Who Won The Grand Slam Titles Four Times Successively?

A brief about Graf: Yes, the answer is Steffi Graf. She is the greatest tennis player ever to grace the sport. She won twenty-two grand slam titles so far and trails Serena Williams (23 Grand Slam Titles) and Margaret Court (24 Grand Slam Titles). She topped the list of tennis players for nearly three hundred and seventy-seven weeks and she also bagged hundred and seven titles in her career, just behind Chris Evert (157) and Martina (167).

Her career records: And in 1988 she achieved a feat that no one else could even dream of. She won the Grand Slam (collective term for Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open) and also the Olympic Gold during the same year which is collectively called the Golden Slam. And she is also regarded as the only player to have won the Grand Slam Titles four times. Here’s a brief about her journey to becoming the only Golden Slam winner in 1988.

The Australian Open of 1988: Steffi was in excellent form from the very beginning of the match and was the top seed in the Australian Open. She put up a good fight and defeated Hana in the Quarterfinals and then defeated Claudia in the semis. She dashed to the finals and thrashed Chris Evert, the 3rd seed, to clinch her career first Australian Open title.

French Open of 1988: Steffi locked horns with her opponents andeventually ended up winning hands down and reached the semis. In the melee, she only conceded eleven games. She then faced the 4th seeded Gabriela Sabatini in the last 4 and defeated her to reach the finals effortlessly. She put up a brave fight in the finals and thrashed her opponent Natasha Zvereva in just 34 minutes. She then clinched her second consecutive French Open Title.

Wimbledon of 1988: Wimbledon is played on grass courts and Steffi took no time to adapt. She won all but seventeen games in her journey to the finals. And in the final Steffi faced the then champion Martina Navratilova and it was no joke as Martina was a 6-time defending champion. Initially Steffi lead the match. However, Martina gained traction and won the first set. It was hard to predict the player who might win, as both of them fought bravely. It seemed as though Martina would win the title however in the end it was Steffi who won the match and title. It was another feather in her cap for Steffi.

US Open of 1988: The speculations were rife about her winning the US Open and she as usual never failed to disappoint her fans. And up to the semi-finals, she just lost thirteen games. However, in the last four Chris Evert pulled out due to an injury and Steffi had a breather just before the final. And in the final, she had to face, Gabriela, her doubles partner. Both the athletes were in total form and fought bravely. Steffi won the first set and her opponent won the second set. Steffi went on and defeated her rival in the third straight set and claimed her very first US Open Title. Steffi is the 3rd player behind Margaret and Maureen to win the Calendar slam (i.e. 4 Grand Slams titles) in the same calendar year. However, there is a lot of action still pending and yet to be revealed.

Seoul Olympics of 1988: She was the top seed and entered the game in the second round where she won the first 2 matches. Steffi beat Larisa Savchenko in the Quarters finals. Then she continued her winning streak and defeated Zina Garrison of the USA in the semi-finals. And then in the finals in the Olympics, she locked horns with Argentine legend, Gabriela Sabatini for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. She routed Sabatini in the finals 6-3, 6-3 and clinched her career first Olympic Gold, and achieved a Golden Slam.

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