Protest Brings Action as Graf Gets Her Wish

Protesting a semifinal schedule that could have had his daughter playing Gabriela Sabatini at night, Peter Graf Friday threatened to pull Steffi Graf, the tournament’s second-seeded player, out of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles.

Both Graf and Martina Navratilova, the top-seeded player, were asked to play night matches. Navratilova refused because she would have had to play a doubles match after the singles match. And, obviously, she could not play her doubles match before the singles.

When the promoters considered the option of a Graf-Sabatini night match, Peter Graf, in effect, issued an ultimatum: No night or good night.

Tournament promoter Jerry Diamond said he had an understanding with all the top players that they might be asked to play two night matches during the week. Peter Graf told Virginia Slims liaison Ted Tinling that he had agreed to just one night match when he accepted the wild-card offer to compete.

Finally, when the night match became a distinct possibility, Graf made his stand, according to Tinling.

Said Diamond: “Peter Graf is a very excitable, in a way volatile, guy. Very volatile. If there’s any change in his schedule, based on what he is told, he goes off the wall. When he heard there was a change in the schedule, he came roaring in here. . . . He might have alluded to that (threatening to pull Steffi out) in his volatile manner, but that didn’t mean anything.”

Peter Graf, who is also Steffi’s business manager, was unavailable for comment Friday night.

Diamond said serious action would have been warranted had the threat been carried out.

“I guarantee you, if he would have pulled her out of this tournament, I would have asked action to ban her from U.S. competition and probably got it,” Diamond said. “You can’t capriciously pull out of anything.”

And, finally, the schedule was announced. At 1 p.m. today Graf plays Sabatini, followed by Chris Evert vs. Navratilova.