The American player who stunned Steffi Graf at Wimbledon but never made the final of a Grand Slam

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Steffi Graf is one of the greatest female players to ever grace the game of tennis and Wimbledon was the tournament where she often excelled.

The wife of the legendary Andre Agassi was a feared opponent for many players on the WTA Tour, and her dominance in the nineties proved unrivalled.

Graf won seven Wimbledon titles, with only Martina Navratilova in the Open Era winning more than the German performer.

In terms of Grand Slam titles, Graf helped herself to 22 and being frank, not many could get near her when it came to the big tournaments in the nineties.

Graf won every single Wimbledon from 1991 to 1996, with the exception of one when she was stunned on the grandest stage in one of the biggest shocks the tournament has ever seen.

• READ MORE: Serena Williams shocked in Australian Open clash that stunned the world

Lori McNeil stunned Steffi Graf at Wimbledon in 1994

The name Lori McNeil is hardly symbolic with tennis outside of America, but she claimed this massive scalp to stun the tennis world back in 1994.

With Graf returning to defend her title, she was left shellshocked when McNeil, then a number 22 seed, toppled the German in straight sets.

McNeil won the match 7-6, 7-5 to leave Graf shellshocked and throw the draw wide open in the top half.

The American would go on and achieve her best ever run at a Grand Slam event, reaching the semi-final before losing 10-8 in a deciding set to Spanish player Conchita Martinez.

This stunning performance from McNeil saw Graf lose in the first round at Wimbledon for the first and only time in her career, and also prompted a change when it came to seeds at a Grand Slam.

What happened after Graf lost at Wimbledon in 1994

It’s remarkable to think that Graf had to play someone ranked as high as number 22 in the world at a tournament like Wimbledon.

Back then, however, only the top 16 were considered as seeds and not the top 32 as it proves in today’s main draws.

That meant Graf being handed a particularly sticky draw with McNeil paired alongside her and ultimately knocking her out.

It was long after this match that the powers that be decided to change things and clearly it paid dividends for Graf with the German winning the next two Wimbledon events.