Graf Maintains the Upper Hand in New York

So what kind of year has it been for Steffi Graf, who is 72-4?

a) Pitiful

b) Terrific

By most accounts, 1990 will go down as an utterly underwhelming year for Graf, who discovered that it’s not necessarily losing matches that hurts the most, but losing the wrong matches.

She lost to Monica Seles in the final of the German Open, to Seles again in the French Open final, to Zina Garrison in the Wimbledon semifinals and to Gabriela Sabatini in the U.S. Open final.

After winning seven of the eight Grand Slams in 1988 and 1989, her lone Grand Slam title this year in Australia looks pretty lonesome.

Graf power-stroked her way into today’s semifinals of the $3-million Virginia Slims Championships with a 6-3, 6-0 wipeout of Katerina Maleeva Friday night at Madison Square Garden. As a result, Graf is on track to pick up the $250,000 winner’s share if she wins two more matches this weekend.

In the semifinals, Graf meets Sabatini, who defeated Conchita Martinez in a quarterfinal, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. Seles plays Mary Joe Fernandez in the second semifinal today.

Graf, twice a winner of the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships, hinted that she was affected all year by reports linking her father and manager, Peter Graf, with a model, who was later charged in Germany with attempting to extort money from the elder Graf.

“After having the troubles that I have had, I think I had a very good year for what I have gone through,” Graf said. “I can be happy. Even despite sayings that it hasn’t been a good year, I feel good about it.”

Maleeva said reports about Graf’s slide are amusing. She was asked how well an opponent must play to beat Graf.

“You have to play out of your mind,” Maleeva said.

Two forces made for each other--Seles and shopping--collided this week for the first time at two of Manhattan’s most famous clothing stores. The result was, well, picture how Casey Stengel might describe a trip to a department store. This may be the only way to follow what happened.

The following is Seles’ complete and unabridged account of her shopping trip, sort of Monica meets the mall:

“Well, I went into Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s and it’s crazy,” Seles said. “I mean, I’ve never been there first of all. I got lost in Bloomingdale’s. I just left. I think it was Third Avenue and I didn’t even look because you are used to one exit in the Sarasota (Fla.) mall that is all inside.

“I kept going around and I kept looking for my parents. I didn’t know where I was because at the fourth floor, or four or five, they were at the main level. I was, like on the first level, going around, and kept asking everybody. And they didn’t know because they didn’t know what avenue I was coming in. So it was a long day. But it was a long day.”

Seles was asked if she was still missing her parents.

“I found them after quite awhile. It was probably an hour and a half going in circles, but not just that. It is just the panic that you get in because I know I was, I told my parents I would be there by 1:45, then I’m not there.

“I really got lost because, I mean in Sarasota, you know all the exits of the mall are right there. It is a small store. All the people, all the confusion, and one part, this guy is trying to sell this perfume and in the other part, makeup.

“It is just--it is hard to resist a lot of times, I wouldn’t go in here for a couple of days, I think.”