Graf Is Hard to Read in Victory

What was the aberration in Steffi Graf’s comeback tour?

A. Losing to Ai Sugiyama and Magui Serna.

B. Defeating Lindsay Davenport and Jana Novotna.

At times here Tuesday, the correct answer seemed to be both of the above in Graf’s first-round match against American youngster Corina Morariu at the U.S. Open. Graf’s play resembled the stock market, surging, then falling, then finally finishing on a high note.

The eighth-seeded Graf secured the 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory when Morariu smacked a backhand into the net on her first match point. Graf shook hands with Morariu and smiled widely, but that was the most emotion she showed.

In contrast to Wimbledon, there were no tears at the post-match news conference. Obviously the National Tennis Center--not blessed with the history of the All England Club--doesn’t elicit that kind of emotion from Graf.

She does have five U.S. Open titles and is 28-1 here since 1993. And although this is the 10th anniversary of her epic Grand Slam, the U.S. Open will never have the same spot in her heart as Wimbledon.

At Wimbledon, Graf was in the midst of a confidence crisis, losing in the third round to Natasha Zvereva, a player she had defeated 17 consecutive times. But it turned around last weekend at New Haven, Conn., with the victories over Davenport and Novotna on the way to her first tournament championship since May of 1997.

“I definitely feel [winning] has changed my attitude,” Graf said. “And I could go back on it today during my match, because in the second set, I obviously didn’t play very well.

“I told myself, ‘This is not the way to continue. You’ve done so well the last few weeks and you worked so hard.’ ”

She seemed a bit surprised when asked about the Grand Slam in 1988.

“I was just basically relieved when it was over,” she said. “There was so much pressure that I couldn’t enjoy it as much. But sitting here now, 10 years later, I do realize what an amazing achievement it was at that time.”

Graf, 29, has always been her toughest critic. So it’s probably best to get an accurate barometer of her progress from her peers.

“What I saw in New Haven is the old Steffi,” Novotna said. “She was hitting hard and she was very confident, very aggressive, nothing new about it.”

Novotna noticed improvement since the grass-court season.

“When I saw her for the first time in Eastbourne [England] this year, I already felt she was playing well, but obviously she was losing matches to players that she had never lost to before,” she said. “It was just a matter of time for her to get in the match groove.”

Davenport played Graf three times in 1998, winning twice and losing on Friday in the semifinals at New Haven.

“Last week, I think she was definitely consistent,” Davenport said. “The two other times I played her, she gave me some free points with some errors. She is returning better and cut down on her errors a lot.

“She is going to be tough to beat, especially on this court. Her [shots] are going to stay low, her slice is very effective on this court and she is such a great athlete that she definitely has a legitimate shot of winning.”