ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, September 9, 1996 TAG: 9609090155
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
STEFFI GRAF leaves no doubt who is No.1 in beating Monica Seles to win her fifth U.S. Open.
Steffi Graf never clutched a Grand Slam trophy under more bizarre circumstances, or took more pleasure doing it.
Buffeted by wind, drenched by a thunderstorm, Graf wore a look of sheer bliss as lightning crackled over the rim of the stadium.
``I don't think I felt the rain at all,'' she said after capturing her fifth U.S. Open on Sunday with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Monica Seles. ``There is no relief of it being over. It is a joy of winning it and playing that well. I didn't expect to be able to show that kind of tennis today. That is why I am so excited.''
This was Graf at her best, putting aside jitters that made her stomach churn, blanking out all her worries about her father's tax evasion trial in Germany, showing Seles and the whole world who is really No.1.
Near the end of one of the greatest and worst years of her life, Graf captured her third straight Grand Slam title and the 21st of her career - three behind Margaret Smith Court's record - and strengthened arguments that she is the best women's tennis player in history.
Graf timed her final volley perfectly, knocking off Seles in the final here for the second year in a row and beating the storm by seconds.
Amid thunder and lightning, Graf's forehand volley clipped the net cord and hopped out of Seles' reach. If the ball had popped back the other way, they would have been off the court immediately, waiting out the rain for hours, the outcome undecided.
Graf's timing and accuracy were nearly perfect the whole match. She served 10 aces and kept Seles scrambling from corner to corner.
``Steffi clearly is No.1. Anyone can see that,'' said Seles, who still shares the No.1 ranking with Graf.
Graf won the French Open for the fifth time, Wimbledon for the seventh time and, after almost skipping the U.S. Open because of a calf injury, won this, too, while her jailed father, Peter, was on trial in Germany for evading taxes on $28 million of her income. She remains under investigation in that case.
``It was really, really difficult to play this tournament,'' Graf said. ``I was really struggling to remain focused.''
Somehow, Graf managed to put aside all her problems and keep pounding winners on the court.
``There was a big question of how I would be able to play,'' said Graf, who has won the last six Grand Slam events she's played. ``I was really nervous. Once I got on the court, I loosened up and I was so much more relaxed. I don't know how or why.''
Graf said she was so nervous because she felt she hadn't played well the whole tournament, despite not dropping a set.
``I really needed to take time between the points today,'' she said. ``I wanted to calm down, concentrate on where I wanted to hit it. Even though I was nervous, I still played the points well. I guess I believe in myself.''
They began this match in hot, humid, sunny weather, and Graf set the tone by making Seles work hard to hold serve in the first game before tying it 1-1 by holding at love.
Graf broke to 2-1 and stayed ahead to 5-3 as Seles tried all kinds of novel tactics for her - serving and volleying, chipping and charging, dropping shots - with little success.
``Sooner or later, I better do it in a match or I am going to be 40 years old and still never try it,'' Seles said of her surprise attacks. ``It was successful a few times, and a few times it wasn't. At least I had the guts to do it a few times today, which I didn't do before in my life.''
Seles also kept attacking Graf's strength, her forehand, but that didn't work, either.
But serving for the set at 5-4, Graf finally suffered one lapse when Seles bore down and forced her to chase down shots in the corners. With the first break point Seles managed, she capitalized on it with a solid overhead smash to make it 5-5.
Yet Graf broke right back after getting four break points and watching Seles sail a backhand long at the end of a long rally. Graf didn't waste that opportunity, closing out the set with a service winner up the middle.
``Today I had an extremely high percentage of first serves,'' said Graf, who connected on 71 percent of those. ``I also served very well in the championship last year.''
Seles' serve-and-volley attempt to start the second set failed, and Graf broke her, then held serve to win her fourth straight game. That was all the lead Graf needed as she raced the approaching thunderstorm to close out the match.
``She served some awesome serves today, and I wasn't doing that. She had tons of 95s, first serves in, and this close to the line,'' Seles said, spreading her fingers inches apart.
Graf and Seles both have amazing Grand Slam records, 249-26 for Graf, and 102-10 for Seles. Graf leads their head-to-head matches, 8-4 overall, and 5-3 in Grand Slams.
The Graf-Seles rematch marked the first repeat of U.S. Open finalists since 1983-84, when Martina Navratilova beat Chris Evert both years.
This was the 10th consecutive U.S. Open final involving either Graf or Seles.
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Top seed Steffi Graf leaps in the air to return aby CNBball to Monica Seles during the U.S. Open women's singles final.