Steffi Graf Will Be Glad to Put 1990 Behind Her

Like Mike Tyson, Steffi Graf has already written off 1990, the year they both want to forget.

While the seemingly invincible Tyson lost his world heavyweight boxing title, Graf succumbed to outside pressures her tennis skills could not overcome.

Illness, injury and allegations surrounding her father took their toll as the world’s No. 1 woman player watched three of the four Grand Slam titles go to other players.

“I feel it was a tough year and somehow I don’t want to have had it,” said Graf, who today advanced to the quarterfinals of the Brighton WITA tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Nathalie Herreman of France. “There are many moments that I don’t want to remember at all.”

Although Graf has lost only four matches all year, she won only one of the four major titles--the Australian Open.

She lost to Monica Seles in the French Open final, tumbled to Zina Garrison in the semifinals at Wimbledon and to Gabriela Sabatini in the title match of the U.S. Open.

“Now I have had the year, it was good to come through. But I am looking to the end of it, definitely,” she said.

While she goes for her fourth Brighton title, her father Peter will be appearing in a German court in connection with a paternity suit brought by a German model.

Graf acknowledged that the allegations had affected her on-court performances.

“Many times, too many times,” she said. “It was getting to me so much because there were times when I never played like I usually do. My concentration and my usual feeling was not on the court.

“Only in Leipzig (in September) did I get to read a few papers and I was very upset. There were times when I was very depressed and very quiet, and I tried to get away from everything as much as I could.

“Sometimes I wasn’t able to and reacted in a way I didn’t want to. Sometimes I didn’t feel comfortable at all.”

But she says she has never lost her motivation for tennis.

“I never really thought about quitting tennis. Never,” she said.