The Final Top Ten

1991 Wimbledon Final

Steffi Graf def. Gabriela Sabatini

6-4,3-6,8-6

LONDON - Steffi Graf's doubts disappeared and the smile she seemed to have lost forever finally returned as she
cradled Wimbledon's silver trophy for a third time.
In that tingling moment on Centre Court as she hugged the ornate tea tray and held it aloft for the cameras and the
crowd after the two-hour, seven-minute match, Graf shed the burdens that threatened to destroy her tennis career.
More than anything, Graf said, her 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 triumph Saturday over Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina in the
second-longest women's final in Wimbledon history proved "that I had the guts" to win a tough match again.
"It gave me so much pleasure to see myself getting through it, winning a close match again, not letting up," she said.
"I needed it."

The killer instinct that had abandoned her was back. So was the knack for coming up with the big shot at the right
moment.
Once the golden girl of tennis, sweeping the Grand Slam and Olympics in 1988, the 22-year-old had lost her top
ranking to Yugoslav teenager Monica Seles and failed to win a major championship for a year and a half.
Graf's victory assured the second German sweep of Wimbledon in three years. Boris Becker, who won with Graf in
1989, plays compatriot Michael Stich in the men's final today.
Graf could blame injuries, family troubles and bad luck. She had plenty of each. Instead, she persevered, underwent
sinus surgery, wore a cast on her broken thumb and stood by her father despite his highly publicized affair with a
model and reported drinking problems.

"I worked through some tough months," she said after winning her 10th Grand Slam title. "I'm doing the right thing by
just trying to play my kind of game, trying to do whatever I feel like and just sticking to it."
Seles skipped this tournament, leaving some critics wondering if Graf's victory was less significant. because her
chief rival was absent.
Even so, Graf won nearly $350,000 and the player she beat was Sabatini, who had won their last five meetings, plus
their final at the U.S. Open last year.