54-YO WTA Pro Confesses to Still Bearing Scars of Steffi Graf’s Dominance in a Brutally Honest Admission

During the latter part of the 1980s and the early 1990s, the strong competition that existed between Gabriela Sabatini and Steffi Graf was a significant highlight of the women’s tennis scene. Although the statistics will tell you that Steffi Graf won 22 Grand Slam titles while Sabatini only won one, this rivalry was about much more than the number of wins or losses. In spite of the fact that Graf was victorious the majority of the time, it never appeared as though one of the players had a distinct advantage over the other on the court regardless of the fact that they were competing against each other.Gabriela Sabatini was widely considered to be the player who could foil the Graf juggernaut in 1988, despite the fact that the odds were stacked against her. Two high-profile finals were played by the pair during that year. The first of them was the final of the United States Open, and the second was the match for the Olympic gold medal later in the year. Graf had already won three Grand Slam championships prior to competing in the US Open, and he was hoping to complete the Golden Slam by winning both the US Open and the Olympics. And her well-known adversary appeared to be no match for her.

The very best that Gabriela Sabatini had to offer was not sufficient for Steffi Graf.

Sabatini recently conducted an interview with Chris Bowers on the “Tennis Worthy” podcast, during which she discussed her life and career in an open and honest manner. The fact that Graf was mentioned in the podcast did not come as a surprise to anyone. When Sabatini was being interviewed in the summer of 1988, the host, Chris Bowers, explicitly inquired about her competition with Graf. In both of the finals, Sabatini was defeated by Graf, and Chris Bowers was curious as to whether or not the strain of facing Graf was too much for Sabatini to handle.

While I was under pressure, I was aware that Steffi had this opportunity, and I knew that she was going to seize it. On the other hand, I attempted to take it away from her and play the best tennis I could, but Steffi was on the other side of the court. In addition, she was a difficult person at all times. To answer your question, yes, it was a triangular contest. I am able to recall the United States Open. And then I remember that following that, we play the Olympics in Seoul, and once again, we play another final, which she won once more,” Sabatini said to Bowers.

Over the course of forty encounters, Sabatini has a total of eleven victories to their credit. Due to the fact that Graf was defeated by the Argentine in March 1991, she was able to lose her position as the number one player for the first time since August 1987. Sabatini accomplished a great feat by winning the Virginia Slims of Florida championship after a reign that lasted for 186 weeks and was a mind-boggling accomplishment.

Additionally, the former Argentine player was ultimately successful in defeating the German in a significant final match. During the course of her chat with Bowers, she reminisced on the times when she thought about Graf and the moments she had against him.

In the year 1990, Sabatini was able to exact her revenge, but was it a satisfactory payback?

Two years later, in 1990, Gabriela Sabatini defeated Graf in the final of the US Open. She won the match in straight sets, so achieving her first Grand Slam victory. This was Gabriela Sabatini’s first victory over Graf. As Sabatini reflected on that illustrious triumph, she appreciated the part that her old coach Carlos Kirmayr played in the victory. She stated that Kirmayr’s encouragement and positive attitude toward her helped relieve the pressure that she was under.

When it came to my tennis career, Carlos Kirmayr was a very crucial figure. According to Sabatini, who was interviewed for the podcast, “one thing that was very important was that whenever I had a dream or whenever I wanted to accomplish something in my personal life, he always encouraged me to do it, and by doing that, he took the pressure away from tennis at the same time.”

In spite of the fact that Sabatini triumphed over Graf at the United States Open in 1990, the tide did not flip in his favor. This Grand Slam championship was the only one that Sabatini had won in his whole career. In addition, it was the only Grand Slam match that Graf ever did not win against Sabatini. In the years that followed, Sabatini was defeated by Graf in each of her final eight matches before she made the decision to retire in 1996. Before she finally decided to hang up her racquet in 1999, Graf continued to play for a total of three more years.

Even after they had retired from their respective sports, Graf and Sabatini competed against each other in a couple of demonstration matches in 2004-2005. Graf emerged victorious, defeating Sabatini in straight sets in both of those exhibition matches.