Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...

 and Monica Seles

Monica Seles

Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...

 are retired professional tennis players who between 1989 and 1999 engaged in a rivalry with one another for best female tennis player. They competed in 15 matches. Seles, a left-handed player, demonstrated precise shot-making. Graf, in contrast, had a formidable forehand and backhand in addition to her penetrating serve.

Steffi Graf 10–5 Monica Seles

No.	|Date	|Tournament	|Surface	|Round	|Winner	|Score
1	1989	French Open	Clay	SF	Graf	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
2	1989	Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...	Grass	4RD	Graf	6–0, 6–1
3	1989	Brighton Brighton International The Brighton International was a tennis tournament held in Brighton, UK. It was a WTA Tour event from 1978-1995 and an ATP Tour event from 1996-2000, upon the discontinuation of the women's tournament. The women's event was held in October....	Indoors	F	Graf	7–5, 6–4
4	1990	Berlin	Clay	F	Seles	6–4, 6–3
5	1990	French Open	Clay	F	Seles	7–6, 6–4
6	1991	U.S. Hard Court Championships	Hard	F	Graf	6–4, 6–3
7	1991	Hamburg WTA Hamburg The Betty Barclay Cup was a WTA Tour tennis event that was held from 1982 to 1983 and again from 1987 through to 2002. It existed under several different names but was most commonly known as the Citizen Cup or the Betty Barclay Cup...	Clay	F	Graf	7–5, 6–7, 6–3
8	1992	French Open	Clay	F	Seles	6–2, 3–6, 10–8
9	1992	Wimbledon	Grass	F	Graf	6–2, 6–1
10	1993	Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	Hard	F	Seles	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
11	1995	US Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...	Hard	F	Graf	7–6, 0–6, 6–3
12	1996	US Open	Hard	F	Graf	7–5, 6–4
13	1998	New York City WTA Tour Championships The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...	Indoors	QF	Graf	1–6, 6–4, 6–4
14	1999	Australian Open	Hard	QF	Seles	7–5, 6–1
15	1999	French Open	Clay	SF	Graf	6–7, 6–3, 6–4

Breakdown of the rivalry

• Hard courts: Graf, 3–2
• Clay courts: Equal, 3–3
• Grass courts: Graf, 2–0
• Indoors: Graf, 2–0
• Grand Slam matches: Graf, 6–4
• Grand Slam finals: Equal, 3–3
• Year-End Championships matches: Graf, 1–0
• Year-End Championships finals: None
• Fed Cup matches: None
• All finals: Graf, 6–4
• All matches: Graf, 10–5

History

Graf won eight of nine majors before Seles won her first. Seles surpassed Graf as the No. 1 player in 1991, and won seven of eight grand slam titles during the period of 1991–1993. Following her loss to Graf at the 1992 Wimbledon Championships, Seles reportedly said the following: "I am still the best women's tennis player in the world. Steffi will never be No.1 again." Graf in the end did recapture the No. 1 ranking from Seles in June 1993, after Seles was forced out of the sport due to her stabbing.

Matches

1990 Berlin Final: Seles ended Graf's 66-match win streak, taking the title in two sets.

1990 French Open Final: Seles defeated Graf for her first major title.

1992 French Open Final: Graf saved five match points before losing 8–10 in the third set.

1992 Wimbledon Final: Graf won 6–2 6–1.

1993 Australian Open Final: Both played with a low amount of unforced errors. Seles came from a set behind to defeat Graf.

1995 US Open Final: Graf won in three sets after losing the second 0–6.

1998 Chase Championship Quarter Final: Graf won 1–6 6–4 6–4.

1999 Australian Open Quarter Final: Seles came back from 4–5 down in the first set to win eight games en route to a 7–5 6–1 victory, her only post-stabbing victory over Graf. This victory took Seles to 33 matches unbeaten at the Australian Open and 37 matches unbeaten in Australia.

1999 French Open Semi Final: Graf defeated Seles in a three-set match after coming from a set behind. This was their last ever head-to-head match.