"The win over Steffi Graf is the biggest success of my career" - When Monica Seles commented on first-ever victory over the German
Steffi Graf and Monica Seles are two of the greatest tennis players of all time and forged a short yet fierce rivalry during the 1990s.
Graf won the first three meetings between the two, and the fourth came in the final of the 1990 German Open in Berlin (now known as the bett1open). The German was the top seed in the tournament and booked her place in the final with straight-set wins over Mercedes Paz, Katia Piccolini, Leila Meskhi, and Natalia Zvereva.
Here, she was up against 16-year-old Seles, who also reached the final without dropping a set. The then-Yugoslav dropped only 13 games en route to the title clash and beat Nicole Jagerman, Magdalena Maleeva, Conchita Martinez, and Sandra Cecchini.
Seles produced a fine performance to defeat Graf 6-4, 6-3 and win her sixth career singles title. This was also her very first win over the German. After the match, Seles said that she never believed she could come out on top and that the win over Graf was the biggest success of her career.
"I've only won one match. I've never believed I could win. The first set was decisive. The win over Steffi is the biggest success of my career," Monica Seles said.
Graf congratulated Seles on the win and claimed that it was a very tough fixture for her.
"I congratulate Monica. She played very well. It was very hard for me," the German said.
Steffi Graf and Monica Seles locked horns on 15 occasions
Steffi Graf and Monica Seles faced each other on a total of 15 occasions, with the German leading 10-5 in the head-to-head.
Shortly after their encounter at the 1990 German Open, Seles beat Graf in the French Open final to win her maiden Grand Slam singles title. She later beat the German in the title clashes of the 1992 French Open and 1993 Australian Open before her stabbing incident ruled her out of action for two years.
The two faced one another five times following Seles' return, and Graf won four matches, including two US Open finals in 1995 and 1996. The only time the nine-time Grand Slam champion came out on top was in the quarterfinals of the 1999 Australian Open.
The last meeting between Steffi Graf and Monica Seles came in the semifinals of the 1999 French Open, with the former winning 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4.