"Even when I won the Grand Slam, I didn't get so many congratulations" - When Steffi Graf spoke about her famous magazine photograph from 1990
A few days after winning her ninth Grand Slam title at the 1990 Australian Open, Steffi Graf fell and broke her thumb while cross-country skiing in Switzerland's St. Moritz. The 20-year-old was the World No. 1 and was on a 52-match win streak at the time.
Similar to the incident, Graf suffered multiple injuries due to carelessness earlier in her career, which is why she once said:
"I'm a magnet for trouble. If there are cables around, I'll trip over them."
She returned to action on April 9 for the Bausch & Lomb Championships on the clay courts of Amelia Island in Florida. Despite a long layoff, the German legend won the tournament, dropping just one set in five matches. She beat the likes of Petra Langrova, Andrea Temesvari, Carling Bassett-Seguso, Natasha Zvereva, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario on her way to glory.
Graf made a lot more headlines that month for appearing in Vogue magazine as she posed for Patrick Demarchelier, a fashion photographer from France. A particularly revealing photograph of the German star became a talking point throughout the world of sports. German weekly celebrity gossip magazine Bunte used the photograph as its cover and witnessed unprecedented success.
Reacting to the episode, Graf had stated at the time that people didn't talk about her on-court heroics as much as they did about the modeling stint with Vogue.
"First people say, 'How's your thumb?'. The next thing they say is, 'Great modeling in Vogue. Even when I won the Grand Slam, I didn't get so many congratulations," Graf said.
Steffi Graf photographed by Patrick Demarchelier wearing Norma Kamali and Genny for VOGUE magazine 1990. https://t.co/tI4r8QDNH4
ASB Classic tournament director picks Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, and Roger Federer for dream lineup
In a recent interview with the news media website Stuff, ASB Classic tournament director Nicolas Lamperin revealed four names that he would like to see in a dream tournament. He started by naming 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf for their success on every surface.
"Serena Williams and Steffi Graf for the women’s. They are two great champions of the game, had unbelievable careers, and won on every surface, which is really impressive and harder to find these days," Lamperin said.
Among the men, he named eight-time Major winner Andre Agassi and 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
"On the men’s side, I am fairly young so might forget about some of the older generations, but I’d go with Andre Agassi for sure. He played a huge part in the success of tennis because of his game and also his personality on and off the court. The other is Roger Federer, for the style, class, and level of his tennis. On a good day, he was close to perfection," he added."