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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:
 
#5,735 ·
I recall being very surprised that Steffi switched rackets from her trusty Dunlop to Wilson in late 1993 (or was it early 1994). But I do not remember her talking about the switch. Did she say it gave her shots more zing? I loved the Dunlop racket and it was a prize possession of mine until it completely fell apart around 1992. I think I bought it in 1987.
 
#5,740 ·
"We wouldn't like to cause anger." That was the most hilarious thing he said. He totally knew what he was saying would cause anger. When seen as a part of the larger pattern of the mania, the contradictory storylines, the up-staging, and the asterisk-attaching, it's completely in-character for the Seles camp. It's more surprising that Monica hugged Steffi and chit-chatted with her after the USO final than that Papa Seles would condemn Steffi for continuing to play (and continuing to play through the tax scandal).

Of course, their intense dislike of Steffi makes no real sense; it's only understandable from the perspective of "They need a scapegoat," which is not exactly the most defensible position, which therefore creates snowballing irrationality as they keep searching for "better" reasons but can't find any. I am sure that need for a scapegoat only increased through 1996 and beyond, which is why the Sorority Sisters in their capacity as members of the media and their cronies are so quick to try to attach any kind of asterisk that they think has the very slightest chance (and even some that clearly don't) of sticking to Steffi's accomplishments, pre- and post-stabbing. In the end, decades from now --or maybe sooner, who can tell? ;)-- they are going to look inescapably, unspinnably bad, and they will have done it to themselves. Any time you need to lie or omit vast tracts of truth not even to make yourself look good but rather to make somebody else look bad, it will not end well for you in the long term. And Steffi, as Stef-fan noted, more or less ignores all the pokes and tweaks.
 
#5,742 ·
They use every excuse they can to try to tarnish Steffi Graf's exceptional career. Let me dedicate to Mrs Agassi some lyrics of one of my favourite songs
I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I'll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all
Whitney Houston
 
#5,745 ·
When economists try to write about the competitive aspects of tennis... :lol: It was hilarious at the time. Stich was exactly the sort of moody, clueless whiner who could be routed by a qualifier because his breakfast wasn't prepared just right and the locker room attendants didn't fold his towels just the way he wanted. Miss Seles most certainly could and did choke and play "percentage" tennis in tight situations; people of a certain age might remember her lofting a few moonballs and just spinning her serve in on important points. It is extra hilarious in hindsight. And once again demonstrates just how Monica Mania backfired.

In early 1995, before the hype of her return, if I had told the tennis world that Monica would win one Slam and reach the final of another in her first full year back on the tour, everyone (except the most zealous Seles fans) would have thought that would be a wonderful, praise-worthy result -- and rightly so.

But because they went to great lengths to haul out Monica at maximum force right away and because the Mania worked so well on the general tennis community and peripheral fans/observers ("Wow, it's like Monica never left! She's as good as ever!" -- "No, she's better than ever!" -- "Right, man! And if she's this good after just two tournaments and carrying a little extra weight, think what she's gonna do next year!" -- "Golden Grand Slam, man!" -- "All the way, baby! The other players are all gonna get stomped!" -- < "Nature Boy" Ric Flair "Woo!" sound effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2nqpnJNfHs >), anything less than domination was now going to be seen as disappointing. And given how quickly she faded after the 1996 AO, it was probably doubly disappointing to anyone who fell for the hype. As bad as quietly enduring the hype must have been for the other players, it was even worse to put that kind of pressure to perform on someone as fragile as Monica. I mean, the IMG Machine and the Seles family knew she had more issues than "Sports Illustrated," so maybe they should have tried for a "Forget the results, just playing is a triumph" approach.

Dual saviours
The Economist
336.7933
September 23, 1995
p83.

THANK heavens Monica Seles came back to the women's tennis tour last month--and thank heavens this month she lost to Steffi Graf in the final of the United States Open. Victory would have meant that an overweight, giggling 21-year-old could emerge from 30 months of retirement to be immediately the best woman player in the world. In other words a Seles triumph would have embarrassingly emphasised the overall weakness of women's professional tennis. By contrast, the Seles defeat will rekindle the old rivalry with Miss Graf, keep the television cameras interested and so encourage young girls to take up the sport and eventually give the women's tour the depth of talent it needs.

Or so tennis buffs must hope, because at the moment the tour looks alarmingly shallow and dismayingly dull. When Miss Seles, whose temporary retirement came after a deranged Graf fan stabbed her in the shoulder, returned to tournament play in Toronto, she swept to victory without losing a set--and in the semi-final allowed Gabriela Sabatini, (now ranked seventh in the world), just one game. So far only Miss Graf has been able to stretch her (and, in a three-set thriller, beat her).

In the men's game such a gap between the best and the almost-best does not exist; it is inconceivable that Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi could beat Michael Stich for the loss of just one game. So why does the gap exist on the women's tour? Why is Miss Seles apparently poised to resume the dominance that gave her eight "Grand Slam" titles (as the championships of Wimbledon and the Australian, French and American Opens are known) between 1990 and 1993, compared with the six over the same period for the more experienced Miss Graf?

The reason can hardly be physical or technical. There are plenty of better athletes than Miss Seles. In the top ten, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Gabriela Sabatini and Jana Novotna are all noticeably more mobile around the court. Similarly, although the "new" Seles, almost two inches (5.1cm) taller than two years ago, has a much improved serve and is experimenting with the volley, plenty of players have better individual strokes--for example the Graf serve and forehand, the Novotna volley or Conchita Martinez's glorious top-spin backhand. True, Miss Seles has a rare ability to hit hard and deep drives from the baseline (double-handed on both wings and in a style found in no coaching manual) but so, too, does Mary Pierce.

What really sets Miss Seles apart from her opponents (although Miss Graf runs her close) is her mental toughness. Many players in tense situations get tentative; they lose their rhythm, take refuge in "percentage" shots and make simple "unforced" errors. It happens in most sports: golfers miss easy putts; snooker players miss easy pots; soccer players miss penalties. In other words they "choke" (poor Miss Novotna, for instance, lost the 1993 Wimbledon final after being 4-1 ahead of Miss Graf in the third set).

Miss Seles never chokes. Not for her the "percentage" shot--the moon-balled forehand or the soft-hit serve. Instead, when an opponent sniffs a break-point in her favour, Miss Seles simply hits ever harder, ever closer to the lines.

After losing 7-6, 6-2 to Miss Seles in the American Open, Miss Novotna ruefully commented: "She didn't worry at all what the score was, and just went for her shots . . . Physically and mentally it is very difficult to play her." No wonder some experts count the Yugoslav-born Miss Seles among the greatest match-players in tennis history, equal even to Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly, who, in a career ended tragically by horse-riding injuries before she was 20, managed to win all nine Grand Slam tournaments she entered.

The problem is that great match-players by definition need great matches. Before the stabbing, Miss Seles had won seven of her last eight Grand Slam tournaments (the exception was Wimbledon, whose fast grass favours better volleyers). In her absence the Grand Slam titles have opened up, not just to Steffi Graf but to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Conchita Martinez and Mary Pierce. Women's tennis will suffer if Miss Seles has returned to so dominate the Grand Slams, (and even, thanks to her improving serve, Wimbledon), that she bores spectators. As it is, the women's tour has found it hard to attract an overall sponsor during the two years.

All of which puts a huge responsibility on Steffi Graf to maintain the challenge at the top. It will be difficult. For the past year Miss Graf, who tends to practise too hard for her own health, has had a bad back; despite frequently severe pain, she has so far refused to undergo surgery.

Now she has to cope with mental strains too: her father, Peter, who has always managed her business affairs, has been in a German prison facing charges of tax evasion. At times Miss Graf, a very rich 26-year-old, must surely think of finishing her career, of simply running away from the pressure and the publicity.

Or perhaps not. Just as Miss Seles is a great champion, so too is Miss Graf. In the end what motivates such players is not money but their place in sporting history. By that reckoning in the modern era--tennis only became a fully professional sport in the late 1960s--the greatest woman champion was Australia's Margaret Court, followed by Martina Navratilova, the Czech-born American who helped persuade Miss Seles to return to the tour, and Billie Jean King. Misses Graf and Seles will probably never match those champions' Grand Slam records because they so rarely compete in doubles events.

No matter. The greatest glory goes with the singles titles. Mrs Court managed 24 and Miss Navratilova 18. The spur for Miss Graf is that with her American Open triumph she has now matched Miss Navratilova and is still young enough--health permitting--to strive for the record. But only if she can keep beating Miss Seles. That will be hard for Miss Graf but good for women's tennis.
 
#5,746 ·
Did The Economist have a ban on Chris Evert in 1995?

And did Monica really grow even an 1/8th of an inch from spring 1993 to summer 1995? I always felt that was both ridiculous and nearly impossible for a 19 year old woman. Plus she NEVER looked any taller to me. From mid-1990 on she was always tall.
 
#5,747 ·
Did The Economist have a ban on Chris Evert in 1995?
What? You expected Chrissie and Martina to have a little congratulatory session on court after the USO final and welcome Steffi to the 18 Club and the Upsilon Upsilon Tau Alpha Sorority? I was surprised Navratilova kept it together as a commentator in the third set.

And did Monica really grow even an 1/8th of an inch from spring 1993 to summer 1995? I always felt that was both ridiculous and nearly impossible for a 19 year old woman. Plus she NEVER looked any taller to me. From mid-1990 on she was always tall.
Monica and Steffi were pretty much the same height at 1992 Wim, then Monica was slightly taller than Steffi at the 1993 AO, and at the 1995 USO she was definitely an inch and a half or two inches taller. Continuing to grow in the late teens or early twenties isn't at all unheard of for women. Pretty sure Steffi grew like a half inch or so after 19.
 
#5,748 ·
No, they kept staying that Steffi had joined Martina at 18 slams a piece, but didn't even mention Chris's name nor that she had 18 as well.

Maybe I'll check some of their pics. I swear Monica was about an inch taller from 1990 on. She gained weight but didn't seem any taller 1991-93, to me.
 
#5,749 ·
No, they kept staying that Steffi had joined Martina at 18 slams a piece, but didn't even mention Chris's name nor that she had 18 as well.
Like I said: when economists try to write about the competitive aspect of tennis. I would have preferred to hear some reasons why women's tennis had/has such trouble getting advertising partners and/or why getting/keeping CEOs was/is so hard.


Maybe I'll check some of their pics. I swear Monica was about an inch taller from 1990 on. She gained weight but didn't seem any taller 1991-93, to me.
In 1990-1992, Steffi and Monica were both billed as being 5'9", although I'd say Monica in 1990-91 was maybe a scant half inch shorter. Could have just looked that way due to wardrobe differences, posture, and/or differences in build. In 1992, they really do look the same height. There's an interesting comment from 1990: supposedly some doctors told Monica that she would probably top out around six feet. Maybe growing 4 inches from 1989 to 1990, growing only a half inch or three quarters of an inch from 1990 to 1993, and then growing another 2 inches from 1993 to 1995 is a little odd, but there are anecdotes out there about girls whose height was more or less stable throughout high school and then they grow an inch or more at college.
 
#5,750 ·
Once again, it's such a shame the Graf tax scandal never brought down a politician or bureaucrat or two...

BRIEFLY - REEVES IS SIGNED BY GRIZZLIES
Daily News of Los Angeles
Tuesday, September 26, 1995
From Staff and Wire Reports

[...]

TENNIS

Politicians in the state where German tennis star Steffi Graf is under investigation and her father jailed for alleged tax evasion, demanded that the state finance minister reveal all he knows about the case.

Fritz Kuhn, head of the Greens party faction in the Baden-Wuerttemberg parliament, said that either finance minister Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, a conservative Christian Democrat, "puts all the facts on the table . . . or we'll have to think about an investigative committee."

The request came after the weekly Der Spiegel magazine reported that the state finance ministry failed to act on information from federal finance officials as far back as 1988 regarding the Grafs' tax situation.

Peter Graf was arrested in August for allegedly failing to pay taxes on millions of dollars. Officials said the arrest was needed because he might try to flee prosecution. Steffi Graf also is under investigation in the case. Authorities have said there were no grounds to arrest her.

Investigators believe that the Grafs, in the years 1989-1992, failed to report $35.2 million in income, Spiegel said.

Spiegel added that as late as June, Peter Graf transferred $29.6 million from an Amsterdam bank to accounts in Monaco, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the Isle of Guernsey.

Der Spiegel said that shortly before that transaction, Peter Graf had telephoned Mayer-Vorfelder and complained about ministry notifications that the Grafs owed more taxes. If that information is correct, then Mayer-Vorfelder no longer can claim the ministry's tax officials worked in a timely and effective manner, Kuhn said.

Third-seeded Gilbert Schaller of Austria defeated Marcos Ondruska of South Africa 7-5, 6-4 in the opening round of the International Championship of Sicily men's tennis tournament. No. 5 Francisco Clavet of Spain defeated Oliver Gross of Germany 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
 
#5,751 ·
Apparently, Eckardt did not get the message that failure to cooperate with the investigation would not be tolerated.

GRAF'S TAX ADVISER ARRESTED FOR FAILURE TO COOPERATE
The Miami Herald
Thursday, September 28, 1995
From Herald Wire Services

The tax adviser to Steffi Graf's family was arrested on charges of providing false information to authorities and failing to hand over certain documents, police and media reported on Wednesday.

Joachim Eckardt was arrested in the Frankfurt, Germany, area, said Mannheim police spokesman Volker Dressler. He refused to give any details.

The tax adviser is accused of providing false information for the tennis star's 1993 taxes and failing to hand over certain documents for tax years 1989 to 1992, according to a report on ARD television.

German media reports said Eckhardt is suspected of tax evasion of up to 10 million marks ($7 million). Eckhardt advised Graf's father, Peter, who also is jailed in Germany on suspicion of tax evasion.

Prosecutors have been investigating Graf's reporting and payment of taxes since last spring.

* NOVOTNA ADVANCES: Top seed Jana Novotna defeated Beate Reinstadler, 6-4, 6-2, to move into the third round of the WTA tournament in Leipzig, Germany.
 
#5,752 ·
Steffi was often cited as an example/counterexample for all sides in the body image discussion. Some, like this one, said she was proof positive that women don't have to look like a Barbie doll to be attractive. Others would use her as warning not to get too caught up in the numbers, especially body mass index. There had been a study done by Harvard that suggested the women who had the smallest risk of premature death had a body mass index of less than 19. Which is nearly impossible for athletic, fit women as demonstrated by the examples of Jackie Joyner-Kersee (5'10'' and an advertised 155 lbs. for a BMI of 22.1) and Steffi Graf (5'9'' and an advertised 132 lbs. for a BMI of 19.3). Then there were those who considered Steffi's physique to be just as unrealistic an ideal as the ultra-thin physiques of supermodels, which then prompted some doctors to remind everybody that Steffi's general physique is what we're supposed to look like in our "natural state."

Body of evidence
The Sunday Times
London, England
Sunday, October 1, 1995
David Thomas

Women are losing interest in fitness videos maybe they have finally realised that men don't really want them to look too perfect, says DAVID THOMAS

Words cannot describe how glad I am that Elle Macpherson's latest exercise video has not been a huge success. Some 400,000 copies of Your Personal Best With Elle Macpherson have reportedly been returned, unsold, from the world's video stores. Great heaps of unwanted Elles are apparently cluttering up warehouses from Winnipeg to Wollongong.

I've nothing against Miss Macpherson. It's just that there are few signs that our society is becoming healthier, but a collapse in the video fitness market may be one of them.

Although a spokesperson for Macpherson claimed the story was sour grapes, pointing to the fact that it has been in the video charts for 33 weeks, sales of exercise videos have dropped by 32% over the past 12 months. Large numbers of lonely men have evidently become jaded by too much exposure to semi-naked, sweaty supermodels. And even more women have decided that the search for the perfect body is going to have to be put on hold. Basically, they can't be ******.

Perhaps both sexes have noticed that if you really want to see Macpherson at her best, the thing to do is to rent Sirens, in which she plays an artist's model. She spends much of the film naked, and she's carrying some 20lb of extra weight put on specially for the part.

The plump, female Elle looks much better than the skinny, fitness Elle. She may not be perfect any more. But she looks like a real woman.

All in all, there's still a lot to be said for reality. For a start, people with perfect bodies are guaranteed to be smug, self-obsessed and tedious beyond belief. Their physiques can only be achieved through continual dieting, constant exercise and occasional visits to the plastic surgeon. Anyone whose mind is fixated on themselves to this degree cannot, perforce, be fixated or even conscious of anyone else. Nor do they have any time left for reading books, seeing films, talking to friends, eating, drinking, fooling around, making love... all the things, in short, that comprise a well-rounded and meaningful existence.

Still, there's no persuading some people. The number of breast augmentations done in this country, for example, dropped from around 12,000 to 5,000 a year in the wake of the fears surrounding silicone implants. But new forms of saline, oil-filled and even inflatable implants offer a reduced health risk, and the number of operations is heading back up once again.

The doyenne of plastic surgery is an American-born blonde called Cindy Jackson. She spent six years and Pounds 30,000 having herself rebuilt. Thanks to liposuction, her dress size has changed from a 12 to an 8. She's had boob jobs, lip jobs, nose jobs, cheek jobs more jobs than Odd Job.

''I wanted to be Barbie," she says. ''I wanted the soft, feminine look big eyes, soft lips, smooth skin. That's me now. I am Barbie. I'm just as plastic as she is. And it's wonderful. I'm living my childhood dream and it becomes more so every day."

You think that sounds crazy? Maybe, but Jackson is not alone in thinking that beauty's the passport to happiness. A 1994 survey in GQ magazine revealed that 35% of women would supposedly rather be run over by a truck than gain five stone.

Given the choice between being Miss World and the winner of Mastermind, a majority opted for the bathing suit, crown and tears of joy. Given the choice between being the competent, assertive, independent Princess Anne, and the coy, pretty, mixed-up Princess Diana, 76% chose Di.

The pressure put on women to be beautiful is all but overwhelming. A recent study at Arizona State University claimed that three minutes spent flicking through glossy magazines were enough to reduce most women to a state of depression, stress and shame that the researchers termed ''Barbie Syndrome". It's a phenomenon that some would see as a result of patriarchal oppression. Men still set the standards of female beauty, and women drive themselves mad trying to attain them.

Yet the truth is that men don't want women who are absolutely flawless. If you don't believe me, try Angela Holden, editor of Sky magazine, who says: ''Men are more forgiving of the imperfect female body. Women prefer to look at totally idealised images."

The concept that men might have a reasonably evolved, nay, complex view of female sex appeal, is one that women find hard to believe. In every survey done on ''What Makes Women Attractive", men claim they go for friendly smiles, nice eyes and attractive, humorous personalities. But women are apt to wonder why a zillion males still fancy Pamela Anderson, with her permanent pout and her plastic breasts. Just how complex and evolved is that?

Well, okay, there's Pammy, and Sharon, and Cindy... and all the other poster babes. But the point is, we know they're not real. If any of the world's top sex bombs were actually to come face to face with Mr Average Brit and say, ''Take me now, big boy," he'd probably quiver with terror and shrivel into insignificance.

That's why really beautiful girls can never get dates. An eye-poppingly lovely former Bond girl once told me the sad tale of how she had never been able to find a steady boyfriend.

Whenever she started going out with a man, he'd be convinced that she would leave him as soon as someone richer or hunkier came along. So he wouldn't commit himself to the relationship. So they always came to a swift and painful end.

The relationship counsellor Zelda West-Meads notes: ''You often see in counselling pretty women with very low self-esteem. They have learned to value themselves according to how they look, rather than how they are as a person. It's hard to form close friendships with other women if they think that their men are going to fancy you."

Perfect women, then, are lonely creatures, unloved by anyone of either sex. So who should aspiring females emulate, if seeking popularity, fulfilment and sexual satisfaction? My personal suggestions would be as follows...

1. Bjork: voted the world's second-most desirable woman by the readers of Arena magazine, Bjork is a funny little Icelandic person with a pixie face, a weird voice and minimal conventional glamour. If she can drive the lads wild, any woman can.

2. Steffi Graf: there are two great virtues to Steffi Graf. The first is that she hasn't had a nose job. Obviously her hooter is vast. Equally obviously, she could afford to get a perky little Hollywood schnozzlette. The fact that she hasn't suggests self-assurance and cool. Top marks.

3. Sandra Bullock: undeniably the movie heroine of the year. In Speed she was feisty, perky and blessed with grace under pressure. In While You Were Sleeping she is brave, kooky, slightly vulnerable... in short, the girl you'd want to marry. In both films she remains fully clad throughout.

Sandra Bullock seems real. She's neither a giggly bimbo, nor an aggressive man-eater.

On screen, she can drive the bus, she can pull the man away from the oncoming train, but she doesn't need to make a big deal out of it. In real life, she does her own plumbing, eats whatever junk food she likes and gives funny interviews.

Above all, she actually seems to like men. And, as any war-torn male could tell you, all the curves in the world count for nothing next to a simple bit of affection. A warm heart and a nice hug... that's what we're really after. Among other things, of course.
 
#5,755 ·
While Steffi surely was still ouching from September, she had an "interview" that probably couldn't be rescheduled.

SPORTS DIGEST - HOOSIERS LOSE SMITH FOR AT LEAST A MONTH
Dayton Daily News
Tuesday, October 3, 1995
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

[...]

TENNIS

KRICKSTEIN BOWS: Italy's Cristiano Caratti upset eighth-seeded American Aaron Krickstein 7-5, 6-2 in the opening round of the Salem ATP Tour Championship in Malaysia.

GRAF, MARTINEZ OUT: Steffi Graf and Conchita Martinez have withdrawn from the European Indoors women's tournament in Zurich, Switzerland because of injuries. Magdalena Maleeva who won last year, is doubtful because of illness.

[...]
 
#5,756 ·
So when is Steffi coming out of retirement to mop up the floor with the current crop of stiffs?
 
#5,758 ·
As much as I love to watch Steffi play, and as amusing as it would be to watch her win a few one-off matches (I don't think her body would like playing a tournament) using nothing more than tennis trigonometry and wrong notes/junk, along with Graffing the opponent and the standard meltdown that usually occurs once any current player realizes that she might just lose against some retiree, it would be terrible for the game. I'd rather see the players under 30 years old --more preferably under 25 years old-- to stand and deliver. Steffi is publicly optimistic (it's her "job" after all) that the chain of succession of great champions will continue unbroken, and we all should hope she is right. "It is good to know that the future is going to show up."
 
#5,760 ·
I imagine this was a lot like the "Lunch With Goebbels" scene (before it turned into "Strudel With Landa") from Inglourious Basterds.

GRAF QUESTIONED FOR ALLEGED TAX EVASION
The Stuart News
Friday, October 6, 1995
News wire services

FRANKFURT, Germany - Steffi Graf underwent a day of questioning for alleged tax evasion, a state prosecutor said Friday.

It was the first time Graf had been called in for questioning since her father and manager, Peter Graf, was arrested in August for allegedly failing to report some $35.2 million of his daughter's earnings.

Chief prosecutor Peter Wechsung said Steffi Graf was questioned for eight hours Thursday. She was accompanied by her attorney, Peter Danckert.

Wechsung said that his office still had no grounds to arrest the world's No. 1 women's player, even though her father and her tax advisor Joachim Eckardt remained in investigative custody in Mannheim.

He provided no other details on the outcome of the questioning.

The investigation that began in May could take until the end of the year, Wechsung said.

Stern magazine said new evidence has been uncovered that shows the Grafs were allowed to write off $700,000 in legal and other advisory fees after an affair Peter Graf had with a photo model became public in 1990.

Steffi Graf's attorney, Harald Schaumburg, recommended that Graf write off the costs, which were incurred trying to save her reputation in the scandal, Stern said.

The magazine said the information was contained in records at the Baden-Wuerttemberg state tax offices in Schwetzingen, near Steffi Graf's hometown of Bruehl, where discussions over the deduction with tax officials were held in 1993.

Meanwhile, opposition members of the state parliament have called for an investigative committee to examine allegations that the state finance minister and tax authorities gave the Grafs preferential treatment because of Steffi Graf's world star status.

MAUREEN CONNOLLY TROPHY: At Glasgow, Scotland, Britain won three of four singles matches, claiming the Maureen Connolly Trophy for the third straight year over the United States.

Britain took a 4-0 lead Thursday with three victories in singles and one in doubles, them clinched the 11-match competition Friday by taking an insurmountable 7-1 lead.

Three matches will be played today.

The only American winner in the eight matches was Sandy Sureephong, who defeated Karen Cross 6-1, 6-4.

TOULOUSE OPEN: At Toulouse, France, Jim Courier, seeking his second consecutive tournament victory, advanced to the semifinals of the Toulouse Open with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Slovakia's Karol Kucera.

Courier, who won in Switzerland last week, will meet France's Cedric Pioline, who beat Czech Daniel Vacek 6-4, 6-3, in today's semifinals. Pioline was a losing finalist in this tournament to fellow Frenchman Arnaud Boetsch two years ago.

Boetsch stayed in contention to gain another title with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Belgian Filip DeWolf. Marc Rosset of Switzerland, second seeded, eliminated last year's finalist, American Jared Palmer 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

EUROPEAN INDOORS: At Zurich, Switzerland, top-seeded Jana Novotna, suffering from a chronic attack of nerves, was ousted from the quarterfinals of the $806,250 European Indoors tennis tournament, losing to No 7 seed Iva Majoli of Croatia 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3.

Third-seeded Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria didn't even set foot on the court. Troubled by food poisoning since the start of the week, the defending champion withdrew from her match against Chanda Rubin of the United States.

Rubin, 19, will face 18-year-old Majoli in today's semifinals.

Novotna was up 3-0 in the final set but then scarcely won another point. It was reminiscent of this year's French Open when she lost to Rubin, after leading 5-0 and 4-0 in the final set. At the Wimbledon final in 1993, she gave up 4-1 final-set advantage and lost to Steffi Graf .

SALEM ATP: At Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Patrick McEnroe beat Renzo Furlan 7-5, 6-4, but the top three seeded players lost in the quarterfinals of the $450,000 Salem ATP tournament.

McEnroe, seeded fourth and ranked 29th in the world, beat the sixth-seeded Furlan in 1 hour and 38 minutes.

Top-seeded Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands was ousted by unseeded Italian Cristiano Caratti 6-2, 6-4.
 
#5,763 ·
Ho hum... At the time, this was a real "poop your pants" moment for Grafans -- and maybe Steffi herself. Nobody understood yet that "Der Spiegel" was either fabricating details or being fed fabricated details by some (supposedly) inside source. So even though the prosecutors had said just a few days before that there were still no grounds to arrest Steffi, this wasn't just something that we knew to roll our eyes at and wait for a report to the contrary (although usually much quieter) a few days later. To the best of my knowledge, "Der Spiegel" never issued any correction or retraction.

Also notable is Opel's Gaeb demanding that Advantage International "prove" that it wasn't involved. Granted, at this point in time it did look fishy and due to the way the Graf tax scandal was "reported" by the German press there were conflicting explanations and muddled stories, so from the outside, it was very difficult to determine what really happened, but as I mentioned earlier, no charges were brought against Advantage or de Picciotto.

GRAF MAY FACE CHARGES, REPORT SAYS
The Journal Gazette
Fort Wayne, IN
Sunday, October 8, 1995
Associated Press

Steffi Graf, who is under investigation for tax evasion, faces possible arrest, Der Spiegel magazine reported Saturday.

Mannheim state prosecutor Peter Wechsung said Friday that Graf, who shares the No. 1 ranking with Monica Seles, was questioned Thursday; so far there has been no arrest.

But the Hamburg-based Der Spiegel reported that after Mannheim prosecutor Bettina Krenz questioned Graf, the results were given to district court judge Helmut Bauer.

''I foresee another application for an arrest warrant,'' Bauer said in Der Spiegel.

Graf's father and manager, Peter Graf, who was arrested in August, and tax adviser Joachim Eckardt, are jailed in Mannheim in investigative custody.

Peter Graf allegedly failed to report $35.2 million of his daughter's earnings over the last several years. He is accused of funneling the money through Advantage International.

Meanwhile, Focus magazine of Munich said Graf's main sponsor, German automaker Opel, a General Motors subsidiary, might cut its sponsorship.

But Opel chairman David Herrman denied it.

In a radio interview with Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk, Herrman said that Opel saw ''no reason'' to cut its business ties with Graf, who he said is ''only a victim'' of the tax case.

''We are very proud of the business relationship between Opel and this sports figure,'' Herrmann said.

Focus reported that Opel supervisory board member, Hans-Wilhelm Gaeb, was critical of Graf's alleged ties with the United States-based marketing company Advantage International and its manager Philip de Picciotto.

Gaeb suspects that Picciotto or Advantage International might have had something to do with questionable transfers of millions of dollars in sponsor payments, Focus reported.

Focus said that Advantage International had ties to Union Bancaire Privee, a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, which is run by Philip de Picciotto's uncle, Edgar.

Authorities in the United States and South Africa are investigating Bancaire Privee employees for money laundering and gold smuggling, Focus reported.

Focus quoted Gaeb as demanding that Philip de Picciotto prove ''that the company managed by him is not involved in tax manipulation and illegal money transfers.''

Gaeb wants to prevent any association of Opel's name with Advantage International, Focus reported. ''Consequently, Steffi Graf must decide between Picciotto and Opel,'' the report said.

Excerpts of the Spiegel and Focus reports that will appear in editions Monday, were provided early to other news media.
 
#5,764 ·
So, yes, the German tax authorities KNEW there were "irregularities" in Peter's bookkeeping system well before 1995. IIRC, the judge somewhat reduced the amount of back taxes owed on the grounds that if the tax administration had been doing its job correctly, the problem would have been much smaller in scale.

Graf faces arrest over tax, claims magazine
October 8, 1995
The Age

Bonn, Sunday: A German magazine claimed yesterday that women's world No. 1 tennis player Steffi Graf faced possible arrest following long questioning by state prosecutors last week.

The Hamburg-based Der Spiegel said that after Mannheim prosecutor Bettina Krenz questioned Graf, the results were given to district court judge Helmut Bauer to determine her status in the case.

''I foresee another application for an arrest warrant," Der Spiegel quoted Bauer as saying.

But one of Graf's main sponsors, car-maker Adam Opel, said it would stick by Graf despite the tax-evasion probe.

Since Graf's father, Peter, was jailed in August to stop him fleeing or concealing evidence that might support accusations he and his daughter evaded taxes, there has been media speculation that Opel might drop the tennis star.

''Adam Opel sees at present no reason to break off the contract with Steffi Graf," the chairman of the board of managers, David Herrman, told German radio, adding that he regarded the champion as the victim in the tax affair.

''Steffi is a wonderful person," he said of Graf, who with her father is at the centre of a tax-evasion probe put at about $9.25 million by German media reports.

A Mannheim prosecutor said there was no reason for Steffi Graf to be detained, but that her father and tax adviser Joachim Eckhardt should remain in investigative custody.

The prosecutor, Peter Wechsung, said he did not expect to lodge formal charges in the next few weeks.

Family lawyers say her father did a deal with authorities in 1993, agreeing on their tax liability, that should have precluded the investigation and detentions.

They say it is common practice to reach such agreements with someone like Graf, who has homes abroad as well as in Germany, to short-circuit time-consuming investigations and legal procedures.

Finance officials in the Baden-Wuerttemberg state capital Stuttgart have confirmed that a signed protocol existed covering such an agreement, but add that such a pact would be invalid if based on false information.

Graf, who won this year's French, Wimbledon and US Grand Slam titles, has said she entrusted her financial affairs to her father at the start of her career and had no idea how much money she was earning.

IN KUALA LUMPUR, teenage Victorian Mark Philippoussis was beaten by Marcelo Rios of Chile 7-6, 6-2 in the final of the Salem Open.

The fifth-seeded Rios took the first set in a tiebreak, 8-6, but raced away with the second to take out the $550,000 event.

It was the second time this year that 18-year-old Philippoussis had reached an ATP final in March he was beaten by former world No. 1 Jim Courier in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Philippoussis reached the final by disposing of fourth seed Patrick McEnroe 6-3, 6-3.
 
#5,765 ·
It is still astounding to the forensic auditor in me that there was no serious concurrent investigation of Baden-Württemberg's tax officials and politicians.

COLUMN ONE : Steffi Graf Flap Rivets Germany
The tennis idol's father is under arrest because she has paid so little in taxes. Tales of his obsessive influence on her fill tabloids. And politicians are calling for a wider probe of the scandal.
October 9, 1995
MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
LOS ANGELES TIMES

BERLIN — It started as a simple family scandal, albeit a big one: a volatile Svengali of a father allegedly scheming to evade the taxes on his daughter's hard-won millions; a clean-cut tennis idol struggling tearfully to keep her game intact, even as her creator is carted off to jail.

Now, though, the Steffi Graf Affair seems to be blossoming into something more: "the biggest tax scandal ever in Germany involving a private individual," says state legislator Dieter Puchta, one of a growing number of politicians calling for a wide-ranging public investigation.

Not only are the names of the U.S. Open's recent victor and her father being splashed across the front pages of tabloids and the serious German press these days. So too are the normally invisible denizens of the German tax bureaucracy, a state minister or two, the German Tennis Federation and such leading lights of the international private sector as Adidas, the German subsidiaries of General Motors and Citibank, the Italian pasta-maker Barilla and a large Stuttgart dairy, Suedmilch, whose yogurt Steffi Graf promoted.

The Graf Affair exploded in May, when 15 investigators from the public prosecutor's office raided the family's southern German estate, seizing documents and keys. Although tax investigations in Germany are normally kept secret, word leaked out that the officials believed Peter Graf had set up illegal tax shelters for his daughter's earnings, enabling him to conceal millions of dollars.

By August, Peter Graf was arrested and placed in a hospital-prison, where he continues to be held in "investigative custody" while prosecutors prepare their case against him. A problem drinker, he is said to be receiving liver and circulatory-system treatments.

He offered to post a $10-million bond, but court officials refused, saying they believe he would flee Germany or destroy evidence if freed. In late September, authorities took the Graf family's tax adviser into custody, saying he was also at risk of running away or tampering with evidence.

Through it all, Steffi Graf, 26, has kept to her tennis. She won the U.S. Open in New York last month and ended the winning streak of Monica Seles--her comeback-making rival, wounded by a knife-wielding Graf zealot who received a much-decried light punishment for his crime.

Graf played impeccable tennis but then broke down in tears during a post-match news conference, explaining that she was unable to visit her father in prison because she is considered a possible accomplice. (Graf, who last week was questioned by authorities in connection with the case, has since returned to Germany and been granted permission to see her father.)

Now, with calls mounting here for open hearings, proper pay-ups and sanctions for the civil servants who may have led the Graf family astray--and with the grotesque relationship between a dominating father and an approval-starved daughter laid bare for all to see--many fear that the pressure will prove too much and that the woman whom Germans routinely call "our Steffi" will retire.

"People don't blame Steffi Graf," says Puchta, chairman of the legislative finance committee for the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. Even though Graf's lifetime professional earnings are estimated at $125 million, and the missing 50% or so that should have gone to the tax collector under German law is her money, he says, "People say her father did it all for her."

And for the father, there is little in Germany these days but contempt.

Steffi Graf's career "is an example of how the personality of a child can be destroyed, if an ambitious and unscrupulous father decides to make a world star out of his daughter," wrote the respected newsmagazine Der Spiegel.

Indeed, in prosperous, proper Germany, the elder Graf is far too much of a scrambler to fit in. In a land where people like to buy gleaming cars in immaculate showrooms, Peter Graf, in his earlier days, eked out a living buying used cars from the newspaper and reselling them at a markup to American GIs, who couldn't read the German want ads themselves.

Even when the millions started to roll in, his rough edges didn't smooth. He hauled his daughter's cash prizes away from tournaments in bulging grocery bags, much to the amusement of his social betters in the stands, and apparently insisted on keeping the vast sums in simple, low-earning certificates of deposit--safe from "enemies" he saw as prowling the stock and real estate markets.

As the legend has it, Peter Graf gave his daughter her first sawed-off racket when she was 3 and then groomed her for stardom in the family living room, using the sofa as a net. When she could hit 25 balls over the couch without missing, he rewarded her with a pretzel. If she made it all the way to 50, she got ice cream. She won her first final when she was 6.

Later, as her career began to take off, Peter Graf's influence began to overshadow not only her game but her entire off-the-court life. Steffi Graf "graduated" from secondary school at 14--Germans normally finish at 16--so she could concentrate on her sport. When she competed at the Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992, her father wouldn't let her live in the Olympic villages [sic], where she might have met young people--she was made to stay with him at an off-site hotel.

When at last Steffi Graf began to be seen with a male friend, the auto racer Michael Bartels, her father reportedly told a journalist: "This guy doesn't mean anything. I pay him, so that people won't think Steffi is a lesbian."

Asked today about this bizarre father-daughter relationship, the tennis star appears at a loss. "He is my father, and I will stand by him and always look at him as my father," she recently told the German newsmagazine Focus in a rare, long interview.

This is, in fact, the second time Graf has had to live down humiliating publicity surrounding her father. In 1990, a nude model popped up in Germany noisily claiming--despite a huge payoff to silence her--to have borne his baby. The model filed a paternity suit, but tests eventually showed that the child was someone else's.

Amid that embarrassment, Graf trained so vigorously--to take her mind off her father, it is now suggested--that she developed chronic back problems.

"In the future, I'll bear more responsibility and have to make more [financial] decisions," Graf said in the Focus interview, asserting that until recently, she gave her father complete control over her multimillion-dollar earnings and had no clear idea where the money was, or even how much she had made.

"What else was I supposed to do when I was 15, 16 or 17 years old, besides trust my father and his advisers?" she asked. "And later, why should I do anything differently, when everything appeared to be running well? There was no sign for me that everything wasn't in order."

Germans may be willing to accept her protestations of innocence. But there is growing disgust here that there were, apparently, well-placed people who knew perfectly well what was going on--and they either looked the other way or abetted Peter Graf's shenanigans.

Records available so far suggest that as early as 1985, Peter Graf was increasingly resentful about his daughter's German tax obligations. The average German wage-earner is estimated to cough up a dispiriting 48% of his or her income to the state in one form or another, which explains why a long list of Germany's star athletes and other celebrities have established tax residences elsewhere.

In 1985, significantly, tennis star Boris Becker--a Baden-Wurttemberg native--abandoned his home state, moving to low-tax Monte Carlo. (In 1994, he returned to Germany because he wanted to raise his son here.)

Old correspondence shows that a senior Adidas official suggested the following year that Peter Graf solve his tax problems by moving to Switzerland. But Graf, perhaps emboldened by Becker's departure and the understanding that Baden-Wurttemberg wouldn't want to lose another top athlete, apparently decided instead to ask his home state officials what they might be willing to do for him.

Just what happened next is murky. Peter Graf boasted to his Adidas friend that the state's prime minister had worked out a "political solution" for him, but the former prime minister categorically denies it.

The state sports minister at the time appears to have been more helpful. Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, now state finance minister, is reported to have arranged a meeting between the unwilling taxpayer and the state's highest fiscal authorities.

And soon after, Peter Graf opened letter-drop firms, both called Sunpark, in the Netherlands and its former colony the Netherlands Antilles. German authorities now believe Sunpark's sole business was to secretly collect Steffi Graf's earnings offshore so that they could be hidden from the German tax office.

It was to Sunpark that Peter Graf wanted companies like Adidas, Barilla, Suedmilch and the General Motors and Citibank subsidiaries to send their payments for his daughter's product endorsements. Suedmilch staffers who got stuck making the actual deliveries--sometimes in great wads of cash--were so struck with the weirdness of it all that they dubbed the Sunpark scheme "Operation Goldfinger."

But higher officials of the companies involved say they had no idea that Sunpark might have been an illegal tax shelter. "We could only assume that Steffi Graf was declaring her income," says German Citibank spokesman Klaus Winker.

Hans-Wilhelm Gaeb, GM European vice president, explaining why the auto maker's German subsidiary saw "nothing special" in a request to make payments offshore, observed that "Steffi Graf is internationally active [and] we are an international concern."

Meanwhile, in Baden-Wurttemberg, Peter Graf seems to have gotten the idea that his daughter no longer had to file tax returns. None were handed in from 1989 to 1992; instead, the Grafs just paid an annual lump sum, take it or leave it, with no detailed explanation of how they had arrived at the amount. When federal and local tax officials started to grumble, the family made another lump-sum payment of $2.5 million--with no supporting documents to show how it was calculated.

Large though the amount may have been, it was but a fraction of the amount Steffi Graf owed.

"It appears that they've paid only 5% to 10% of their income," says Puchta, the state legislator, noting that a correct payment at Steffi Graf's earnings bracket would have been 50%. The voters in his district, he adds, "feel cheated, because they can see that some people can get special deals."

None of these goings-on might have come to light had it not been for the stubbornness of some sports promoters in the western German city of Essen, who paid Steffi Graf a "starter's fee" to appear in a tennis match. Graf was sick on the appointed day, but her father refused to send back the money. The Essen organizers sued.

The lawsuit itself was small potatoes. But the panel of judges hearing it noticed the irregular ways in which the Graf family was receiving its money and brought the matter to the public prosecutor's office. After years of neglect, someone finally decided to take on the Grafs.

Today, Puchta and other members of Baden-Wurttemberg's coalition government are eager to hold a formal investigation of the Graf affair, one that would find out which public servants gave Peter Graf the impression he could evade taxes and not be punished. (As yet, the public prosecutor is known to be investigating only the Grafs and their advisers, not any of Baden-Wurttemberg's fiscal authorities.)

Puchta fears that he may be denied access to the necessary documents. But if the investigation does go forward, it could do much to rebuild public trust.

Steffi Graf too seems eager to do what she can to distance herself from her father and restore her image as a law-abiding citizen of the land that so adores her. "I can't imagine leaving Germany," she told Focus.

"I'd like to go on living in Germany in the future, as I have until now. And I will pay my taxes where I live."
 
#5,766 ·
SPORTING DIGEST - Tennis
The Independent
London, England
Monday, October 9, 1995

Steffi Graf, caught in a web of tax evasion allegations, faces the loss of her contract with Opel, whose supervisory board member, Hans Wilhelm Gab, said Graf's sponsorship contract expires this year "and the conditions to extend it don't exist at the moment". It was worth an estimated $1m (pounds 650,000) annually.
 
#5,767 ·
And so the question now becomes: What else is Der Spiegel making up? That particular article also contained many other allegations about the political angle. While it is obvious that Peter's little tax shelter set-up never could have worked without some kind of official permissiveness, any "fact" asserted by Der Spiegel --especially in that article-- is subject to doubt, and unfortunately the investigation never seriously addressed the political/bureaucratic side, at least in public.

Prosecutor denies Graf facing imminent arrest
The Toronto Star
Tuesday, October 10, 1995
From News Wire Services

Steffi Graf, who remains under investigation for tax evasion, faces no immediate arrest, a prosecutor in the case said yesterday.

Mannheim state prosecutor Peter Wechsung said nothing had changed since the tennis star underwent lengthy questioning last Thursday, and there was no reason to arrest her at this time, contrary to reports published in Der Spiegel magazine recently.

A spokesperson for Mannheim district court judge Helmut Bauer also denied that Bauer had told Der Spiegel that "another application for an arrest warrant" could be coming soon.

The prosecutor's office still considers Graf a suspect in the case, which claims Graf's father and manager, Peter Graf, allegedly failed to report $35.2 million of his daughter's earnings over several years.

Peter Graf and family tax adviser Joachim Eckardt are both in custody.

Steffi Graf's lawyer, Peter Danckert, also said there was no reason for his client to be arrested.

"In the future, I'll bear more responsibility and have to make more (financial) decisions," the tennis player recently told the German news weekly Focus.

"What else was I supposed to do when I was 15, 16 or 17 years old, besides trust my father and his advisers? And later, why should I do anything differently, when everything appeared to be running well? There was no sign for me that everything wasn't in order."

Meanwhile, it was announced that Graf will play in the Oct. 17 to 22 Brighton (England) International Championships, her first tournament since winning the U.S. Open.

In Ostrava, Wayne Ferreira, seeded third, beat wild-card Otakar Jurecka 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Czech Indoor men's tournament yesterday. But fifth seed Petr Korda was upset by unseeded Jiri Novak 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), 6-0.

In Tokyo, Jakob Hlasek struggled to a 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3 victory over Calgary's Albert Chang in the first round of the $1 million Seiko Super tournament.

Throughout the two-hour, 15-minute match, Hlasek, ranked 53rd in the world and unseeded in this tourney, seemed to have trouble finding his rhythm in a match with eight service breaks.

In the final set, Hlasek broke Chang's serve in the fifth game, was broken in the next game, then broke Chang again in the seventh before finally holding serve then breaking Chang at love to win.

Chang is ranked No. 151 in the world.

In other matches, Henrik Holm, the losing finalist in 1992, downed Jaime Morgan 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3; Michael Tebbutt beat Sebastien Lareau of Boucherville, Que., 6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 6-4; and Sandon Stolle, son of former tennis great Fred Stolle, defeated Gianluca Pozzi 6-3, 6-4.
 
#5,768 ·
Well, it's doubtful that Steffi truly intended to play Brighton considering what was going on (she would go back in for another chat with the prosecutors on Friday, October 13 to discuss forged signatures), but since nobody else was going to do it...

People & Places
San Antonio Express-News
Tuesday, October 10, 1995
New Wire Combined Dispatches

[....]

Not so low-key this time

Steffi Graf, under investigation in Germany for tax evasion, will play at Brighton, England, this month in her first tournament since winning the U.S. Open.

Graf will head the field for the Brighton International Championships, an event the German star has won six times.

Others entered in the Oct. 17-22 event include defending champion Jana Novotna, Magdalena Maleeva , Lindsay Davenport and Anke Huber.

Graf has said the Brighton tournament is one of her favorite events because of the low-key atmosphere at the seaside resort.

However, this time, Graf will surely attract attention from the tabloids over her tax problems at home.

Graf's father and manager, Peter Graf, is in custody for allegedly failing to report $35.2 million of her earnings over several years. Graf was questioned last week.

[....]
 
#5,769 ·
I'm sure changing the ranking system from divisor-based to a straight points total was already under discussion, and this should have been the best argument against it, at least without completely overhauling how the points were awarded. That Conchita Martinez would be ranked No. 1 under a straight points system, albeit by an extremely slim margin, should have made The Powers That Be see that Best N, rather than solve any problems, was going to create a few new ones.

WTA Championship Points
The Times
Trenton, NJ
Tuesday, October 10, 1995
From News Wire Services

NEW YORK -- The 1995 championship points leaders for the WTA Tour Championships held at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 13-19. The top 16 singles and top eight doubles teams qualify for the tournament (x-qualified; y-wild card entry if not in top 16).

Singles

1. x-Conchita Martinez, 4,125

2. x-Steffi Graf, 4,113

3. x-Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 3,805

4. Mary Pierce, 2,610

5. Gabriela Sabatini, 2,222

6. Kimiko Date, 2,183

7. Magdalena Maleeva, 2,013

8. Jana Novotna, 1,718

9. Iva Majoli, 1,606

10. Anke Huber, 1,483

11. Lindsay Davenport, 1,465

12. Natasha Zvereva, 1,407

13. Chanda Rubin, 1,337

14. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, 1,190

15. Mary Joe Fernandez, 1,148

16. y-Monica Seles, 1,100

17. Amanda Coetzer, 1,098

18. Irina Spirlea, 1,056

19. Marianne Werdel Witmeyer, 1,020

20. Amy Frazier, 906

Doubles

1. Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, 6,225

2. Jana Novotna and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 4,870

3. Meredith McGrath and Larisa Neiland, 3,040

4. Gabriela Sabatini and Brenda Schutz, 1,770

5. Conchita Martinez and Patricia Tarabini, 1,728

6. Nicole Arendt and Manon Bollegraf, 1,575

7. Lori McNeil and Helena Sukova, 1,440

8. Manon Bollegraf and Rennae Stubbs, 1,380

9. Julie Halard and Nathalie Tauziat, 1,375

10. Katrina Adams and Zina Garrison, 1,337
 
#5,770 ·
Joey: Hey, Phoebs, do you wanna help?

Phoebe: Oh, I wish I could, but I don't want to.

----Friends, "The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate," David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Warner Bros. Television, Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, NBC, September 22, 1994

LOLing at ASV and Seles being "unavailable" to step in for Graf at Brighton to meet the field commitment. Let's see, in this episode titled "The One Where Monica Gets a Special Ranking," the WTA threw Arantxa under the bus with the No. 1 co-ranking deal, and they gave Monica that same No. 1 co-ranking deal with no strings attached, no gradually increasing divisor, no option for a six-month review or revision, no incentive to be a "team player." When the other players, especially Steffi, were balking at Navratilova's proposal for handling Seles' ranking after the first six months, this was exactly the kind of thing they knew could happen. And just four months later, it did -- surprise, surprise!

Graf misses Brighton tournament in wake of tax inquiry - Tennis
The Times
London, England
Wednesday, October 11, 1995

STEFFI GRAF, who has been questioned over her father's imprisonment in Germany for alleged tax evasion, has withdrawn from the Brighton international tennis tournament next week and is unlikely to play competitively again before November.

Graf, who is ranked joint-No1 in the world with Monica Seles, was given a late wild card to the tournament, which begins next Tuesday and which she has won six times, but the top seed then decided to return the invitation.

''I don't think that she will play again until Philadelphia in early November," Peter Danckert, Graf's lawyer, told a German sports news agency. The event in Philadelphia starts on November 6.

Graf, 26, has not played since beating Seles in the final of the United States Open championships in New York last month. She has said that she will reduce her tournament schedule because of a chronic back condition.

Peter Graf, her father and manager, is in custody for allegedly failing to report $35.2 million (about Pounds 23 million) of her earnings over several years. Graf was questioned at length by investigators last week.

Prosecutors have denied reports that Graf faces arrest and Danckert said that he expected the case against his client to be dropped soon. ''I am convinced that the proceedings against Steffi will be stopped by the end of the year," he said yesterday.

George Hendon, the tournament director, had asked the Women's Tennis Association for an adequate replacement to be summoned even before Graf's withdrawal. He had requested that Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario be put on stand-by.

The odds on them appearing, however, are negligible. Seles has been told by medical advisers to rest her damaged knee for at least another fortnight and Sanchez Vicario, complaining of fatigue, is away ''somewhere" on an extended holiday.
 
#5,771 ·
Of course the WTA would support Steffi during this difficult time -- because Steffi was the only product they had to offer! They couldn't even resort to the "If only Monica would return!" refrain.

And of course CBS would move the women's final to Sunday along with the men's -- because they had lost their NFL contract and they needed a Super Sunday instead of a Super Saturday.

Graf probably will skip events until November
Houston Chronicle
Wednesday, October 11, 1995
Houston Chronicle News Services

FRANKFURT, Germany - Steffi Graf, under investigation for tax evasion, has dropped out of the Brighton tournament this month and is unlikely to play again until Philadelphia in November, her lawyer said Tuesday

Graf, who shares the No. 1 ranking with Monica Seles, took a late wild card for the Oct. 17-22 Brighton International Championships, which she has won six times, but then decided to return it.

"I don't think that she will play again until Philadelphia in early November," her lawyer Peter Danckert told the German sports news agency SID.

The Philadelphia tournament starts Nov. 6.

Graf, 26, has not played since beating Seles in the U.S. Open final last month. She has said she will reduce her tournament schedule because of her chronic back condition.

Graf's father and manager, Peter Graf, is in custody for allegedly failing to report $35.2 million of her earnings over several years. Steffi Graf underwent lengthy questioning last week.

Prosecutors denied Monday press reports that Graf faced arrest.

Danckert, her lawyer, told SID he expected the case against his client to be dropped soon.

Danckert declined to comment on reports that Steffi Graf's signatures on her tax statements came from a computer used for signing autograph cards. The report was broadcast by South German radio Tuesday.

After reports that Graf's longtime sponsor, Adam Opel AG, the German subsidiary of General Motors, will not renew its contract when it expires at the end of the year, German media speculated that a second major sponsor, the sporting goods maker adidas, also might cease its cooperation with Graf.

But the WTA issued a statement in Stamford, Conn., in which it said the WTA Tour "fully supports Steffi during this difficult time."

CBS, Open agree - CBS Sports, which has televised the U.S. Open for the past 27 years, has reached a new five-year agreement with the United States Tennis Association that will keep America's biggest tennis tournament on the network until the year 2000.

As part of the new agreement, CBS will broadcast the men's and women's singles finals of the Grand Slam event on the last Sunday of competition. Previously, the women's finals were televised Saturday; the men's title match was seen Sunday

Seles says she'll play Fed Cup, has eye on Olympics - Monica Seles said Tuesday she will play singles -- and maybe doubles -- for the United States team in the Fed Cup final against Spain, Nov. 25-26.

Seles appeared on a Sarasota public-access television show "Fundamentally Sound Tennis" on Tuesday night. Prior to the broadcast, Seles said she had accepted the invitation of U.S. captain Billie Jean King. Seles recently was named to the U.S. "preliminary team." along with six others: Martina Navratilova, Gigi Fernandez, Lindsay Davenport, Amy Frazier, Chanda Rubin and Mary Joe Fernandez. Seles said all seven players will go to Spain.

Seles also said she plans on representing the United States in next year's Atlanta Olympics.

"Those opening ceremonies ... no way am I going to miss that," she said.
 
#5,772 ·
Taken from information in the previously-mentioned discredited Der Spiegel article. Of course, "all-purpose nice-girl heroine" was never a correct description, so it's not really a big deal if people don't see her that way anymore. "Performance under pressure, dependability during crisis, grace amidst hardship" is much more valuable in the endorsement marketplace, anyway.

Double fault in the Graf empire
Steffi Graf, the model sportswoman, has been sucked into a tax investigation that has already engulfed her father. Could the unthinkable be true?

The Independent
London, England
Wednesday, October 11, 1995
Steve Crawshaw

She had always been the ultimate Miss Nice Girl. The millionaire from next door, with the slightly awkward smile. The Claudia Schiffer of the tennis world: mega-rich, mega-successful, and ever so respectable (if a tiny bit dull). Now she may end up behind bars, as a multi-million-pound crook.

As with her demurely curved compatriot, you cannot imagine Steffi Graf subscribing to the "Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere" subversive philosophy of life. Instead, once upon a time - until a few months ago - she was the respectable advertiser's dream. She was, in Der Spiegel's phrase, "the model sportswoman - clean, decent, wonderfully German". Her endorsements brought her millions every year, and presumably brought the advertisers (of pasta, cars and fruit juice, as well as the predictable sports products) even more.

Now the television advertising, showing the intelligent, independent Steffi beloved by all, has vanished from the screens. Her father, Peter, the power behind the throne, has been in custody for two months, accused of tax fraud on a grand scale. Steffi herself was questioned last week.

Peter Graf, variously described as "abrupt" and "megalomaniac", is no stranger to controversy. Five years ago, the flood of negative publicity over his affair with a nude model (an affair which resulted in his being blackmailed to the tune of DM800,000) severely strained relations with his daughter. But he remained the most important person in her professional life. He dominated Steffi the tennis player from the start: when she was four, he bribed her with strawberry ice-cream to hit the ball 100 times over the net. When she became a star, he was responsible for her business dealings.

Disastrously so, it now seems. The Graf clan is accused of tax evasion on a stunning scale. Tens of millions of marks-worth of prize and sponsorship money were funnelled out of sight of the German authorities. The crucial link in the chain, it is alleged, was a company in the Netherlands, Sunpark Sports BV. Sunpark consisted of little more than a posh address in Amsterdam, and a name plate. From here, the Graf money was said to have been siphoned off to a clutch of Grishamesque destinations, from Liechtenstein to the Dutch Antilles.

In order to help the money stay invisible, Mr Graf is reported to have been an enthusiast of business practices that can at best be described as unusual. The former used-car salesman - for whom, Der Spiegel suggested, "deception and disguise seemed to be the elixir of life" - regularly demanded huge payments in cash. Tournament organisers who failed to comply with Mr Graf's demands were liable to receive an earful of abuse. He ferried around hundreds of thousands of marks in cash "like a drug courier", as one irritable tournament organiser put it. Those who failed to co-operate were told that Steffi would pack her bags right now, or would "never again play for Germany".

Even now, few Germans are inclined to believe that Steffi Graf was at the heart of the deals that were struck on her behalf. Equally, though, many find it difficult to accept that there can have been an entirely blue-eyed innocence.

The cast of the drama is growing all the time. Already behind bars are not only Mr Graf, but also the family's main tax adviser, Joachim Eckardt, who was arrested this month. Another leading adviser now in the limelight is Philip de Picciotto, managing director of Advantage International, the American agency that handles Graf's worldwide sponsorship. Focus magazine this week chose to emphasise (in a separate panel) the fact that the American Mr de Picciotto is Lebanese-born; his family is said to have been "the most important Jewish family in the Syrian town of Aleppo". In short: Seriously Foreign.

Not encouraging for those who seek to believe that German virtue is intact is the fact that some of the tax dodges appear to have taken place with the complicity of the authorities themselves.

Steffi Graf has always been proud to describe herself as coming from Bruhl, near the historic university town of Heidelberg, in south-west Germany. And Bruhl has always been proud of its most illustrious daughter. There was a civic reception for Steffi Graf after this year's Wimbledon triumph - a triumph which had become almost routine. Graf has been the Wimbledon singles champion in all but two of the past eight years.

Nobody had ever doubted that Steffi is very rich. Multi-million properties are scattered about Florida, New York, and Germany, as part of what became known as "the Steffi Empire". She recently bought a penthouse apartment in Heidelberg, for herself and her boyfriend, Michael Barthels, in addition to her properties in nearby Bruhl. She also owns supermarkets across Germany. But she was seen, too, as a decent and unpretentious kind of millionaire.

The patriotic decency extended, at least in theory, to Graf's tax return. Other successful sportsmen and assorted members of the super-rich classes often settled in Monaco or elsewhere. But Steffi seemed determined to pay her taxes at home, like the conscientious, upright citizen that her public persona proclaimed her to be. Asked if Steffi might not follow in the footsteps of Boris Becker and others to Monte Carlo, Mr Graf said: "Quite clearly, the answer is no."

Which did not, it now becomes clear, mean that the Grafs intended to pay the whole whack. In Germany, it is the regional governments that levy taxes. Peter Graf and the family advisers concluded some remarkable deals with the authorities in the south-western state of Baden-Wurttemberg. Baden-Wurttemberg is known in Germany as the Musterlandle, the "little model state", because everything allegedly works so perfectly there. Including, it seems, tax evasion.

In Stuttgart, capital of Baden-Wurttemberg and home city of Mercedes-Benz, the Grafs' representatives held high-level meetings with finance ministry officials. A discreet bargain was struck in December 1993, which enabled Steffi to avoid paying tax on much of her multi-million income for the years 1989 to 1992. It seems certain that this agreement will play a key role in the Graf defence, if or when the case finally comes to court. In effect, the tax dodges may originally have been blessed from on high - "legalised tax fraud", in the words of one headline.

Baden-Wurttemberg's finance minister (and former sports minister), Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, has been desperate to reject allegations that he helped to make it possible for the Grafs to wipe large chunks of their income off the record. But, on the face of it, that is just what the 1993 agreement allows.

In the words of the weekly Die Woche, "It sounds absolutely unbelievable. Clearly, there are taxpayers who are spared the problem [of proving their income and expenses]. For several years, these people simply fail to make a tax declaration, and then they reach an agreement with their tax office - which takes no account of how large their expenses really are, and whether they can be proved."

Mr Graf, reportedly, had always boasted that he would never have a problem with his taxes, because he had protection "from the very top". Der Spiegel this week published a remarkable internal memo, written in 1988 by an executive at Adidas, one of Graf's sponsors. The memo describes how Horst Dassler, the then Adidas boss, had offered to help Graf become a Swiss resident, for tax purposes. "Peter Graf refused this offer, because Steffi wanted to stay in Germany - and Lothar Spath had in any case offered a political solution."

Mr Spath, the former prime minister of Baden-Wurttemberg, denies that any deal was done. Already, however, the issue threatens to be political dynamite, in advance of regional elections in Baden-Wurttemberg next year. According to Stern magazine, one of Graf's tax lawyers dropped broad hints that Graf would leave Germany if a suitable accommodation could not be reached. The implication was clear. That a defection abroad could look bad politically and would be bad for the taxman's coffers too. A parliamentary committee may be formed to investigate.

Meanwhile, Mr Mayer-Vorfelder even issued a mini-questionnaire, from his office in the finance ministry, on the Graf affair. He asked his officials whether they had ever felt under pressure to be "obedient", or if they had felt influenced by himself or his predecessor, on giving a lenient assessment. Absolutely not, came back the replies. Perish the thought. In the words of Der Spiegel, the replies provided "40 Persil certificates for the minister" - a reference to the colloquial name for the priceless scraps of paper that were issued in 1945 to those who could show ("Persil washes whiter") that they had not been involved with the Nazis.

But it is still the tennis champion herself who is most obviously in the spotlight. Steffi's grilling last week lasted seven hours (with a long lunchbreak). Until now, she has denied all knowledge of the to-ings and fro-ings of her own funds. And yet the idea that the 26-year-old Graf never understood what she was signing her name to strains the credulity of some of the investigators. Officials suggest that she is "not yet" under threat of arrest. That could still change.

Even now, it still seems improbable that Steffi Graf will go behind bars. But she will never be the same Steffi again. Nor, presumably, will the advertising contracts flood in, as they used to. "Made in Germany" - the upbeat Opel slogan, which was also used in connection with Steffi Graf - sounds more ambiguous than it used to. The all-purpose nice-girl heroine will never be quite so nice-girl heroic again.
 
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