The Great Graf Goes Into Hall

Tearful Steffi: ‘To hear that you're loved so much is amazing’
Agassi praises wife’s ‘unmistakable dignity and generous heart’

By Kamakshi Tandon
Special to tennisreporters.net

Siggi Bucher

Agassi on Graf: "The history books will record for posterity: your ability to embrace and rise above adversity."

FROM NEWPORT – Despite her celebrated career, there remains something subtly ironic about Steffi Graf entering a Hall of 'Fame.' Fred Perry once said an induction ceremony was "like being at your own funeral," and her traditional aversion to the spotlight provided an intriguing undercurrent to the pomp and circumstance that accompanies the process.

This year, the 50th anniversary of the Hall's founding, was especially festive. "I'm probably not as comfortable as I would like," she admitted the morning before her Sunday induction. "Tennis feels like a long time [ago], and I've been in a different life. But it's nice to get a feel of where I used to be and who I used to be with."

How did the prospect of having Andre Agassi give the introduction speech make her feel? "Very nervous!" she replied. "We've shared this incredible sport together so it makes it more special. I trust him so much, but I get emotional, so I'm a little worried."

In fact, they both got emotional. Agassi gulped as he began by describing how he wrote something to express his feelings for Graf every night on a chalkboard, and was now trying to gather those thoughts together into one whole. "Stefanie," he using the moniker she favors, "I wonder what I can possibly say to do justice to the way you've lived your life, and to the lives you've changed."

"The history books will record for posterity: your ability to embrace and rise above adversity, to play through injury, and to win again – and again and again. But for those blessed enough to actually see first hand your quiet humility, to watch you represent your sport with unmistakable dignity, and for those of us who are even more blessed to be lifted out of ourselves by your laughter, to be on the receiving end of your always generous heart: We will have etched forever in us, something a statistic could never contain."

"Stefanie, you have spent many years of your life competing, but right here where we stand, in the ears of your children, and right now in my heart, you have no rival. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the greatest person I've ever known."

Graf also choked up as she took the podium, saying, "To hear that you're loved so much is amazing." She gathered herself with a slow intake of breath before going to make the speech that, she earlier allowed, "I've been rewriting 10 times in the last few days." Prominently mentioned were her father Peter, her mother Heidi, her brother Michael, former coaches Pavel Slozil and Heinz Gunthardt, her trainers and medical staff, and fans.

Janella Rachalj

In Newport, 18-time Slam winner Chris Evert talked shop with 22-time major winner and Hall of Fame entrant Steffi Graf and her eight-time Slammer Andre Agassi.

Yet, she was also at the forefront of the new wave of young professionals: the youngest-ever player to turn pro at the time (and still second on the list), assiduously coached, and a seasoned competitor before reaching an age in double digits.

Her work ethic quickly became folklore as tales of 6 a.m. practices in freezing temperatures and world-class running times were recorded by both fellow competitors and varied magazine articles over the years. In the late '80s, Slozil said, "Steffi is a very good athlete on the court. She can play four hours a day; it's no problem for her. If she's not running enough in practice she tells me, 'Can you give me more, right and left?' Her body needs to run. You would think she has a turbo engine." That restless energy could still be glimpsed during Sunday's ceremony, as she jiggled her foot throughout the early part of the presentations and then again as she fought back tears while listening to Agassi.

IN SECOND BEHIND COURT
This level of dedication sits comfortably with those displayed by the two players that sit between her on the list of all-time Grand Slam singles winners. Margaret Court, with 24 Grand Slams, liked to practice twice as hard as she felt she would need during her match. Martina Navratilova is widely credited for introducing the modern fitness regimen into women's tennis, and needs to prove nothing about her own level of fitness as she continues to compete on tour at 47.

Lengthy periods are the top are an essential hallmark of an all-time great, and Graf has climbed the mountain more times than most. Her first spectacular run of success, which included the Golden Grand Slam in 1988 (the Grand Slam and Olympics gold in singles) and an 86-2 win-loss record the following year, drew to a close with the arrival of Monica Seles and sex scandals involving her father and then-manager, Peter. It was neither the first nor the last time that Peter would attract unwelcome attention to his daughter, but Graf remained loyal, and on Sunday singled out her father first. "Dad, thank you for bringing tennis into my life."

The other members of her family became more prominent in the stands as her career went on, and Graf moved to feverently acknowledge them. "Mom, what can I say about you? Thank you for always giving me more than I needed. Mike, my brother, always my protector."

RIVALRY WITH SELES
There would be much more to see her through. Sadly, we will never know the genuine outcome of the Graf-Seles rivalry, which abruptly took a hiatus in April 1993 when Seles was stabbed on-court by a German claiming to a Graf fan. It did not resume until September 1995, with Graf having won an additional six Slams in Seles' absence, and was never seriously competitive again after their compelling US Open final encounter, won 7-6, 0-6, 6-3 by Graf. Their interrupted head-to-head stands at 10-5 for Graf, 6-4 for Graf in Grand Slam matches.

Less regrettably, the scandal began to take a back seat (although she and Seles have never resolved their differences), but as a personal hindrance it was soon replaced by the even more nagging problem of injuries (back, knees, ankles, feet), which began to plague her in 1994 and continued throughout the rest of her career. In 1994, a determined and composed Lori McNeil took out Graf in the first round of Wimbledon, marking the first time that the defending champion and No. 1 player had failed to win a match there.

But as had happened before and would happen again, Graf returned with a vengeance, winning all six Slams she played in 1995 and 1996. In fact, the tennis court seemed to be one of her few refuges as her back continued to prevent regular competitive play and a tax evasion scandal engulfed Peter Graf. She ended one of her most memorable tournaments at the '95 US Open by walking out of the press conference when questions about her father began. "But," she said earlier this year, "I think as a player I was much more complete … even though I was starting to struggle with my back and it wasn't so easy to work as hard as I maybe had done in my younger years."

A RARE QUIP … or two
There were also glimpses of a new light-heartedness on court, like the famous "How much money do you have?" reply to a fan's marriage proposal during a Centre Court at Wimbledon in 1996. At the US Open a few weeks later, another fan yelled, "I'd ask you to marry me, but I don't have enough money." When there was no trainer to be found for opponent Janette Husarova during an Australian Open match a year later, Graf sent a ball boy to fetch some ice in a bag and proceeded to ice Husarova's knee herself, saying that she had had it done to her own knees so many times that she knew how to do it. (Husarova retired in the first set, so the expertise remains in doubt.) The recently-developed crowd-pleaser of hitting with a ball kid during an opponent's bathroom break was also employed during a match at Roland Garros during this period.

With yet more injuries setting in circa 1997 and with the ascendancy of Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport, it seemed certain that there would be no further return to Grand Slam glory. But Graf persevered, playing in five Slams between the Australian Opens of 1997 and 1999 before an improbable and emotional win in Paris over Martina Hingis that spring. After Hingis melted down and the match began to turn in Graf’s favor, the crowd began the wave to cheer the German on – and were astonished when she joined in. That victory was "probably the one that sunk in the most," reflected Graf before her induction, "just because it was the most unexpected." Emotionally, it book ended her first Wimbledon win in 1988, which was the "most memorable, because I grew up watching it."

THE ROMANCE WITH ANDRE
The Roland Garros win, the 22nd Grand Slam win of her career, was followed by the Wimbledon final. This period also saw the beginning of the relationship with Andre Agassi, who also achieved a win-final combination at those two events, and with whom she would go on to share married life and two children: son Jaden and daughter Jaz.
By all appearances, it has been a somewhat smooth transition. Thanks to Agassi's continuing career, the predicted disappearance from the tennis scene has not taken place – sharp eyes will usually spot her court side watching his matches at most major events. "Most of the time it's fun," she said. "It's hard as well – to care for someone and to know what they're going through is hard."

A recent commercial featuring their a child actor playing her son as a tennis prodigy has attracted discussion unparalleled since one advertisement showed mimicked live coverage of Andy Roddick hitting a serve that drilled into the court surface. Graf put a rest to any remaining speculation. "That's the most asked question for sure. It's not Jaden."

Could it be, one day? "He's got incredible hand-eye co-ordination," she smiled. "What he wants to do with it is another question."

On Sunday, Agassi told her, "It has taken my breath away to see how you've quietly laid down your racquet to pursue love and motherhood, with the same zeal and high standards you have always demanded of yourself."
Agassi's moving tribute, the sense of occasion created by the parade of over 50 Hall of Famers on Saturday – fellow inductee Stefan Edberg said he would "remember it for the rest of my life" – an appearance by Prince Albert of Monaco to mark his mother Grace Kelly's opening of the Hall 50 a half-century ago, a special anniversary dinner on Saturday night where Chris Evert called Graf the "greatest female player of the last 25 years," all added a little extra sparkle to the champagne atmosphere.

"It's truly amazing to be here," said Graf. "To be here for the first time in Newport, where you can feel the past of our sport. It's very, very special."