JUNE/JULY
Steffi decides to play in Eastbourne to warm up for her campaign at Wimbledon, but she is forced to withdraw due to a knee injury. Steffi is then forced to enter Wimbledon without any grass court practice.
Steffi Graf starts her campaign for her 7th singles title at Wimbledon on Centre Court against Ludmila Richterova on the first Tuesday of the Championships. Steffi, the top seed, is the strong favourite to take the title, but Richterova keeps her on her heels for a while. Richterova has a huge, yet erratic, serve, and she stays on serve with the champion until 3-3, when Steffi breaks her. Steffi holds the advantage and takes the set 6-4. Steffi has now got the hang of Richterova's game, and she is able to explore the court in the second set. The champion is safe, as she moves into the 2nd round 6-4, 6-1.
On Thursday, Steffi walks on to a dreary Court 1 to take on Italian, Nathalie Baudone in a 2nd round encounter. Baudone starts well, continually passing the champion. Steffi eventually grinds out the first set and moves ahead in the second. Baudone makes her work for each and every point, but Steffi comes through 7-5, 6-3.
In the 3rd round, Steffi faces left-handed Nicole Arendt. When Arendt wins the first 9 points, Steffi looks to be in a spot of bother. But Steffi, as is so characteristic of her, comes back to take the first set. Steffi breezes through the second, and she confirms her position as favourite by beating the American 6-2, 6-1.
Steffi faces Swiss prodigy, 15 year old Martina Hingis in the Round of 16. Hingis, the 16th seed, had beaten Steffi in Rome, and Steffi is keen for revenge. This is very much in evidence when Steffi takes the first set in 20 minutes. Steffi moves ahead quickly in the second set, and, before long, Steffi serves an ace to settle the issue 6-1, 6-4.
It seems as though Steffi always faces Jana Novotna at some stage during the Wimbledon fortnight. They met in the 1993 final as well as the 1995 semifinal, with Steffi winning on both occasions in tough three-setters. This time though, Novotna is outplayed from the outset. Steffi quickly moves ahead in the first set, and, despite a late revival by the Czech, Steffi takes it 6-3. In the second set, Steffi quickly jumps out to a 5-1 lead, before sealing victory 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 1 minute. Steffi is looking better and better as the tournament progresses.
In the semifinals, Steffi faces Japanese player, Kimiko Date for a place in the final. Date had beaten Steffi in one of the best Fed Cup matches ever earlier in the year, and she is looking confident for this semifinal battle. At the start, Steffi looks as though she is going to make short work of Date as she did to the only other player to have beaten her this year - Hingis in the 4th round. Steffi starts like an express train and moves ahead 6-2, 2-0 in no time. But Date is renowned for coming back, and this occasion is no different. Date reels off 6 games on the trot to take the second set from Steffi before bad light stops play. When they resume at 11:00 am the next morning, the standard of tennis deteriorates slightly from both players, but the champion moves into her 8th Wimbledon final 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
The final is a replay of the 1995 final, which was possibly the greatest Wimbledon match of all time. Steffi faces Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, whom she beat a month earlier in a whopper of a French Open final. This time though, Steffi is determined not to let the determined Spaniard make any impression on her, and she cruises through the first set 6-3. In the second set, Steffi comfortably breezes to a 4-0 lead, and any chances that Sanchez-Vicario may have had, seem to have been blown away by the incredible power of Steffi. Temporary disaster then strikes. Serving at 4-1, Steffi completely misses an overhead on break point, and soon her lead has been reduced to 4-3. Although Steffi moves ahead 5-3, she is looking increasingly uncomfortable, as the Spaniard tries to rattle her with lobs galore. Serving for the match at 5-4, Steffi serves 2 double faults and Sanchez-Vicario is back in the match. However, Steffi allows the Spaniard only one more point, and as Sanchez-Vicario tamely puts a return into the net, Steffi clinches her fists in celebration. This is her 20th Grand Slam singles title, her 100th career singles title and her 7th Wimbledon singles crown. Steffi has strode into history with her 6-3, 7-5 victory, which confirms her status as the best ever as far as I'm concerned. INCREDIBLE!
FINAL RESULTS OF THE WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS
ROUND |
OPPONENT |
SCORE |
RESULT |
| 1 | Ludmila Richterova | 6-4, 6-1 | WON |
| 2 | Nathalie Baudone | 7-5, 6-3 | WON |
| 3 | Nicole Arendt | 6-2, 6-1 | WON |
| 4 | Martina Hingis | 6-1, 6-4 | WON |
| QF | Jana Novotna | 6-3, 6-2 | WON |
| SF | Kimiko Date | 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 | WON |
| F | Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario | 6-3, 7-5 | WON |
FED CUP RELEGATION MATCH - GERMANY VS. AUSTRIA
Portesach, Austria
Germany, having suprisingly lost to Japan in the first round of the Fed Cup, plays against Austria for a place in the world group for 1997. Germany easily defeats Austria, with Steffi beating Judith Wiesner 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 and Barbara Schett 6-3, 6-2.
FINAL RESULTS OF THE FED CUP RELEGATION MATCH
OPPONENT |
SCORE |
RESULT |
| Judith Wiesner | 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 | WON |
| Barbara Schett | 6-2, 6-3 | WON |