Graf, Back on Track, Beats No. 1 : Women’s tennis: She closes gap on Seles in world rankings with 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Steffi Graf took a step toward regaining the top women’s tennis ranking on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over top-ranked Monica Seles to gain the U.S. Women’s Hardcourt Championship title for the third time.

It was Graf’s first tournament victory since November’s Virginia Slims of New England and her first over Seles since 1989.

Graf, ranked No. 2 in the world, had last met Seles in the 1990 French Open final, which Seles won, 7-6, 6-4. Graf maintains a 4-2 lead over Seles.

Seles, 17, became No. 1 on March 11 after Graf’s record reign of 186 weeks. Because the U.S. Women’s Hardcourt Championships is only a 32-player draw, Graf will not overtake Seles in the rankings.

But Graf, 21, acknowledged that she hoped her victory would be a turning point.

“I think I’m on the right way now,” she said. “I think I made her play. That’s a good feeling to have.”

Graf started slowly, falling behind, 4-1, in the first set. But she came back in the sixth game to break Seles’ service at love.

Two games later, Graf broke Seles again to even the match, 4-4, and won the first set with a third service break.

Both players started the second set by holding serve, but Graf broke to take a 4-2 lead. Seles had missed a break-point opportunity at 2-2 when Graf hit a volley at the net. Seles had another break opportunity in the seventh game, but Graf’s ace at deuce followed by a down-the-line winner gave her a 5-2 lead.

Seles had one last break point to put the second set back on serve in the ninth game, but Graf’s volley, Seles’ shot into the net and Graf’s cross-court winner ended the match.

“She was hitting the ball well, and I had to keep hitting great shots back, but that’s hard to do constantly,” Seles said. “She pulled out a lot of points on her serve.”

Graf narrowed Seles’ lead in the computer ranking from 23 points to 16 in a system that averages out performances over the past year.

But Graf said the ranking matters less than the return of her confidence that had waned in the past few months.

“The way I played the last few matches makes me feel better, and I look forward to the next few matches,” Graf said.

The victory earned Graf $45,000.