As we look back at the 1999 U.S. Open, there was one name that was missing. Actually, THE name was missing.
Yes, the German we have come to know and love over the years-Steffi Graf.
Heading into the French Open earlier this summer, Graf claimed it would likely be her last. Just weeks after Wimbledon, she stunned the tennis world by announcing her retirement, effective immediately. Hence, no U.S. Open.
There are many whiners around the tennis circuit that complain, "Steffi owes us one more Open. She owes us a few more matches."
What? Graf does not owe anyone anything. The beauty of her retirement is that she made the decision. She retired exactly when she wanted to-not after a devastating injury, not after slipping to No. 100 in the world, but while she was still on top.
At 30 years of age, she surely has some years left on the courts, but there is not much more she can accomplish. And what better time to retire?
She won the French Open over Miss Attitude, Martina Hingis, and lost in the finals of Wimbledon to Lindsay Davenport. While the No. 3 ranking is rather low for her standards, Graf, who has won a title for 14 consecutive years, is going out on top.
More importantly, she is leaving the game with the same amount of class that she played with for 17 years-the same class that is almost nonexistent in the game today.
Everyone is searching for a budding rivalry among the young players, such as Hingis, Anna Kournikova and the Williams sisters. And there probably is a rivalry there, but it takes place mostly off the court.
Not once in her entire pro career did Graf engage in a war of words and name calling with another player, and her rivalries have spanned two decades.
Her most intense competitor was the legendary Martina Navritalova. Graf owns her worst head-to-head record against Navritalova, a mere 9-9.
A more recent rivalry occurred between Graf and Monica Seles. These two battled for the No. 1 ranking for most of the early '90s, with Graf holding an 8-4 edge over Seles.
But you never heard Graf, or Seles, bragging about being the best ever or claiming themselves untouchable. Hingis has won a few titles, Serena Williams now has one, Venus has yet to win a Grand Slam and Kournikova, perhaps the biggest star of them all, has yet to win a single tournament.
In 1988 alone, Graf won all four Grand Slams and the Olympics. That kind of domination does not happen everyday.
A few other notes the teenage upstarts might want to take a look at before claiming themselves "a tennis great": Graf owns 107 career titles, 22 Grand Slam titles, 365 weeks at No. 1 and eight WTA Player of the Year awards. Not too shabby.
Were it not for knee, ankle and hamstring injuries suffered in 1997, Graf would probably have never lost a step and broken even more records than she has.
In 1996, just before she was hit by injuries, Graf won the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, dropping only four matches all year, two of which were due to injury withdrawals.
But March 31, 1997 was a dark date in the women's tennis world when Hingis stole the top ranking, a ranking Graf would never hold again.
After dropping from the WTA rankings for the first time in 15 years, Graf was poised to make her final run through the 1999 season and reclaim her position among the elite.
She started her return by defeating both Venus and Serena in Sydney before falling to Davenport in the semifinals.
Her comeback seemed complete at the French Open this June. Graf stormed through the matches to reach the finals versus Hingis. (This could be considered a rivalry if only Graf had lost more than one career match to the youngster.)
After falling in the first set 4-6 and trailing 1-4 in the second, it appeared Graf's run would fall one short. But behind the crowd's support and her legendary forehand, Graf rallied to take the second set, 7-5.
A rattled Hingis was no match in the third set, with the German earning her 22nd Grand Slam title by a count of 6-2.
It seems fitting that Graf ended her illustrious career on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Even though she came up a bit short this time, she has owned the All-England Country Club for the past 12 years. From 1988 to 1996, Graf took home the trophy in seven of nine attempts.
Not bad.
So, the young ladies of today can bicker with each other about who is predicted to win a tournament, who has a better education or whose boyfriend is cuter, but none can hold a candle to Steffi.
Her seven Wimbledon titles, six French Open championships, five U. S. Open crowns and four Australian Open trophies speak for themselves. And best of all, she has never had to partake in any trash-talking.
So, it appears abundantly clear to me that the "big three" have retired all in one bunch... Michael, Wayne and now Steffi.
Brian Kane is a Trinity senior. He is also the first columnist in Chronicle history to utilize a successful write-in campaign for his story to run.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.