Editing Steffi Graf (section)

====1989====
Speculation was rife at the beginning of 1989 about the possibility of Graf winning another Grand Slam. Some noted observers, such as Margaret Court, suggested that Graf could achieve the feat a couple more times. And the year began as expected, with Graf extending her Grand Slam tournament winning streak to five events at the Australian Open, defeating [[Helena Suková]] in the final. Her 6–3, 6–0 defeat of Gabriela Sabatini in a semifinal was described by veteran observer [[Ted Tinling]] as "probably the best tennis I've seen".<ref>"Australian Tennis", March 1989, p. 28</ref> He went on to add, "I saw what Steffi did to Sabatini at the Australian Open this year, and that was it. She is better than them all."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068538/7/index.htm | work=CNN | title=Serving Her Country | date=26 June 1989 | access-date=28 June 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604112009/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068538/7/index.htm | archive-date=4 June 2014 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Graf followed this with easy victories in her next four tournaments at Washington, D.C., San Antonio, Texas, Boca Raton, Florida, and [[Family Circle Cup|Hilton Head]]. The Washington, D.C. tournament was notable because Graf won the first twenty points of the final against [[Zina Garrison]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5DF1131F933A15751C0A96F948260 |title=Graf Trounces Garrison |work=The New York Times |date=20 February 1989 |access-date=17 May 2011 |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030230845/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/20/sports/graf-trounces-garrison.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the Boca Raton final, Graf lost the only set she conceded to Chris Evert in their final seven matches.<ref>[http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/players/playerprofiles/playerheadtoheaddetail.asp?PlayerID=50020&x=3&y=6&Player1ID=70044 Head to Head] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226060744/http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/players/playerprofiles/playerheadtoheaddetail.asp?PlayerID=50020&x=3&y=6&Player1ID=70044 |date=26 December 2008 }}</ref>

In the subsequent [[Bausch & Lomb Championships|Amelia Island]] final on clay, Graf lost her first match of the year to Sabatini but returned to European clay with easy victories at [[Hamburg Masters|Hamburg]] and [[Qatar Telecom German Open|Berlin]].

Graf's Grand Slam tournament winning streak ended at the French Open, where 17-year-old Spaniard [[Arantxa Sánchez Vicario]] beat Graf in three sets. Graf served for the match at 5–3 in the third set but lost the game and won only three more points in the match. Suffering from food poisoning, she had struggled to beat [[Monica Seles]] in their semifinal 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 and said that she had menstrual cramps in the final.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Stephen R. |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/50806/SURPRISE-SANCHEZ-BEATS-GRAF.html |title=SURPRISE! SANCHEZ BEATS GRAF 17-YEAR-OLD WINS TITLE |work=[[Deseret News]] |date=11 June 1989 |access-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314154328/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/50806/SURPRISE-SANCHEZ-BEATS-GRAF.html |archive-date=14 March 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Nick Stout |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/11/sports/tennis-sanchez-surprises-graf-to-win-the-french-open.html |title=TENNIS – Sanchez Surprises Graf to Win the French Open |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=11 June 1989 |access-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219175428/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/11/sports/tennis-sanchez-surprises-graf-to-win-the-french-open.html |archive-date=19 December 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Graf, however, recovered to defeat Martina Navratilova 6–2, 6–7, 6–1 in the Wimbledon final after defeating Monica Seles 6–0, 6–1 in a fourth round match, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in a quarterfinal, and Chris Evert in a semifinal.

Graf warmed up for the US Open with easy tournament victories in [[Acura Classic|San Diego]] and [[United Jersey Bank Classic|Mahwah]]. In her semifinal match at the US Open, Graf defeated Sabatini 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. The match was notable for its dramatic ending. Having suffered from leg cramps since the middle of the third set, Graf ran off the court seconds after match point to seek medical treatment.<ref>{{cite news |last=Finn |first=Robin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/09/sports/graf-and-navratilova-march-to-a-showdown.html |title=Graf and Navratilova March to a Showdown |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 September 1989 |access-date=15 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220150129/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/09/sports/graf-and-navratilova-march-to-a-showdown.html |archive-date=20 December 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the final, Navratilova led 6–3, 4–2 before Graf rallied to win 3–6, 7–5, 6–1 for her third Grand Slam singles title of the year.

Victories at Zurich and [[Brighton International|Brighton]] preceded the [[1989 Virginia Slims Championships|Virginia Slims Championships]], where Graf cemented her top-ranked status by beating Navratilova in the four-set final. Graf ended 1989 with an 86–2 match record and the loss of only 12 sets. Her 0.977 winning percentage is the second-highest in the open era behind Navratilova.<ref name="wta_spotlight">{{cite web|title=No.1 spotlight: Steffi Graf|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/40love/article/3150587/title/no1-spotlight-steffi-graf|publisher=[[Women's Tennis Association]] (WTA)|date=20 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122014432/http://www.wtatennis.com/40love/article/3150587/title/no1-spotlight-steffi-graf|archive-date=22 January 2016}}</ref>