday, top-seeded Goran Ivanisevic, the world's No. 2 player, was beaten 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 by doubles specialist Mark Woodforde of Australia.

It was the second major upset in the RCA Championships tennis tournament. A day earlier, unseeded Alex Corretja of Spain beat fifth-seed and defending champion Jim Courier at the Indianapolis Tennis Center.

Graf advances in Montreal

MONTREAL -- Top-seeded Steffi Graf became the first player to advance to the quarterfinals of the Matinee International tennis tournament when she defeated 14th-seed Naoko Sawamatsu of Japan, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 last night.

Sawamatsu, 26th in the Women's Tennis Association rankings, offered plenty of resistance. She was overpowered by Graf in the first set but broke Graf at love in the opening game of the second set.

Playing superbly at the net, Sawamatsu returned virtually everything and sometimes was helped by Graf's unforced errors.

But in the third set, Graf returned to the form that has helped her win seven tournaments this year and compile a 49-3 record in matches.

Graf prevailed despite having a strained lower back muscle that twice forced her to stretch out on the sidelines in the decisive set.

Third-seeded Kimiko Date of Japan was a winner in the afternoon draw, beating Leila Meshki of the Georgia Republic, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 in a second-round match.

France's Mary Pierce, in her first match of the tournament, beat Australian Rachel McQuillan 6-3, 6-3. Pierce, seeded fourth, is appearing in her first tournament since reaching the final of the French Open in early June.

Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, the seventh seed, moved on by outlasting unseeded Barbara Rittner of Germany, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

The tall, blond Pierce was born in Montreal to a French mother and an American father 19 years ago. The family left Montreal when she was only five months old.

Pierce now divides her time between the United States and France -- the country she plays for -- although she still carries a Canadian passport.

"This is the first time I've been back since I left as a child," a relaxed, smiling Pierce said after her match.

"Maybe I'll stay for a couple of days after the games are over because I don't have another tournament to go to right away."

Pierce is on a path in the Canadian Open draw where she would again face Graf.

She seemed to relish the thought. "Yes, we played really well together in Paris and it should be an exciting match to watch for the spectators. But we have to make sure we get there together."

Becker gets a break

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Boris Becker got the break he needed just in time to beat Roger Smith 6-3, 6-4 before the rain came at the Volvo International yesterday.

Actually, Becker, the third seed, broke Smith three times, the last coming in the ninth game of the second set for a 5-4 advantage just as the rain began to fall. Becker was one of seven players to advance before play was stopped.

Play resumed about five hours later for the contest between top seed Michael Stich and Marcelo Rios. But the second-round match was suspended at 9:52 p.m. with Stich leading 6-3, 2-2.

Second seed Andrei Medvedev's match against Grant Stafford was postponed until today.
 
#4,015 ·
Pierce back winnin' and grinnin'
'I was nervous because I hadn't played in so long'

The Toronto Star
Thursday, August 18, 1994
Mary Ormsby

MONTREAL - The new face of women's tennis belongs to the fair visage of Mary Pierce.

And the once-troubled 19-year-old is wearing it with a wide, sunny smile.

"I try not to read everything or to look at all the magazines and papers," Pierce said after winning her second-round match at the Canadian Open yesterday. "But I know I did something really special at Roland Garros."

The "really special" something she did at Roland Garros was in her stunning run through this year's French Open.

The Montreal-born Pierce, who was raised in the United States but who now calls France home, sent French fans into a frenzy when she pulled off a staggering upset of world's top player, Steffi Graf, in the Grand Slam semifinal. She then bowed 6-4, 6-4 to Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the final, but that failed to hurt her status as instant national hero.

Pierce's inspired charge in Paris also kick-started a near dormant interest in women's tennis that, indirectly, is also due to her father.

Pierce commanded international attention last year when the women's tour banned Jim Pierce from attending its events because of uncontrollable rages at his daughter and others. She later sought a restraining order against her father and thereafter went public with her account of his violent verbal and sometimes physical abuse.

Indeed, she confirmed yesterday at Jarry Tennis Stadium that her unexplained withdrawal from Wimbledon was because of her father. She refused to elaborate, but hinted that she feared he would disrupt the Grand Slam for her in some way and felt it was wiser to pull out.

Still, the women's tour, desperate for fresh young stars to help woo an over-all title sponsor to replace the gaping hole Kraft left this season, has pinned its marketing hopes on the interest the 5-foot-11 blonde baseliner could attract.

And Pierce doesn't mind stepping into the spotlight.

"I try not to think about all those things too much because they can kind of get to you," said Pierce, who eliminated Australian Rachel McQuillan 6-3, 6-3 at the $750,000 (U.S.) event, also known as the Matinee Ltd. International.

"But when I do think about them, which is (only) human, it does make me feel good. But there is pressure, too. You know people are going to expect you to win, so there's good things and bad things about it."

There were mostly good things about Pierce's Canadian debut yesterday, although the fourth seed was a bit rusty from not having played tournament tennis since a grass-court event prior to Wimbledon.

"In the first set, I was a little nervous because I hadn't played a tournament in so long - and it showed," she said.

But she picked up her game in the second set and the crowd, definitely in Pierce's corner, cheered her on.

Pierce left Montreal at the age of 5 months (her mother is French, her father an American) and didn't return until this past April for a news conference to promote this tournament.

She carries three passports - Canadian, U.S. and French - and uses them all, depending on the country she's entering.

And as for her nationality, she says she's a blend.

"I feel both French and American, a mixture of both," said Pierce, who plans to stay a few days after this tournament to visit Montreal.

Meanwhile, defending champion and top seed Graf suffered a flareup of chronic back problems last night and had trouble disposing of Japan's Naoko Sawamatsu, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 in a third-round match.

"The longer the match went on, the more it bothered me," said Graf, adding the pain resurfaced when she began training on hard courts a few weeks ago. Last night, it tweaked her at the end of the second set.

"I don't think I can say it will totally be (healed by tomorrow)," Graf continued, referring to her quarterfinal match. The German has today off. "But I hope it will be better. I will do my best (today) to take care of it with stretching and rest."

The problem centres on a disk. Graf had to call a trainer to courtside during the match.

In other action, No. 9 Lori McNeil of the United States - who reached the Wimbledon semifinals - got a break when Alexia Dechaume-Balleret of France pulled up lame at 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 to retire with a left hip spasm.
 
#4,016 ·
GRAF SAYS SHE'S OK TO FACE SABATINI TODAY
The Star-Ledger
Newark, NJ
Friday, August 19, 1994
Associated Press

MONTREAL -- Steffi Graf, bothered by a recurring back problem, declared herself fit for today's quarterfinal match in the Matinee International with Gabriela Sabatini after a short practice session on a back court yesterday.

The top-seeded German, who sought medical attention on the sidelines twice during Wednesday night's third-round victory over Japan's Naoko Sawamatsu, said she had "some lower back strain but no big problems."

The world's top-ranked women's tennis player enjoyed a day off before the quarterfinals. Her rivals, however, had to sweat it out on center court.

Sabatini, seeded fifth, beat Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia, 6-1, 6-4, in a third-round match yesterday.

"I'm going to have to be very aggressive and hit the ball as hard as I can against Steffi," the Argentinian star said. "Playing against the No. 1 player in the world is exactly what I need to get ready for the U.S. Open."

No. 2 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain and No. 4 Mary Pierce of France also advanced, along with Judith Wiesner of Austria and Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria.

Sanchez Vicario, who will face Maleeva in the quarterfinals, beat Elena Likhotseva of Kazakhstan, 6-0, 6-4. Maleeva upset No. 7 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 7-5, 6-3.

"I felt pretty good in the first set, obviously, because I won 6-0," Sanchez Vicario said. "But the second set was tougher and she started to win some games. I finally got focused again and went on to win the match."

Pierce routed Elna Reinach of South Africa, 6-2, 6-1, to set up a match with Wiesner, who beat Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Ninth-seed Lori McNeil was beaten, 6-7 (7-1), 6-2, 6-4, by unseeded Nathaline Baudone of Italy, who will meet Japan's Kimiko Date, the third seed, in the other quarterfinal. Date outlasted unseeded Anna Smashnova of Israel, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
 
#4,017 ·
Another one of those meta-cognition moments: Steffi knows what Gaby is thinking; Gaby knows what Steffi is thinking; each knows that the other knows what she she is thinking.

Graf, Pierce meet again to settle score from Paris Semifinal match recalls big upset at French Open
The Toronto Star
Saturday, August 20, 1994
Mary Ormsby

MONTREAL - Mary Pierce did it once. Steffi Graf doesn't want it to happen twice.

In a repeat semifinal matchup of the French Open - where Pierce upset the German star 6-2, 6-2 in Paris - the two meet again today at the Canadian Open.

"I'm looking forward - very much, actually - to playing her," Graf said, with a wry smile. "That match last time in Paris, I've said it many times before, that she played great. But I wasn't at my normal standard.

"I hope to change that and hopefully, have a better performance."

In today's other semifinal, second-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain, a 6-2, 6-1 victor over Bulgaria's Katerina Maleeva, will play Japan's Kimiko Date, the third seed in the $750,000 (U.S.) tournament at Jarry Tennis Stadium. Date beat Italian qualifier Nathalie Baudone, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Even as defending champion, Graf - who has never lost a match in Canada, including 1987 Federation Cup play in Vancouver - will have her hands full against the hard-hitting Pierce.

First, both women are playing very well, but Graf is still worried about her back.

A chronic disk and muscle problem flared during her match Wednesday but it didn't bother her in eliminating Gabriela Sabatini 7-5, 6-0 in yesterday's quarterfinals.

Second, the crowd will be firmly behind the Montreal-born Pierce.

Even though the 19-year-old player, who left Montreal at age 5 months with her French mother and American father, hadn't returned here until this year, she has captivated the city with her sunny blonde looks, aggressive play and fluent French.

And instead of shrinking from a match that could either deem the French Open upset as a fluke, Pierce is anxious for a second shot at Graf.

"I'm definitely excited to play Steffi again," said Pierce, who destroyed Austrian Judith Wiesner 6-1, 6-1 in 59 minutes last night. "I got mad at myself a few times out there (when she made errors) because I really wanted to play Steffi Graf.

"I definitely want to win but it will be very difficult - and people will want to see if Mary can do it again."

But the world's No. 1 player will be just as determined to even the score against the fourth-seeded Pierce. And judging by the way Graf rallied from being down 5-2 to win 11 straight games and humiliate Sabatini, it's a sound bet that Graf will come out red hot today.

Graf was considerate in analysing Sabatini's collapse.

"If you are up 5-2 and you lose 7-5, you get a little frustrated and you think a lot about losing that first set in the second, you can't help it," Graf said.

Sabatini has never lived up to her great potential, even back when she and Graf could go toe-to-toe in matches. She has not won a tournament since 1992 nor a key match.

The world's 10th-ranked player hopes a new coaching alliance with Juan Nunez will help regain some of her old spark. They began working together after a disappointing Wimbledon where Sabatini lost in the round of 16 and will remain a tandem at least through the U.S. Open.
 
#4,018 ·
Graf starts slow, rallies to humble Sabatini
The Washington Times
Saturday, August 20, 1994
FROM COMBINED DISPATCHES

MONTREAL - Steffi Graf shrugged off a poor start and won the final 11 games to beat Gabriela Sabatini 7-5, 6-0 last night in the Canadian Open.

The top-seeded Graf, whose sore back caused her to stop play twice for treatment on Wednesday, started slowly against Sabatini, trailing 5-2 at one point with Sabatini serving at 30-love.

Then, in a lesson in tennis tenacity, Graf won the next five games to win the set and leave her opponent dispirited.

In the second set, Graf continued her onslaught, smashing powerful forehands at will to clinch her sixth consecutive victory over Sabatini.

"I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the match and Sabatini was playing very well," Graf said. "I thought I could get back into it if I just kept the ball in play and waited for the right moment to attack. Then, it finally came in the eighth game."

Sabatini was amazed at how quickly the bottom fell out.

"I played so well at the beginning," said the tall Argentinian. "I was attacking and doing exactly what I wanted. Then, she started to come back and I guess my mind just went off somewhere."

Graf's opponent in Saturday's semifinals will be Mary Pierce, who eliminated Graf from the semifinals of the French Open two months ago. Pierce won the first 13 points today in beating Judith Wiesner of Austria, 6-1, 6-1.

"I'm very excited about playing Steffi," said a jubilant Pierce after the match.

"I got mad at myself a couple of times tonight because I really wanted to win."

No. 2 seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario defeated Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-1 in another quarterfinal. She will play in the semifinals against Japan's Kimiko Date, who beat Nathalie Baudone of Italy 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Baudone played a tough attacking game for the first set and a half. But the patient, consistent Japanese player simply wore her down and went on to take over.

"I've been playing in the early matches all week because maybe people think the other matches are more interesting," said Sanchez Vicario, who is in the second half of the draw and has had an easy time this week.

"But I don't mind if Sabatini, Graf and Pierce fight it out at the top half of the draw. I'll just wait and play the winner."

STICH, BECKER ADVANCE

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - No. 1 seed Michael Stich dropped a set for the first time in the Volvo International but still beat No. 8 Patrick Rafter 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 yesterday in a tournament disrupted by rain a third straight day.

Stich was leading Rafter 6-2, 5-4 when the match, which started 90 minutes late because of the first rain-delay of the day, was stopped after it started to rain again.

After a 15-minute delay, Stich lost his service and the set. But he broke Rafter early in the third and went on to become the first player to advance to the semifinals before play was suspended a third time about 4 p.m.

Play resumed about 5:30 p.m. for the start of the match between No. 3 seed Boris Becker and No. 11 MaliVai Washington.

Becker held a 3-0 lead when play was suspended a fourth time about 6 p.m. After a final delay of nearly 2 1/2 hours, he won 6-2, 6-4.

Becker will face his countryman Stich in one of today's semifinal matches.

In the only upset of the day, No. 7 Marc Rosset beat Andrei Medvedev, the No. 2 seed and defending Volvo champion, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), in a match that didn't end until 11:35 p.m. because of the disrupted schedule.

EDBERG UPSET IN INDY

INDIANAPOLIS - Third-seeded Stefan Edberg, describing his play as lethargic, was upset by unseeded Alex Corretja of Spain at the RCA Championships, leaving only one seeded player left for the semifinals.

Edberg lost 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, leaving seventh-seeded Wayne Ferreira of South Africa the only seed left at the Indianapolis Tennis Center.

The victory over Edberg, currently No. 4 in the world, continued a dream week for the 20-year-old Corretja in his first hardcourt tourney of the year. He earlier beat fifth-seeded Jim Courier and 12th-seeded Andrea Gaudenzi.

SAMPRAS PREPPING FOR OPEN

COMMACK, N.Y. - Pete Sampras, who will be top-seeded in men's singles when the U.S. Open begins later this month, still hasn't fully recovered from tendinitis in his left ankle.

The world's top-ranked player was a last-minute entry in the Hamlet Cup tennis tournament, where he will compete only in doubles with Richey Reneberg.

"The fact is I haven't practiced in a few weeks," said Sampras, who will be playing in his first tournament since Wimbledon in July, which he won for the second straight year. "In the doubles I'll be able to start moving more, covering half a court. I feel I need to start moving."
 
#4,019 ·
Interesting that Steffi very much fancied her chances versus Mary ("I'm looking forward to playing her..." and said with a smile :oh:) and expected a more difficult match versus Arantxa.

Graf strikes a Piercing blow -- German 'happy' to avenge defeat at Paris Open
The Toronto Star
Sunday, August 21, 1994
Mary Ormsby

MONTREAL - Steffi Graf said revenge had nothing to do with it.

She lied.

Graf was so delighted with her defeat of Mary Pierce in the Canadian Open semifinals, the normally reserved German actually skipped to the net (just two steps, though) to shake hands with the woman who had shocked her at the French Open.

"For a lot of reasons, I was happy that I won (yesterday)," said a thoroughly pleased Graf, who eliminated Pierce 6-3, 6-4 and faces Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in today's championship final.

"But this doesn't really have a lot to do with looking back at Paris. I'm really happy with the way I'm playing. I thought we had a really good match. We were really going for it and it was tough to hang in."

In the other semifinal, the second-seeded Sanchez Vicario rallied after an hour-long rain delay between the first and second sets to defeat Japan's Kimiko Date, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Graf, the defending champion, and Sanchez Vicario, the 1992 winner, begin play at 1 p.m. in the $750,000 (U.S.) event, which is also known as the Matinee Ltd. International. The victor collects $150,000 while the runner-up earns $60,000.

The Graf-Pierce showdown was the day's highlight as the eagerly anticipated rematch of the French Open semifinal did not disappoint the nearly 8,000 gathered at Jarry Tennis Stadium.

Everyone was well aware that Graf wanted to remind the 19-year-old French woman who the world's No. 1 ranked player is. Meanwhile, Pierce, born in Montreal and the crowd darling this week, was determined to prove her victory in Paris was no fluke.

It was an intriguing match from the start when the two strong women traded blasts from the baseline in a series of extended and aggressive rallies.

Pierce dipped deep into the same bag of tricks that helped her oust Graf 6-2, 6-2 at Roland Garros and mixed the heavy, deep hitting with moonballs, drop shots and touch volleys to keep Graf off balance.

Pierce had better success with her strategy at the beginning of the second set when she jumped to a 3-0 lead. But Graf, who works the court better than anyone, began pressuring Pierce and broke her in the key fifth game to close the gap to 3-2 after going to deuce seven times.

Pierce began to make her own unforced errors and, saying later that she was "tired," she requested a five-minute bathroom break before the sixth game. Graf was unhappy at the break, since she was to serve next, and trotted off to the locker room as well to change her shirt.

"I had to serve and I wasn't sure how I was going to do after the break. I was a little nervous but it worked out well," said Graf, who won 12 of 13 points immediately after.

Pierce, ranked fifth in the world, said she had no regrets at not repeating a victory over Graf.

"It's lots of fun for me to play against Steffi," Pierce said. "I know we'll both go out there and attack and be aggressive.

"But this time, I tried to do everything I could against her. I just got a little bit tired and it's awfully tough to beat Steffi on hard courts."'

Still, she said she'll leave Montreal with a fond memory. Pierce left Montreal as a 5-month-old with her French mother and American father.

"My best memory is of having the crowd cheering for me just like I was a hometown girl," Pierce said.

Against Sanchez, Graf said she expects a more difficult match today than in the 6-2, 6-1 drubbing she gave her in the San Diego final two weeks ago.

"We've had lots of matches, lots of close ones," said Graf, who leads 24-6 in head-to-head career matches.

NOTES:

The CTV color crew of Don Fontana and Virginia Wade received a scare a few minutes to airtime yesterday. Part of the ceiling fell on the pair and the production crew in the TV booth. Everyone was shaken up for a few seconds but no one was hurt.
 
#4,020 ·
I have two words for players like Boris, Mary, Arantxa, and Alex: Shot clock. It will come one day.

REVENGE SEMI SWEET FOR GRAF
Sun-Sentinel
Sunday, August 21, 1994
The Associated Press

Top-seeded Steffi Graf took care of two pieces of business at the Matinee International Canadian Open Saturday.

Graf moved into today's final at the $1 million tournament by defeating fourth-seeded Mary Pierce 6-3, 6-4. She also avenged a straight-set loss against Pierce at the semifinals of the French Open early in June.

Graf will face second-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the title match. Sanchez Vicario defeated third-seeded Kimiko Date of Japan 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

"I didn't feel I needed to avenge anything," said Graf. "Today was just another match. I just played better and I won."

Pierce, a sentimental favorite in Montreal because she spent the first few months of her life there and has a French background, trailed 4-1 in the opening set. But she closed within 4-3 by breaking Graf in the seventh game, which went to deuce four times.

Graf never lost her poise, however, and won the next two games.

The fifth game was the turning point in the second set.

Pierce, who had taken the first three games, was leading 3-1. She lost the fifth game, despite holding a 40-15 lead. The game went to deuce six times, with Graf prevailing. Graf then won the next four games.

After the fifth game, Pierce requested a timeout to go to the washroom.

"At 3-2, I got tired and I also had to go to the bathroom," said Pierce. "I was still tired when I came back."

Date, ranked ninth in the world, was dominant in the first set, playing methodically and with pinpoint precision.

But, following a rain delay of almost an hour two points into the second set, Sanchez Vicario came out refreshed. She immediately broke Date in the first game and was up 3-0 before Date won a game. Trailing 2-1 in the third set, Date was broken at love in the fourth game. Sanchez Vicario made it 12 consecutive winning points in building a 4-1 lead.

"I thought the rain delay helped me," Sanchez Vicario said. "She was not missing one ball in that first set, and I was making a lot of unforced errors."

Date was frequently bent over after a point was decided, sometimes clutching her stomach.

After the match, Date said she pulled a stomach muscle during her quarterfinal Friday night and it still bothered her Saturday.

"It became more painful and harder to concentrate as the match progressed," Date said.

Becker upets Stich

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Third-seeded Boris Becker staged an impressive second-set comeback to upset top-seeded Michael Stich 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals of the Volvo International.

Becker will meet No. 7 seed Marc Rosset, who beat sixth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in a night match.

Stich was up 3-0 in the second set, but Becker broke him in the ninth game to cut the deficit to 5-4. After Becker held serve, Stich was broken again after complaining to the chair umpire that Becker was delaying the game.

"I said you have to play the pace of the server, and he's not been ready," Stich repeated to the umpire after the game.

Becker then held service for the match.

"Too bad it had to end like that. The whole game is not only played in your arms, but also in your head," Becker said. "You know which plays are important at the special times. You do everything you can within the rules to win the tennis match."

Stich declined to comment on Becker not being ready, but said "he blew" the second set.

Rosset held service the entire match and broke Kafelnikov once in the second game of the second set. Kafelnikov, who earlier beat Marc Goellner 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-4 in a match that started Friday, put up a good fight.

Kafelnikov saved four match points in the ninth game of the final set before Rosset got the service winner for the match.

Ferreira wins soggy semi

INDIANAPOLIS - Wayne Ferreira, the only seeded player to survive a week of upsets, defeated Alex Corretja 6-1, 6-2 in a rain-interrupted semifinal match in the RCA Championships. The match was delayed more than seven hours. Olivier Delaitre defeated Bernd Karbacher 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
 
#4,025 ·
Probably because a) Mary wasnt even in the top 10 b) was her first event after the 93 SI cover story about her relationship with her father. The media was going crazy, asking questions about the abuse to not only Mary, but every player! c) Mary was horrible in that match.

Had to stand up for my other favorite! ;)
 
#4,023 ·
Yes THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!

Speaking about Steffi and Mary, you guys can't imagine how bad I felt after that 1994 FO 1/2 :eek:
First I was young (yes it's an excuse), 12, so I basically didn't understand how in the (my) world did she lost, why this defeat, with this score :explode: :lol:
I was really mad.
Add to this that at school I got a lot of "sooooo your Steffi lost" (ok the day before I told everybody that Pierce would lost without a doubt).
Now I am laughing about it, but back then I was quite angry at Steffi:lol:
Bad bad memories:p:lol:
 
#4,026 ·
Haha! So you were a tennis nerd like me!:wavey:
I can sooo relate to that story! I was also 12 at the time and my world collapsed when she lost in the first round at Wimbledon :lol: I was kinda OK with the loss to Mary, sad but not miserable, and it helped that I started liking Mary a lot after that 94 French Open.
 
#4,024 ·
Oh I was 11 and I couldn't believe it either! I was hurt in my stomach lol. But I was expecting a very though match, Pierce was goating all tournament and Steffi was losing set & Joanette freaking Kruger...

After march, 1994 was such a disappointment to me...

Who would have thought she will be slamless a year later :eek:
 
#4,029 ·
One thing I didn't like about the 1994 FO was how forced and obvious hype was for Mary. All it does is create enormous pressure on the person being hyped and eventually leads to a fan and/or media backlash, even if the player does live up to the hype -- and heaven help them if they don't. It also really annoys the other players, who then find a little extra inspiration. And it wasn't like we hadn't seen it all happen before. Jennifer Capriati crashed and burned -- and then one month later they start the same thing all over again with Mary Pierce.

And watching them trying to wear down Steffi psychologically while she was the only thing keeping everything from collapsing was the hardest part for me. She was trying so heroically, she was so painfully aware of the whole situation, she was everything you could want in a tennis player, and they were rooting for her to lose and gloating (at least initially) when she did and overplaying the whole Monica thing (and then the Jenny thing). Then later on in the summer, when it was obvious that Steffi had a real problem with her back, Anne Person Worcester (a member of the WTA council and soon to be the CEO) said: "Steffi set a new standard and other players have strived to reach that level and have really succeeded in stepping up the level of their own tennis." That's just desperate.

While the Wimbledon loss really, really, really sucked, I was also thinking, "Well, you've all been acting like you want her to go away, so send in the <expletive deleted> clowns."
 
#4,030 ·
Painful loss for Graf Sanchez Vicario pulls off upset in tennis final
The Toronto Star
Monday, August 22, 1994
Mary Ormsby

MONTREAL - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario figured out what no one else has this year: how to beat Steffi Graf on hard courts.

Sanchez Vicario halted Graf's incredible 32-0 win streak on the hard surface yesterday with a combination of cunning, key net attacks and, oh yes, exploiting the German's sore back with the occasional drop shot to win her second Canadian Open.

The Spanish French Open champion upset the world's No. 1 player in a rain-interrupted 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) victory that ultimately took the women more than six hours to complete.

For Sanchez Vicario, the triumph was doubly sweet.

"I've beaten the No. 1 player in the world here twice; first Monica Seles (in the 1992 final) and now, Steffi Graf," said the world's No. 2-ranked player, grinning.

"Montreal is a very special place for me."

Sanchez Vicario collected $150,000 (U.S.) for the victory before a crowd of 7,485 at Jarry Tennis Stadium while Graf picked up $60,000 at the $750,000 event.

It was a difficult day all-around for Graf, whose chronic lower back problem flared midway through the first set and was exacerbated by four separate rain delays.

Graf became choked up when the crowd gave her an extended standing ovation, letting her know they realized how sore her back was and how that had restricted her game.

She couldn't finish a sentence when she was thanking the crowd for its support through all the heavy rain and could only wave at them. Graf then trotted over to her mother, who was watching from courtside, bowed her head and cried briefly.

"I don't think I would have been that emotional if the crowd hadn't give me a standing ovation like that," said Graf,
who had to call a trainer courtside for a five-minute treatment when she was up, 1-0, in the second set.

"I think it was nice and very special for me after a match like that."

However, the sting of blowing four match points - three of them on unforced errors - probably hurt as much as her back.

"I think maybe I should have tried something different then, looking back on it, but obviously she played very, very well," said Graf, who clobbered Sanchez Vicario in two sets two weeks ago in the San Diego final.

"You have to step in a little more on (Sanchez Vicario) and I didn't do that well (last night)."

Graf's lower back strain showed up for the first time in six or seven months in her Wednesday match against Japan's Naoko Sawamatsu.

"I'd like to thank (tour athletic trainer) Joani Essenmacher, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here," said Graf, who received ice, massage and ultrasound treatments on her strained muscles during the delays.

Although Graf conceded that her back ached "a little" while she was seated for an interview she didn't want to discuss it.

"I don't think it's right to talk about that after a loss," she said.

But it obviously concerns her with the U.S. Open approaching. She said she will take the next few days off from tennis completely and will pull out of a scheduled exhibition this week.

Yesterday's first 10 games were dead even, virtually point for point, until Sanchez Vicario broke Graf in the 11th to pull ahead 6-5 and allowed her to serve out the set.

However, Graf was giving indications in that opening set that her back was bothering her.

She was hesitant on four easy overhead volleys that came at her and would either let them bounce at the last second or gave it a half-hearted slap back at Sanchez Vicario. In the 11th game, she cracked one wide cross-court when Sanchez Vicario was clearly out of the play on the other side of the court, and fell behind, love-40.

In the second set, and after the trainer gave Graf a brace to wear, she broke Sanchez Vicario, then held serve to go up 3-0 when the heavens opened, sending everyone scampering for cover.

Play resumed one hour and 43 minutes later and Graf moved ahead, 4-1, when the match stopped for a 21 minutes when a light shower made the court slippery. Shortly after Graf won the second set, a furious rain halted the final again - this time for one hour and 24 minutes - with the score tied at 1-1 off consecutive service breaks.

The final set was close but Sanchez Vicario remained aggressive, even when fighting off the four match points, and forced Graf's hand.

"If you want to play Steffi, you have to put the ball really, really deep and you have to take your chances, especially on hard courts," said Sanchez Vicario, who suffered a slight ankle sprain during the final.

"In San Diego, she played really, really well - she didn't miss a ball. And I didn't play as deeply as I did (yesterday) and I had trouble getting the ball into play."

In total, the match was delayed three hours and 34 minutes for rain. The start of the final was also pushed back 90 minutes because of heavy showers.

NOTE: Tournament organizers are extremely happy that major league baseball is on strike. The women's event set an attendance record with 83,753 spectators passing through the turnstiles over the week. It surpassed the 1992 mark of 77,376 for the women's event in Montreal.
 
#4,031 ·
SANCHEZ VICARIO TAKES TIE-BREAKER FOR TITLE
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Monday, August 22, 1994
By The Associated Press

Second-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario withstood four rain delays and four match points to win the Matinee International women's tennis championship in Montreal. She beat top-seeded Steffi Graf 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) in Sunday's final.

The victory was worth $150,000 to Sanchez Vicario, a Spaniard who is second to Graf in the world rankings.

Graf, who has seven tournament victories in 11 appearances, earned $60,000. The loss was Graf's first on hardcourts this season after winning 32 consecutive matches on that surface.

Sanchez Vicario won the renamed Canadian Open for the second time. She also won it in 1992, the last time it was played in Montreal.

The four rain delays lasted a combined five hours, including a 90-minute delay before the match began.

Graf lost the first set after being broken in the 11th game but came back strongly. She broke Sanchez Vicario three times in the second set in a vintage display of hard hitting from the baseline.

Graf, who has a 24-7 career mark against Sanchez Vicario, was on the verge of another victory in the 10th game of the third set. She led 5-4, 40-15, only to have Sanchez Vicario stave off four match points.

"I've had two match points against me, but never four," Sanchez Vicario said. "Steffi had two match points against me at Hamburg and I came back to win."

That was on a clay surface, and was the only time in four meetings this year that Sanchez Vicario had defeated Graf.

"I knew today was the same situation as Hamburg," Sanchez Vicario said. "I just thought I had to keep fighting, be aggressive and everything can turn around. I took my chances and I won."

The players held serve in the last two games to force a tie-breaker, in which Sanchez Vicario maintained the poise she had displayed throughout the match.

Graf's chronically sore back flared up at the end of the first game in the second set. She stretched out on the sidelines and went back on the court wearing a corset-like brace on her back.

Graf refused to use her back injury as an excuse, saying the rain delays actually helped. She said she hopes the back won't hurt her in the upcoming U.S. Open.

"I'm going to take the next couple of days off, do lots of physiotherapy and just rest," Graf said. "Hopefully, it will be fine for the Open."

After rain interrupted play following the third game of the second set, Graf spent the 1 3/4-hour delay getting ice and ultrasound treatment.

An announced crowd of 7,485 was on hand for the start of the final but less than half stayed until the end. Attendance for the week-long tournament was announced at 83,753, a record for the women's tournament in Montreal.

The only service break in the first set came in the 11th game, enabling Sanchez Vicario to move into a 6-5 lead. She held serve to win the set, only the second set Graf had lost in five tournament matches.

Graf managed only one point in the 11th game, twice catching the net on a forehand return and then going wide of the baseline with an overhand smash, while she had Sanchez Vicario on the defensive.

Becker Wins Volvo: Boris Becker, the third seed, completed his sweep through the Volvo International by beating seventh-seeded Marc Rosset 6-3, 7-5 in the final in New Haven, Conn.

Becker didn't drop a set in the tournament, which was plagued by numerous rain delays.

"I really had a dream week here," Becker said. "Too bad we only had two days of good sunshine."

Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion and formerly the world's top-ranked player, was true to his old form all week on the way to his 41st career title and third this year.

He collected $152,000 for the win.

Becker served strongly the entire match and kept Rosset at the baseline.

Rosset had 24 unforced errors. Becker converted 37 of his 47 net chances.

Fans attending the Volvo International didn't like the music played between changeovers as much as the other new forms of entertainment being tried for the first time, exit polls showed.

The majority of adults and children surveyed enjoyed most of the changes. The most popular idea among both was allowing fans to interview winners, and the least popular was the music during changeovers.

Ferreira Takes Title: Wayne Ferreira took no chance on another thunderstorm.

Ferreira, the No. 7 seed, had to wait more than seven hours because of rain during a semifinal Saturday. He needed only 59 minutes Sunday to beat Olivier Delaitre 6-2, 6-1 for the RCA Championship in Indianapolis.

The match, the second-fastest final on the ATP tour this season, again was played amid threatening weather. Light rain hit the Indianapolis Tennis Center stadium court in the first set, but play continued.
 
#4,032 ·
Jumping back to 1989 at Mahwah, the last time this would be a WTA tournament. I love Steffi's answer about her goal in tennis after already winning everything; it's funny but deadly serious. I also love that Steffi isn't very enthusiastic about playing doubles with Pammy. :lol:

WHY GRAF KEEPS COMING BACK - HOST FAMILY GIVES HER TOTAL PRIVACY
The Record
New Jersey
Sunday, August 13, 1989
By John Brennan, Record Staff Writer

The world's dominant tennis player is in the midst of a three-week stay in Bergen County, but don't look for Steffi Graf at the local shopping mall or bowling center.

"I like to sit home and watch a movie or read a book. But I don't have time to go out and do too many other things besides tennis right now," Graf said at a news conference Saturday at the Mahwah Sheraton to kick off the United Jersey Bank Tennis Classic. The top-seeded Graf begins play Monday (7 p.m.) against American Hu Na.

Graf showed her dedication early Saturday morning by practicing at the Ramapo College courts during a brief letup in the rain. She was spotted there by tournament director John Korff.

Graf is making her sixth appearance in the UJB. She says she intends to continue her appearances even though in that span she has captured 37 tournaments, a Grand Slam, an Olympic gold medal, and the No. 1 ranking for almost two consecutive years.

Graf long ago became bored with questions about why she comes to Mahwah each year. Saturday she simply said, "I stay with someone I know well, and there's just a different atmosphere. I like it."

Tournament officials say Graf craves the absolute privacy she receives from the northern Bergen County family with which she stays. The family usually shuns interviews and has asked that its name and hometown not be revealed to keep away curious fans.

That may seem overly secretive, but it's not surprising considering that much of the European press employs ambush tactics that would make American supermarket tabloid reporters blush. The editor of a West German tennis magazine, eager for every detail of Graf's relationship with boyfriend Alexander Mronz, recently said, "Germany will not sleep well until it is sure Steffi and Alexander have slept together."

Even worse was the crazed fan in Germany who walked up to her on a street near her home earlier this year. When Graf attempted to brush him off by explaining that she had a boyfriend, the man began slashing his wrists in front of Graf, whose father, Peter, immediately summoned help.

Graf seems to find Mahwah an oasis between the media swarm at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which begins in two weeks.

"I was so stressed out last year during the Open that I was just glad to get it over with," Graf said, referring to the stream of reporters all asking, "How do you feel about having a chance at winning the Grand Slam?"

Although she was subjected to the same questions at Mahwah last year, Graf said Saturday, "I had a good time here. There aren't as many people asking me the questions."

How much does Graf like this tournament? Her appearance Saturday broke her rule against prematch news conferences, and she posed willingly, if somewhat sheepishly, with a cowboy hat presented to her by Korff. Asked what her goal in tennis is now that she has won the Grand Slam, Graf said, "I want to win Mahwah again."

Following the UJB, Graf will stay in Bergen County as she prepares for the Open, although she expects to make several trips to Queens to practice on the National Tennis Center courts.

Some other thoughts expressed by Graf Saturday:

- On whether she will play doubles with Pam Shriver at the UJB tournament: "I have no idea. I have to talk that one over. It probably would be better for my game if I wouldn't play, but I have to think about that."

- On whether she believes she is a better player than Chris Evert or Martina Navratilova were early in the decade: "Have you seen tapes of them from 10 years ago? Women's tennis is so much stronger in the last couple of years. The game used to be so much slower, but now it is much more professional. Just look at their bodies then and now and you can see how much stronger they are now."

- Graf called her draw "difficult." If she defeats the Chinese-born Na and either Wendy White or Etusko Inoue Wednesday, Graf will face the erratic but sometimes brilliant Hana Mandlikova in the quarterfinals.

NOTES - Terri and Patty O'Reilly of Ridgewood advanced to the semifinals of the UJB qualifying round with victories Saturday at the Quest I tennis courts in Ramsey. Terri defeated Lisa Bobby of Montville, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, and Patty breezed past Sue Palminterri, 6-0, 6-0. In other quarterfinal action, Holly Danforth of Sparta topped Ashley Faherty, 6-1, 6-2, and Andrea Leand defeated Reka Monoki, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Terri O'Reilly faces Leand in a semifinal this morning at 11 a.m., followed by the Patty O'Reilly-Danforth match. The matches will be played at Ramapo, weather permitting. The winner of Monday's final earns a berth in the main draw.

After Graf, the seeds are Pam Shriver, Jana Novotna of Czechoslovakia, Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria, Mandlikova, Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden, Terry Phelps of Larchmont, N.Y., and Sylvia Hanika of West Germany.

Maggie Maleeva, 14, sister of Katerina and Manuela, has been given a wild card as she plays her first major pro tournament. She will meet Mandlikova in an opening-round match, probably Tuesday night.
 
#4,033 ·
Out of Slam, Graf thinks it's just grand
Chicago Sun-Times
Monday, August 14, 1989
Associated Press

Steffi Graf will be playing for no Grand Slam this year at the U.S. Open and enjoying it.

"There was really a lot of stress before the tournament last year, and afterward, I was just glad it was over," she said. "This year will be much more fun."

The West German, who turned 20 in June, begins her final tune-up for the Open, the last of the year's four Grand Slam tournaments, today in the United Jersey Bank Tennis Classic at Mahwah, N.J. The Open begins Aug. 28 at the National Tennis Center in New York.

"Last year, there were all the reporters, all the television cameras, and especially the German reporters at the U.S. Open," she said. "This year, I can just concentrate on playing as good as I can, work on perfecting my game and show my best."

Some would say Graf has her game about as near perfection as possible.

Last year, she became only the third woman to win all four Grand Slam titles - the Australian and French opens, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open - in a calendar year and the first since Margaret Court in 1970.

At 5-foot-9 and 132 pounds, Graf is a powerful player with a big serve and breathtaking quickness at the net and along the baseline. If there is one area of her game that she would like to see improve before the Open, it's her first service.

Although she beat Zina Garrison 6-4, 7-5 in the final at San Diego a week ago, she was down 4-2 in the first set and 4-1 in the second as she lost her serve six times.

"I'll try to work on my first serve here," she said. "At San Diego, I didn't serve too well at the end."

Her victory over Garrison gave her a match record of 57-2 this year. The first loss was to Gabriela Sabatini in Florida, the most recent to Arantxa Sanchez in the final of the French Open, breaking her string of Grand Slam titles.

She then came back to win Wimbledon and has won six of the last seven Grand Slam events. She has been in 10 straight Grand Slam finals, and she won the singles gold medal at the Seoul Olympics last year.

In the last three years, she has lost only seven matches.

She says numbers, however, are not among her strengths.

"They are not something I worry about," she said. "I'm doing just fine. If I win two or two less, it doesn't matter."

Despite the fall from dominance in recent years of first Chris Evert and then Martina Navratilova, Graf says her impeccable record is not from lack of competition.

"Have you seen the way they play?" she asked. "They're both so much stronger now. Ten years ago, I don't think either Chris or Martina were as good as they are now. It's just that there are girls playing now who would have beaten them then.

"I remember seeing Wimbledon a few years ago, and the players were so much slower then," she said. "It's so much more professional now than it was."
 
#4,034 ·
Not sure if this a case of "At Wimbledon you were an amateur noob, so I went a little easy on you. Now you're fair game. Welcome to the pro ranks," or a case of "Oh my God, how did I get talked into playing doubles with Shriver? I'm so mad I could punch a hole in the space-time continuum. Sorry, Kim."

Graf grabs quick win from rookie Kessaris
Austin American-Statesman
Tuesday, August 15, 1989
Associated Press

MAHWAH, N.J. - Top-seeded Steffi Graf needed only 32 minutes to ruin the pro debut of Kim Kessaris and post a 6-0, 6-0 victory Monday night in the opening round of the United Jersey Bank Classic.

Kessaris, 16, was not scheduled to play in the tournament at Ramapo College but received a late invitation when Hu Na of San Diego withdrew Monday afternoon because of an ankle injury.

Graf, the winner of six of the last seven Grand Slam tournaments and ranked No. 1 in the world, showed no mercy in raising her record this year to 58-2. The victory was also the fifth in that span in which she has not dropped a game.

The match was played in a light rainfall, which Graf said motivated her all the more.

"I did try to get it over quickly and rushed, but she rushed, too," the West German said. "I played very well and concentrated well. The courts were a little dangerous in the final three games."

Graf, seeking her 11th title of the year, dropped only 11 points in the match.

Kessaris of Hendersonville, N.C., had played Graf in the second round at Wimbledon this year and lost 6-2, 6-1.

"She played a lot better today than at Wimbledon," said Kessaris, who earned $1,400 for her pro debut. "I didn't know what to do."

Graf drove Kessaris from corner to corner with swift ground strokes and then either ripped a deep placement or dropshot winner. The West German had five aces and four service winners. She ended the match with a backhand dropshot.

In the afternoon session, Kathy Rinaldi, who won her first major pro title here four years ago when she beat a young Graf, rallied from a set down to upset third-seeded Jana Novotna 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

"Wins like this are great and so much sweeter when you are making a comeback," said Rinaldi, who returned to action last year after being sidelined for 11 months with a broken thumb.

"In the first set, I was nervous," she added. "I got into the match in the second set and hung in there during the third."

Rinaldi trailed 2-4 in the final set before winning the final four games.

Fourth-seeded Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria defeated Mary Lou Daniels of Chicago 6-1, 6-1 and seventh-seeded Terry Phelps of Larchmont, N.Y., eliminated Eva Sviglerova of Czechoslovakia 6-2, 6-4.
 
#4,035 ·
GRAF'S FIRST VICTIM DOESN'T SUFFER LONG
The Record
New Jersey
Tuesday, August 15, 1989
By John Brennan, Record Staff Writer

Kim Kessaris, the 130th-ranked woman in the world, had just absorbed a 6-0, 6-0 defeat, yet it was understandable when she said she was "not displeased" with her play.

That can mean only one thing: Steffi Graf has begun competition at the United Jersey Bank Tennis Classic. The top woman on the tour lost only 11 points in advancing to the second round Wednesday (7 p.m.) against Etsuko Inoue of Japan.

Graf, understandably reluctant to discuss a match that lasted only 32 minutes, said, "It must have been difficult for her. I got the feeling she didn't know what to do."

Kessaris has plenty of company. Graf is 58-2 this year and has lost only seven of 212 matches since the start of 1987.

Hu Na, originally scheduled to face Graf, withdrew only hours before the match, leaving Kessaris as the "lucky" alternate. Graf, practicing a backhand slice while repeatedly blasting forehand rockets past Kessaris, lost only four points in a 19-minute first set and surrendered more than one point in a game just once, in the opening game of the second set.

"I was rushing the last few games trying to beat the rain," Graf said, referring to the threatening skies and occasional rain throughout the match. "If we weren't so close to finishing, we might have had to stop."

Kessaris, 16, showed considerable promise in her first match as a pro, losing to Graf, 6-2, 6-1, in the second round at Wimbledon in July.

"She was tough at Wimbledon I think we were at 2-2 before I got in control," Graf said. "I think there is a good chance she will be a very good player."

"She played a lot better today," said Kessaris, who won the U.S. National 18-and-under Indoor Championships at 14. "There is a lot I can learn from playing her. I think I was more nervous before Wimbledon, but this time she knew how to play me, and she hit a lot more winners. I'm not displeased."

Kessaris, of Hendersonville, N.C., has played several top-20 players, including No. 5 Zina Garrison. Asked if there was a any difference between Graf and other top players, Kessaris' eyes lit up as she said, "A big difference."

* * *

Graf and Pam Shriver make their debut as a doubles team today against Kathy Rinaldi and Sophie Amiach. The match, the fourth on center court, probably will begin in the late afternoon.

In other matches this afternoon, No. 2 seed Pam Shriver meets Louise Allen as the second center-court match following the 10:30 a.m. meeting between Molly Van Nostrand and Laura Gildemeister.

Tonight's feature match (7 o'clock) is fifth-seeded Hana Mandlikova, a two-time winner here, against Maggie Maleeva of Bulgaria. Maleeva, 14, the younger sister of Manuela and Katerina, is playing in her first major pro tournament.

In a match Tuesday night, Andrea Temesvari defeated Beth Herr, 1-6, 6-4, 6-0.
 
#4,036 ·
Poor, poor Steffi. Just look at what spending time with Shriver is doing to her. I'm not joking, this is just about the only time she publicly says anything about feeling physically violent, aside from a few times concerning the tabloid media, and even those are mainly "I can understand it when someone attacks the paparazzi" comments. Shriver's whining, cop outs, and begging were probably at an all-time high. She was dumped by Navratilova, Evert was retiring, and she probably knew she was going to kicked off the WTA council. Luckily for Pam, Steffi is genuinely good-natured and has extraordinary self-control. Someone like me woulda beaned her pretty hard on a critical point in doubles. "Whoops, sorry about that. And so sorry that it lost you-- I mean us the match."

Rookie Martin stuns Shriver -- Graf rushes to easy win
The San Diego Union
Thursday, August 17, 1989
Associated Press

MAHWAH, N.J. -- Defending champion Steffi Graf continued her easy roll through the United Jersey Bank Classic with a 6-1, 6-1 victory Wednesday night, but second-seeded Pam Shriver was upset by a 110th-ranked player.

Graf advanced to Friday's quarter-finals of the $200,000 tournament with a triumph over Etsuko Inoue of Japan in 59 minutes.

Shriver, ranked ninth in the world, fell in three sets to Stacey Martin of Largo, Md., 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. On a faster court last week at the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles, Shriver beat Martin, 6-2, 6-4, but she struggled on Ramapo College's slower courts.

"I had nothing to lose and I felt that I had learned a lot from our first meeting," said Martin, who turned pro three months ago after completing one year at the University of Tennessee. "I thought of revenge in this match."

Graf won the final five games of the first set and took the last four in the second.

"I felt like I should have been in another sport, like boxing, because I wanted to hit someone," said the reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion. "I rushed my game and made too many errors."

Earlier, Andrea Temesvari of Hungary rallied from a three-game deficit in the final set and upset fourth-seeded Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Also, fifth-seeded Hana Mandlikova of Australia defeated Maleeva's sister, Magdalena, 6-4, 6-2, and sixth-seeded Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden eliminated Carrie Cunningham in first-round matches delayed a day by rain.

Temesvari is making a comeback from ankle and shoulder injuries that have plagued her the past two years. She was ranked in the top 10 in women's tennis before the injuries, but she has slipped to No. 56.

ATP Championship -- Top seed Boris Becker, No. 2 Stefan Edberg and No. 3 Mats Wilander won easily, but No. 4 Michael Chang struggled at the $602,500 tournament in Mason, Ohio.

Becker, ranked No. 2 in the world, eliminated Patrick McEnroe, 6-4, 6-1, on center court at the Jack Nicklaus Sports Center. Second-seeded Stefan Edberg defeated Brad Pearce, 6-4, 6-1, and Wilander, a four-time winner of the ATP, beat Joey Rive, 6-4, 6-4.

Chang, 17, was taken to a third-set tiebreaker by Jim Grabb before winning 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6). Grabb is ranked 62nd in the world.

Grabb served two aces in the tiebreaker to pull even at 6-6, but Chang came back with two winners to advance to the third round. Two weeks ago, Grabb beat Chang at Stratton Mountain, Vt.

"I saw the draw and my first reaction was, "OK, I get a chance to play him again.' Then I got out on the court and I thought, "Oh no, I have to play him again,' " Chang said.

Other seeded players to advance included No. 5 Brad Gilbert, No. 6 Aaron Krickstein, No. 8 Jaime Yzaga of Peru, and No. 10 Jonas Svensson, who advanced with a walkover after Woody Hunt withdrew.

The only seeded player to lose in the second round was Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union, who was beaten, 6-3, 6-4, by Gary Muller of South Africa.

Montreal -- Ivan Lendl, sluggish after a one-month layoff, beat San Diegan Kelly Jones 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 to reach the third round of the Players' International Championships. John McEnroe, arguing continuously with the chair umpire, rallied after a second-set collapse to defeat Ned Caswell 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Jay Berger also won.

Virginia Slims -- No. 2 Manuela Maleeva won, but unseeded Elna Reinach of South Africa stunned No. 4 Raffaella Reggi of Italy 7-5, 7-6 in the second round of the Albuquerque tournament.

Briefly -- Chris Evert hasn't played since Wimbledon but decided to enter a record 19th U.S. Open championship Aug. 28 in New York ... Lendl said there was a "99.5 percent" chance he won't play in next year's French Open to prepare for Wimbledon ... Unseeded Robin Deitch upset top seed Shawn McCarthy 6-4, 6-4 in the women's quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur tournament in Kiamesha Lake, N.Y. The men's top seeds, No. 1 Joby Foley and No. 2 Michael Salmon, easily moved into the quarterfinals....
 
#4,037 ·
That Pam Shriver criticizes anyone for "making excuses" is hilarious in its own special way. And by "special" I mean "hypocritical."

LONG SHOT MARTIN SURPRISES SHRIVER
The Record
New Jersey
Thursday, August 17, 1989
By John Brennan, Record Staff Writer

Pam Shriver had a hunch after her first-round win Monday that the United Jersey Bank Tennis Classic might not be a good tournament for her.

Shriver's fears were confirmed Wednesday.

Stacey Martin, 18, an American ranked No. 110 in the world, took advantage of a slow surface to stun the second-seeded Shriver, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4, and advance to the quarterfinals at Ramapo College.

Top-seeded Steffi Graf , Shriver's doubles partner, fared much better. Graf advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Etsuko Inoue of Japan. After Graf's singles match, she and Shriver completed a first-round doubles victory over Kathy Rinaldi and Sophie Amiach, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

After a shaky opening-round victory over Louise Allen Monday, Shriver said she thought the hard courts at the UJB Classic were among the slowest of that type on the pro tour. She knew that would be detrimental to her serve-and-volley game, one of the most aggressive in women's tennis.

"These conditions favor a baseliner," said Shriver. "The court is so slow and she's so fast, I felt like I had to go for the corners."

After the players split lopsided sets, there were no service breaks until the final game, when Martin won the final four points after Shriver took the opening point.

"She just didn't miss a ball in that first set," said Shriver. "I felt like if I got an early break in the third set, that would be it. But I didn't get it."

Martin, a Largo, Md., resident who left the University of Tennessee after one year to join the tour in May, earned an "A" for honesty afterward when asked to name her biggest previous win.

"This is it," said Martin.

Martin raced to the stands at the end of the match to embrace her father, Bruce. When she returned to the other side of the court to pick up her belongings, Shriver gave Martin a plaintive look.

"Heck, when you lose, that's when you need a hug," said Shriver.

"It's like I'm looking from the outside and saying, `It's a great win for another Maryland girl, and I'm happy for her.'

"But that's stupid. That's why I'm questioning my desire. It also makes me realize that if I'm going to play on this type of hard court, I'm going to have play almost a perfect game," Shriver said.

Martin said, "When I realized that last shot was wide, I said, `Oh my God, what have I done.' I couldn't believe it."

Martin said a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Shriver last week at Los Angeles enabled enabled her to be less nervous Wednesday.

"She lifted her game about two levels in the second set, and I didn't," said the Martin. "After that I just decided not to be afraid to hit my ground strokes and my passing shots."

Graf, who Wednesday reached her second anniversary as the world's top-ranked player, was not thrilled with her effort against Inoue.

"I don't know why, but I was impatient," said Graf. "Everything was going too fast. But it wasn't the rain that just made me bored."

NOTES Women's International Tennis Association officials said they believed Martin was the lowest-ranked opponent to beat Shriver in at least 10 years.
 
#4,038 ·
Dude, the quarterfinals have been random since 1975 at least. And I think the semis have been random since the days of Helen Wills Moody or, like, since seeding began. By the numbers, the No. 5 seed is "supposed" to lose in the quarterfinal round, doesn't matter if it's against No. 1 or No. 4. The complaint would be better if it were "Why is a player like Mandlikova seeded No. 5?" (answer: injuries and so-so results when she did play).

BEST MATCH SHOULDN'T BE IN QUARTERS
The Record
New Jersey
Friday, August 18, 1989
Mike Celizic

No. 1 seed Steffi Graf against No. 5 seed Hana Mandlikova this afternoon in the quarterfinals of the United Jersey Bank Tennis Classic in Mahwah.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Not in the semifinals. Not in the final. Tennis has come down to this, where the best match is three matches from the end, and the end looks to be Graf against No. 8 seed Sylvia Hanika if we're lucky. If we're not, come Sunday it could be 193rd-ranked Pascal Paradis, 56th-ranked Andrea Temesvari, or 110th-ranked Stacey Martin against Graf.

If you're a woman on the tour, it doesn't make any difference. No one expects to beat Fraulein Forehand in any round. Especially not here in bucolic Mahwah at the Steffi Graf Open and Shut Classic.

"There are three levels of players," said Hanika. "Steffi is the top level. Martina Navratilova is second. Everybody else is third. "

Everybody else might be equal; still, when a tournament turns into upset city, as this one has, you hate to lose Mandlikova, your second-best player, in the quarterfinals.

Not that the players care. Because no one expects to beat Graf just as once they never expected to beat Navratilova. Tennis has come up with its own form of communism, in which unequals are treated equally, in which everyone gets a chance to lose a final and get a nice payday against Graf.

Maybe the fans don't care, either. After all, the attraction here is Graf, whose two-year reign is supreme. You buy a ticket to see Graf, and Graf is what you see. Still, if you bought your ticket for today's match, you get more for your money than if you bought it for the final.

Part of the reason is that Pam Shriver (the second seed), Jana Novotna (No. 3), and Katarina Maleeva (No. 4) were all upset victims. Even so, Mandlikova, the best player remaining after Graf, should meet Graf no sooner than Saturday's semifinals.

That's the purpose of seedings to reward achievement. One played eight, two played seven, three played six, and four played five. If everyone won, one played two in the final.

Several years ago, the No. 8 seeds of the world men and women united. Pavel Slozil, a former player on the men's tour and Graf's coach, said, "It isn't fair that No. 8 always plays No. 1 in the quarterfinals."

The simple solution to No. 8's problem is to stop being No. 8. Work hard and become No. 7 or 6 or 5. This is called the merit system. Naturally, it has no place in tennis.

It wouldn't, because tennis is run at the whim and fancy of the players. And when the players protested, the governing bodies of tennis buckled like a house of cards under a cement block to the assault of the No. 8s.

The solution that created more problems than it solved retained the old order for seeds one through four. If those players win, one plays four in the semis and two in the final.

Five through eight, however, were re-created equal. Their positions in the draw came not on merit but out of a hat.

The No. 8s of the world love this. The No. 5s get the short end of the racket.

Mandlikova is the No. 5 seed at the Steffi Graf Open and Shut Classic. Instead of drawing a fourth seed in the quarters, she draws Graf. In all likelihood, she goes home earlier than she should. And if she somehow beats Graf a round before she should meet her, the fans get cheated twice.

All because the No. 8s decided getting something handed to them was preferable to earning it.

In 1983, Hanika was ranked fifth in the world. Her game fell off, she recovered, then, this year, she fell again. She came into Mahwah as the eighth seed based on a ranking of 36th. Now she's moving up again.

The climb is easier than it was a decade ago, she said.

"There are much more players around now," said Hanika, 29. "But the top players, the ones where you say, `Wow! She's good,' there are not any besides Graf.

"In my opinion, they start too young. They want to make a lot of money fast so they don't take time to learn how to play. They start at 15 or 16 and are finished at 20. They just hit the ball. They don't think. They don't try to win."

Instead, they try not to lose. "If I lose, it is because I beat myself," Hanika said.

That's what tennis is doing when it endorses a system in which eight equals five. It's putting on its best matches in the quarterfinals. It's beating itself.
 
#4,039 ·
Alas, this day in "The Record" is missing from the database. But then, it doesn't seem like there would be much to say about this match.

WILANDER BEATS GOMEZ TO GAIN SEMIS OF ATP
Lexington Herald-Leader
Saturday, August 19, 1989
Associated Press

MASON, Ohio -- Andres Gomez says he has no idea how to beat Mats Wilander.

"Don't ask me," Gomez said after a 6-0, 7-6, 7-3 loss yesterday to Wilander in the quarterfinals of the ATP Championship. "He's so mentally tough he's difficult to beat. I don't think people realize how much willpower he's got in him."

On the surface, it would appear that if anyone would know how to beat Wilander, ranked fourth in the world, it would be Gomez. The left-hander from Ecuador, seeded 12th in the tournament, handed Wilander his most recent singles loss, a week ago at Boston, and the two played as a doubles team Thursday night.

But after a light rain delayed play for almost two hours at the Jack Nicklaus Sports Center, Wilander, the third seed, won the first nine games and was well on his way to the semifinals.

He will meet Stefan Edberg, seeded second. Edberg, ranked third in the world, won the first set, 6-4, and was trailing in the second, 1-0, when the rains returned, halting play on all courts for more than three hours.

When play resumed, Edberg won a second-set tiebreaker, 7-3, to take a 7-6 victory.

Wilander said his match with Gomez was just what he needed after a disappointing year.

In a late match, No. 4 Michael Chang, who has struggled since winning the French Open championship this past May, lost to No. 5 Brad Gilbert, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, after a long rain delay. But top-seeded Boris Becker coasted to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jaime Yzaga in a match that ended just as the Chang-Gilbert match went to a third set.

Graf beats Mandlikova

MAHWAH, N.J. -- Steffi Graf played at the peak of her game yesterday, beating Hana Mandlikova 6-0, 6-1 in 42 minutes to advance to the semifinals round of the United Jersey Bank Classic.

"Steffi was unbelievable and there was not much I could do," said Mandlikova, who lost to the world's top-ranked player for the eighth time in nine matches. "She overpowered me."

Joining Graf, who has lost three games in three matches during the tournament, were two unseeded players -- 110th-ranked Stacy Martin of Largo, Md., and 47th-ranked Linda Ferrando of Italy.

Martin, an 18-year-old who turned professional in May, beat eighth-seeded Sylvia Hanika of West Germany; Ferrando beat Laura Gildemeister of Peru 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 and Temesvari defeated Pascale Paradis of France, 6-3, 6-4.

Graf will face Ferrando in a semifinal match today.

Lendl wins

MONTREAL -- Top-seeded Ivan Lendl used a flawless fourth set to squash Canadian Grant Connell 7-6, 7-2, 4-6, 6-0 yesterday in the quarterfinals of the $900,000 Player's International Canadian Open tennis tournament.

John McEnroe, the No. 2 seed, beat Austria's Alex Antonitsch 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, and sixth-seeded Jay Berger beat unseeded Venezuelan Nicolas Pereira 6-7, 2-7, 6-1, 6-3.

Lendl advanced to today's semifinals against third-seeded Andre Agassi, who pummeled the tournament's last Canadian, Andrew Sznajder, 6-1, 6-0 in just 44 minutes.

McEnroe and Berger will play the other semifinal. McEnroe beat Berger Sunday in three sets to win the U.S. Hardcourt championships in Indianapolis.

Connell was pleased with his play despite the loss.

"It was the first time I played against a guy in the top five and I was happy I was able to stay close and take a set off him," said Connell, a 23- year-old left-hander ranked No. 130 in the world who attacked the net at every opportunity against Lendl, the world's top player.

Nagelsen makes semis

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Betsy Nagelsen survived the youth of top-seeded Arantxa Sanchez and a marathon of hardcourt tennis to advance to the semifinals of the Virginia Slims of Albuquerque tournament.

Nagelsen, at 32 the oldest player in the field, beat 17-year-old Sanchez 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a rain-delayed match to reach the quarterfinals.

She then made the semifinals with a 2 1/2-hour 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 win over Anne Smith.

Also advancing were fifth-seeded Lori McNeil, of Houston, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Beverly Bowes of Lubbock, and Elna Reinach of South Africa, who beat seventh-seeded Anne Minter, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. No. 2 seed Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria, self-destructing with a serve that produced 17 double faults, fell to 16-year-old amateur Amy Frazier of Rochester Hills, Mich., 6-3, 6-4.
 
#4,040 ·
Eight hours of sitting around in the players lounge (which was a tent, by the way) with Pam Shriver buzzing around and spreading the tennis equivalent of malaria.

GRAF FOE RECEIVES REPRIEVE - UJB SEMIFINALS HALTED BY RAIN
The Record
New Jersey
Sunday, August 20, 1989
By John Brennan, Record Staff Writer

Call what Stacey Martin and Andrea Temesvari experienced Saturday a postponement. For Linda Ferrando, the more appropriate phrase is "stay of execution. "

Saturday's on-again, off-again rain wiped out the scheduled 1 p.m. semifinal match between Ferrando and top-seeded Steffi Graf and a 7 p.m. match between Temesvari and Martin in the United Jersey Bank Tennis Classic, as well as both doubles matches.

Graf and Ferrando will play at center court at 10 a.m. today, while Temesvari and Martin will play on Court 1 at the same time. The final is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m.

Ticket-holders for Saturday's sessions can return them to the ticket office to receive tickets for next year's event.

Ferrando, 23, said after several hours of delay that she was hoping to wait until today.

"I've been here since this morning, so I'm tired," Ferrando said at about 4 p.m. "Plus I didn't eat because I was hoping to play soon."

Asked if she was surprised that five of the eight seeds were knocked out in the first two rounds, the Italian-born Ferrando said in broken English, "I was very happy if today I did not have to play Graf."

Despite Ferrando's understandable wishes, Graf was the lone seed to reach the semifinals. In what was supposed to be her toughest match, Graf routed fifth-seeded Hana Mandlikova, 6-0, 6-1, Friday night in the quarters. Ferrando advanced with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Laura Gildemeister of Peru.

"I wasn't just hitting the ball out there. I was using my head," said Graf, the world's No. 1 player, of her performance against Mandlikova. Graf had not been pleased with her play Wednesday in a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Etsuko Inoue of Japan.

Ferrando, a serve-and-volleyer whose current ranking of 47th is a career best, is playing in her first major tournament singles semifinal.

Martin and Temesvari also are surprise semifinalists, but for different reasons. Martin, ranked No. 110, stunned second-seeded Pam Shriver Wednesday and knocked off No. 8 seed Sylvia Hanika of West Germany, 6-3, 7-5, Friday.

Martin, 18, who played a year for the University of Tennessee before joining the tour full time in May, had lost in the first round in five of her previous 10 tournaments.

The Hungarian-born Temesvari, 23, who was ranked as high as No. 7 in 1984, dropped off the tour for almost all of 1987 and 1988 due to shoulder and ankle injuries.

Temesvari had climbed to No. 56 this year before reaching her first semifinal of a major tournament since 1984. The clay-court specialist ousted Pascale Paradis of France, 6-3, 6-4, Friday after knocking off No. 4 seed Katerina Maleeva earier this week.

Tournament director John Korff waited until 9 p.m. to postpone play.

"It was frustrating," said Korff, of the numerous times tournament workers dried the courts using blowing machines, only to have a brief spurt of rain ruin their efforts. "At one point [around 3:30], we were two minutes away from introducing the players before it started raining again."

Korff said the uncertainty of today's forecast made him eager to get at least some of the semifinals in Saturday.

Although singles matches at the Mahwah tournament occasionally have been played indoors in past years, none were as far along in the tournament as the semifinals.

"Players don't want to change the surface they've been playing on," said Korff.

O'Reillys ousted

Patti and Terri O'Reilly of Ridgewood dropped a 6-1, 6-4 decision to Jana Novotna of Czechoslovakia and Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden Friday night in a quarterfinal doubles match before a near-sellout crowd of about 4,000.

After shaking off some early jitters, the sisters, 21, gave the two highly-ranked tour players all they could handle in the second set.

The O'Reillys, down 3-2 in the second set, had two break points against Novotna before falling behind, 4-2. Then after Terri, the right-hander, held serve, the O'Reillys broke Lindqvist's serve to tie it at 4-4.

After breaking back on Patti's serve, Novotna served out the match against the O'Reillys, who will be seniors at Duke this fall with fellow triplet, Christine.
 
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