Graf–Sabatini rivalry

Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini are retired professional tennis players who played each other on 40 occasions between 1985 and 1995. Steffi Graf was the world No. 1, whilst Sabatini reached a career high of No. 3. They are both Grand Slam Champions, the German winning 22 titles whilst Sabatini won her only Grand Slam title against Graf. The pair also teamed up to reach three French Open finals and won the 1988 Wimbledon crown.[1]

Graf–Sabatini rivalry
Steffi Graf
Sabatini

In Grand Slam tournament play the pair met 12 times, three of them being finals. Graf leads 11–1. In 1988, Steffi beat Sabatini in the semifinal of the French Open and the US Open final to complete the calendar year Grand Slam. Graf then made it a Golden Grand Slam by defeating the Argentine in the Olympic final as well.[2] The pair's most famous match undoubtedly came in 1991 at Wimbledon. Sabatini was two points away from capturing her Wimbledon singles crown only for Steffi to fight back and take the match 8–6 in the deciding set.[1][3]

Graf and Sabatini first met in 1985 and by the end of 1987 the pair had met a total of eleven times, Graf winning all of them. Then Sabatini went on to defeat Steffi 11 times in the next 21 matches they played between 1988 and 1992, with the Argentine going on a 5 match winning streak and Graf on a four match winning streak. Sabatini then lost the final eight matches they played between 1992 and 1995, and for the first three matches Sabatini struggled to win 6 games. According to Sabatini, the pair had a good relationship and would share things off the court, but they were never close friends.[1]

On September 25, 2004, in their first meeting since the 1995 US Open semifinals, Graf dispatched Sabatini 6-1, 7-5, in an exhibition match played in Berlin, Germany. The two rivals met again the following year at an exhibition match in Mannheim, Germany on October 15, 2005, where Steffi beat Sabatini in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.

Graf introduced Sabatini during the 2006 International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction on July 15, 2006 in Newport, Rhode Island (USA).


List of all matches
Legend Graf Sabatini
Grand Slam 11 1
WTA Tour Championships 3 1
WTA Tour Events 13 9
Federation Cup 1 0
Olympics Games 1 0
Total 29 11

Graf–Sabatini (29–11)

No. Date Tournament Surface Round Winner Score Graf Sabatini
1. 1985 WTA New Jersey Hard Semifinals Graf 4–6, 6–0, 6–3 1 0
2. 1986 Virginia Slims Championships Carpet Round of 16 Graf 6–0, 6–7(5–7), 6–2 2 0
3. 1986 US Clay Court Championships Clay Final Graf 2–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4 3 0
4. 1987 Charleston Open Clay Semifinals Graf 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–5) 4 0
5. 1987 Amelia Island Championships Clay Semifinals Graf 6–2, 6–2 5 0
6. 1987 Italian Open Clay Final Graf 7–5, 4–6, 6–0 6 0
7. 1987 Roland Garros Clay Semifinals Graf 6–4, 4–6, 7–5 7 0
8. 1987 Wimbledon Grass Quarterfinals Graf 4–6, 6–1, 6–1 8 0
9. 1987 Federation Cup Hard Quarterfinals Graf 6–4, 6–4 9 0
10. 1987 LA Women's Tennis Championships Hard Semifinals Graf 7–5, 7–5 10 0
11. 1987 Virginia Slims Championships Carpet Final Graf 4–6, 6–4, 6–0, 6–4 11 0
12. 1988 Virginia Slims of Florida Hard Final Sabatini 2–6, 6–3, 6–1 11 1
13. 1988 Amelia Island Championships Clay Semifinals Sabatini 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 11 2
14. 1988 Roland Garros Clay Semifinals Graf 6–3, 7–6(7–3) 12 2
15. 1988 US Open Hard Final Graf 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 13 2
16. 1988 Summer Olympics Hard Final Graf 6–3, 6–3 14 2
17. 1989 Australian Open Hard Semifinals Graf 6–3, 6–0 15 2
18. 1989 Amelia Island Championships Clay Final Sabatini 3–6, 6–3, 7–5 15 3
19. 1989 German Open Clay Final Graf 6–3, 6–1 16 3
20. 1989 US Open Hard Semifinals Graf 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 17 3
21. 1989 Virginia Slims Championships Carpet Semifinals Graf 6–3, 5–7, 6–1 18 3
22. 1990 US Open Hard Final Sabatini 6–2, 7–6(7–4) 18 4
23. 1990 Zurich Open Carpet Final Graf 6–3, 6–2 19 4
24. 1990 Virginia Slims of New England Carpet Final Graf 7–6(7–5), 6–3 20 4
25. 1990 Virginia Slims Championships Carpet Semifinals Sabatini 6–4, 6–4 20 5
26. 1991 Pan Pacific Open Carpet Quarterfinals Sabatini 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(8–6) 20 6
27. 1991 Virginia Slims of Florida Hard Final Sabatini 6–4, 7–6(8–6) 20 7
28. 1991 Miami Open Hard Semifinals Sabatini 0–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1 20 8
29. 1991 Amelia Island Championships Clay Final Sabatini 7-5, 7-6(7–3) 20 9
30. 1991 Wimbledon Grass Final Graf 6–4, 3–6, 8–6 21 9
31. 1992 Miami Open Hard Semifinals Sabatini 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–1 21 10
32. 1992 Amelia Island Championships Clay Final Sabatini 6–2, 1–6, 6–3 21 11
33. 1992 Wimbledon Grass Semifinals Graf 6–3, 6–3 22 11
34. 1993 Miami Open Hard Semifinals Graf 6–0, 6–2 23 11
35. 1993 Charleston Open Clay Semifinals Graf 6–0, 7–6(7–3) 24 11
36. 1993 German Open Clay Final Graf 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–4 25 11
37. 1993 US Open Hard Quarterfinals Graf 6–2, 5–7, 6–1 26 11
38. 1994 Canadian Open Hard Quarterfinals Graf 7–5, 6–0 27 11
39. 1995 Roland Garros Clay Quarterfinals Graf 6–1, 6–0 28 11
40. 1995 US Open Hard Semifinals Graf 6–4, 7–6(7–5) 29 11

Breakdown of the rivalry
  • Hard courts: Graf, 11–5
  • Clay courts: Graf, 10–4
  • Grass courts: Graf, 3–0
  • Carpet courts: Graf, 5–2
  • Grand Slam matches: Graf, 11–1
  • Grand Slam finals: Graf, 2–1
  • Year-End Championships matches: Graf, 3–1
  • Year-End Championships finals: Graf, 1–0
  • Fed Cup matches: Graf, 1–0
  • All finals: Graf, 10–6
  • All matches: Graf, 29–11
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See also

References
  1. Philip, Robert. (2003-06-16) Philip on Monday: Sabatini smiles again after tennis misery. Telegraph. Retrieved on 2010-12-14.
  2. Athlete – Steffi Graf. Olympic.org. Retrieved on 2010-12-14.
  3. Finn, Robin. (1991-07-07) Tennis – Graf Reclaims Her Grit And Title – NYTimes.com. Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-14.
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