ESPNtenis.comOct 1, 2023, 1:06 PMReading: 2 min.
Very special day. This Sunday marks 35 years of a unique and unrepeatable feat in the history of tennis. Steffi Graf achieved the Golden Slam in 1988: she had just won all four Major, that is, the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, and added the coveted gold medal at the Seoul Olympic Games. Without a doubt, for history.
Graf defeated Sabatini in the final in Seoul and won the Golden Slam in 1988.WTA
Graf was 18 years old at the beginning of 1988, but she had already been a Grand Slam champion, the previous year at Roland Garros, and had risen to the top of the WTA world ranking. In January, The German, world No. 1, won the Australian Open final against the American Chris Evert 6-1, 7-6 (3). This is how her feat began…
In June, the German, owner of a lethal right, defeated by a categorical 6-0 and 6-0 to the Russian Natasha Zvereva in the final in Paris, previous victory over Argentina Gabriela Sabatini in a very attractive semifinal.
On the 14th of that month, Graf turned 19 and already had three Grand Slam titles on his recordbut his march did not stop: She won her first Wimbledon, beating the legendary Czech-American Martina Navratilova, then the No. 2 in the world, in the definition, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
On September 11, in New York, the German completed the calendar Grand Slam by beating Sabatini. The Argentine, No. 4 in the world at that time, gave her a fight but it was a success for the European 6-3, 3-6 and 6-1. Thus, Graf became the second woman in the professional era to obtain all four Major of the same year, after the Australian Margaret Court in 1970.
Just a few weeks later, On October 1, in Seoul, Graf beat Sabatini again by beating him 6-3 and 6-3 in the final of the Olympic Games. Without a doubt, a historical feat. Today, at 35 years old, her feat could never be copied by a woman or a man in individual tennis.
In his brilliant career, Graf won 22 Grand Slam titles, with 107 cups in total. Without a doubt, what was done in Seoul will always remain etched in the history of sports.
2023-10-01 16:06:00
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