Since 1987, when Steffi Graf won her first Grand Slam title at the Roland Garros, the German tennis legend won at least one of the four maj...
Since 1987, when Steffi Graf won her first Grand Slam title at the Roland Garros, the German tennis legend won at least one of the four majors each year till 1996 and twice came fell short of repeating her Golden Slam feat of 1988.
But a spate of back and knee injuries hampered her journey from the start of 1997 as she went two years without a major crown. And though she maintained her place in the world top-10, Graf was being looked at as a spent force.
However, the German legend had one ace up her sleeves as she dug in for her 22nd major title at the 1999 French Open before announcing her retirement in August that year.
The rise of the young brigade led by Martina Hingis had already started to challenge the established order for the major titles with the Swiss miss announcing her arrival with three Grand Slam crowns in 1997. The only title that had evaded her that year was the French Open and she looked primed to get her hands on the Suzanne Lenglen Cup after reaching the 1999 edition final without dropping a set.
On the other hand, Graf was made to work hard by Anna Kournikova in the fourth round and...
