Andrea Petkovic: 'I was fascinated by Venus and Serena Williams. Graf...'
On Steffi Graf's 50th birthday, Andrea Petkovic wrote a column on Tennis Magazin in honour of the 22-time Grand Slam winner. "The only thing I regret of Steffi Graf is that I was not older and smarter when she was at the peak of her career. I was young and fascinated by Venus and Serena Williams, their hair, physical strength, which was unknown until that time, and their quotes in a press conference. Steffi planned everything until the last detail, professional, precise like a Swiss watch. The Swiss process, a boring cliche to which Steffi does not give justice, and that's why I wish I were older to understand it. When I met Steffi for the first time, she did not really impress me. She is too humble, calm, friendly for that.
As a part of Adidas training, I was able to spend some days in Las Vegas with my coach. On our side Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi's trainer, and Steffi Graf as a mate. I was fascinated by Steffi after 20 minutes on the training court and completely obsessed. I barely saw a ball because I could not stop watching at Steffi's footwork. His feet flew quickly through the American court as a dancer on the hot ground. She was going up and down. I was nervous. After that practice, I went to my hotel room, I opened my laptop, checked YouTube: watching Steffi Graf videos. It was like a black hole. I could not stop. I looked deeper and deeper at her rivalry with Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis and Monica Seles."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2YSuCqd
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