Steffi Graf dominated tennis in the modern era like nobody other than Serena Williams managed to do.
The German won a staggering 22 Grand Slam titles, including seven at Wimbledon and six on the clay at the French Open.
Graf’s career was outrageously good, and only Williams can lay claim to more majors in the open era, with Margaret Court deserving of a mention for the 24 she won from 1960 to 1973.
The German was a professional player for 17 years and squeezed every last drop of quality out on the tennis court, being one of the greatest female players the game of tennis has ever seen.
However, one American player wasn’t completely convinced that she would go on and have the career which she eventually did.
The harsh comments Tracy Austin made about Steffi Graf
Graf came up against Austin in her maiden match as a professional, playing the American as a 13-year-old at an event in Germany.
The player gave a good account of herself despite a 6-4, 6-0 defeat, and during her first season on the tour as a professional, she was ranked as high as the world number 124.
As a talented youngster, the media at the time were looking for some soundbites on the youngster, but Austin was in no mood for niceties and said: “She was nothing special and there are hundreds like Graf back in the United States.”
Pretty damning comments on a 13-year-old, but naturally, Graf clearly used those comments as a motivation mechanism and proved her wrong across her career.
It was actually Graf’s father who held more of a grudge over these comments. He was later quoted as saying Austin should be credited for ensuring that Graf had the career that she did as a player.
Austin proved badly wrong about Graf
It takes a brave person to accept their mistake and years later, Austin admitted that her comments on Graf as a teenager were pretty harsh and nasty.
However, Graf will likely pinpoint her comments as the moment she decided to prove her wrong and embark on a career that saw her showcase a formidable streak.
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Austin won just two Grand Slams, with both titles coming at the US Open and as far as the Australian Open and French Open went, she never made it beyond the quarterfinals.
It’s always fun to look back at predictions that come back to haunt the person making them, and it’s absolutely no surprise that Graf ended up proving Austin to eat her words.
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