The Strands of Time : It Was at Manhattan Beach, Nine Years Ago, That Steffi Graf First Became the World’s No. 1

Funny how life sneaks up on you when you’re not looking, leaving behind its lessons.

Upon her return to the tournament at which she became No. 1 for the first time, Steffi Graf finds herself sifting through memories she left behind as an 18-year-old and then wondering: Now what?

It was 1987, at the tournament now called the Acura Classic that begins Monday at the Manhattan Country Club, that Graf surprised herself and rose to No. 1. She would stay there for an unprecedented 186 consecutive weeks and would, in May of this year, set a record for total weeks as the world’s No. 1 tennis player.

None of this was known to the skinny German teenager then; in fact, what she didn’t know was remarkable. No one around Graf was paying close attention to the computer points she was racking up while winning the tournament.

“My father kept telling me, ‘No, it’s not going to be enough,’ so I didn’t worry about it,” Graf said, relaxing at a Manhattan Beach coffee shop the other day. “I didn’t know I became No. 1 until after the match. Everybody was kind of trying not to tell me. I still can’t figure out why I didn’t realize it. I’ve never been somebody who would count the points. Then, it was much more simple. You don’t really look at it like, ‘Can you achieve it? Will you achieve it?’ You want it. That’s it.”

After she defeated Chris Evert in the final, Graf celebrated by going to the beach with three people she cared about: her father, coach and brother.

“I just ran up and down the beach, full of joy,” she said. “I never thought I could get to No. 1 until that moment. Being No. 1 never again meant as much to me as that time.”

Life, with all its attendant complications, was never so simple again. As a tennis player, from that moment on Graf ratcheted up her standards and expectations so that she may not have ever again experienced such a pure pride in her achievement.

Tender moments with her father were also counting down. Peter Graf remains in a German prison awaiting trial next month on tax evasion charges.

Graf, 27, knows full well how things have changed since she won that tournament in 1987 and how different she is from that 18-year-old. She’s quick to note the good that has come from her professional career, which began when she was 13.

“I think I’ve become more outgoing, maybe more satisfied with myself,” she said. “At 17-18, I was very quiet. Of course, you mature over the years, it’s normal. Maybe because of success and the life I’ve been living, I think I’ve changed a lot.

“I’ve never really had a lot of friends. I was always keeping to myself and being quiet. I haven’t had the easiest time in school. The younger you are, the more you get hurt by other kids. The more success you have, the more you get hurt by them. That’s how I started to close up, because I was hurt by other kids. It was my first lesson.”

Graf practiced in the mornings before school. So that she wasn’t late, she was driven to school. Children who arrived on a bus thought Graf was trying to be special. When Graf missed weeks of class at tournaments, other children were jealous. They never saw her doing homework in hotel rooms.

Graf’s sense of isolation didn’t change when she joined a tour then dominated by 20-somethings.

“When I got on the tour, I was so young and everybody was so much older,” Graf said. “Now, it happens more frequently at that age. Then, it was a little rare. But I was also being shy and keeping to myself. One thing I have learned: It’s difficult to forgive sometimes.”

Her age and her success plotted a course for Graf that did not allow her to mingle easily with other players. While they were happy to play hearts or backgammon in hotel rooms, Graf was restless to discover the life waiting outside--a place where she wasn’t judged and where she’d have more privacy.

“Whenever I got to a city, I wanted to know where the museums were,” Graf said. “I didn’t care about anything else. Around Europe, I’ve seen a lot of museums, I’ll tell you. Then you start to change; the museums of science and technology become museums of art.”

And music. Graf now studies the entertainment listings for concerts she wants to attend in tournament cities.

After 14 years on the professional tour, Graf has settled into a traveling pattern that makes the road bearable. Her world has never been confined to practice courts and room service.

“I’ll never be the kind of person who just stays in the hotel,” she said. “I couldn’t live just being in the hotel room and on the court. A lot of players do that. I would go nuts if I had to play singles and doubles in every tournament--I would be sitting on the court all day. How would I be happy with that? You can’t. It’s the same faces all the time. There’s nothing else. I can’t understand how players do it. I’m sure they are happy with what they are doing and I’m sure it’s right for them. I’m only saying that from my point of view, it’s not how I would do it.”

Graf has been criticized for her insular approach to her sport. In the absence of Evert and Martina Navratilova, both of whom took an active role in tour politics, some say there is a leadership vacuum that should naturally be filled by the No. 1 player.

Graf says she’s operating in the only way she can that will get her through, that her personality is not suited to governing. Others say the responsibilities of being No. 1 require from her more commitment to the tour.

“The thing is, I’ve never really cared much about the tour,” Graf said candidly. “I play, do the press, then I’m out of there. I’ve always been that kind of person. I know I’ve been criticized for that, but I need to take some time for myself, otherwise I couldn’t deal with it.”

There’s so much more to deal with now. Graf’s body served her well but has been complaining for the last few years. Back, knee and foot injuries have been chronic. She has missed the beginning of the season--and the Australian Open--for the last two years because of injuries.

“I wish I would have known a lot more of what I know now,” she said. “Weightlifting, stretching--I hated those things. To me, it was only the game on the court. I knew about what I should be doing, but I said, ‘I’ll be fine.’ The thing is, I never had any injuries until a couple of years ago.”

Graf has just returned from her most recent injury, tendinitis in her left knee, which prevented her from participating in the Atlanta Olympics, much to her dismay.

Graf watched the opening ceremonies on television in Germany, then felt pangs of regret.

“I was so upset, I said, ‘Can I still get in?’ ” she said. “I have never been as disappointed at not being able to participate in a tournament as I was for two or three days. I have such respect for the Olympics and the athletes in it. There were so many inspiring moments. Not always the winning, but also the disappointment. I felt so sorry for Jackie Joyner-Kersee.”

Graf no doubt identified with Joyner-Kersee’s thwarted attempt to win her final Olympic title, only to be injured. Retirement is a pesky topic for Graf, who is being haunted by her own youthful pronouncement that she could not imagine playing tennis after about 26 or 27.

“It’s funny how when you are 17 or 18, you really think 25 is old,” Graf said, laughing. “It’s natural that I get asked. I watched it happen to Chris and Martina.”

Reporters were puzzled at Graf’s comments after she won her seventh Wimbledon title and her 20th Grand Slam tournament. No, she said, she is not looking at records. Doesn’t think about them. Some thought Graf was being self-effacing but she was being in the moment: There will be time later to reflect on records.

“They always say, ‘Keeping it is going to be a lot harder than achieving it,’ ” she said. “But it [the No. 1 ranking] has never been my main focus. I’ve always been more driven to perform well, more than anything else. Which is probably why I’m looking at it differently than anyone else.

“Three months before Paris and Wimbledon, people were asking me, ‘How will it feel to win the 100th title?’ I’m like, give me a break. Maybe it meant a lot more to me when I was younger.”

Would the 18-year-old Graf have frolicked on the beach at the mere thought that she might win Wimbledon seven times?

Probably. And the 27-year-old Graf would be icing her back because of it. Another of life’s lessons.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

This Week at Manhattan Beach

* EVENT--Acura Classic.

* DATES--Monday through Sunday.

* SITE--Manhattan Country Club.

* PURSE--$450,000.

* TOP-SEEDED PLAYERS--1. Steffi Graf, 2. Anke Huber, 3. Jana Novotna, 4. Kimiko Date. 5. Lindsay Davenport, 6. Amanda Coetzer, 7. Irina Spirlea, 8. Karina Habsudova.

* LAST YEAR--Conchita Martinez of Spain, ranked No. 3 in the world, dropped the first set, then swept aside 19-year-old Chanda Rubin, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, in the final.

* TICKETS--Monday through Thursday: day $10, evening $16. Friday: day $15, evening $28. Saturday: day and evening, each $28. Sunday: $30. Purchase through Ticketmaster: (213) 480-3232.

Other information: (310) 939-1333.

Graf at 100

Year: 1983-85

Tournaments Won: 0

*

Year: 1986

Tournaments Won: 8

German Open, Amelia Island, Hilton Head, U.S. Clay Courts, Pan Pacific, Zurich, Brighton, Mahwah.

*

Year: 1987

Tournaments Won: 11

French, Virginia Slims Championships, Key Biscayne, Los Angeles, European Indoors, Boca Raton, Hamburg, German Open, Italian Open, Hilton Head, Amelia Island.

*

Year: 1988

Tournaments Won: 11

Australian, French, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Key Biscayne, U.S. Hardcourts, German Open, Hamburg, Mahwah, Brighton, Olympics.

*

Year: 1989

Tournaments Won: 14

Australian, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Virginia Slims Championships, Washington D.C., Boca Raton, U.S. Hardcourts, Hilton Head, Hamburg, German Open, San Diego, Mahwah, European Indoors, Brighton.

*

Year: 1990

Tournaments Won: 10

Australian, Pan Pacific, Amelia Island, Hamburg, Canadian Open, San Diego, Leipzig, European Indoors, Brighton, New England.

*

Year: 1991

Tournaments Won: 7

Wimbledon, U.S. Hardcourts, Hamburg, German Open, Leipzig, European Indoors, Brighton.

*

Year: 1992

Tournaments Won: 8

Wimbledon, Boca Raton, Hamburg, German Open, Leipzig, Zurich, Brighton, Philadelphia.

*

Year: 1993

Tournaments Won: 10

French, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, Virginia Slims Championships, Delray Beach, Hilton Head, German Open, San Diego, Canadian Open, Leipzig.

*

Year: 1994

Tournaments Won: 7

Australian, Key Biscayne, Pan Pacific, Indian Wells, Delray Beach, German Open, San Diego.

*

Year: 1995

Tournaments Won: 9

French, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, WTA Tour Championships, Paris Indoors, Delray Beach, Key Biscayne, Houston, Philadelphia.

*

Year: 1996

Tournaments Won: 5

French, Wimbledon, German Open, Key Biscayne, Indian Wells.

*

Totals: 14 years, 100 tournament victories, 20 majors