“I didn’t expect it at all anymore, I was 30 at that point” – Steffi Graf chose 1999….
In 1988, Steffi Graf won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open, US Open, and Olympic gold in Seoul, capping off the year’s Golden Slam.
Graf, a relatively unknown player in the tennis world, became the first woman to win a Grand Slam championship just a year after being the first German player to represent West Germany at the 1987 French Open. Graf was only a teenager at the time.
The then 19-year-old was humble in her accomplishment nonetheless. In an old interview, the 22-time Major winner revealed that being young, she was not totally conscious of the gravity of the situation but looking back she realized that it was quite unique.
During the same interview, Steffi Graf was asked if she could think of a specific match that she considered the pinnacle of her career. Graf responded by picking her win over Martina Hingis in the 1999 French Open finals.
After undergoing knee surgery, the thirty-year-old German was attempting to recover. She did not have any major favorites to win Roland Garros; her only Grand Slam victory came at the US Open in 1996.
The 22-time Major champion recalled falling behind in the match as well. However, she soon turned things around, and as she won her sixth French Open title, the audience began to applaud.
