The 4 German players to win Grand Slam singles titles in Open Era – as Berlin hosts Laver Cup
The eyes of the tennis world are on Germany this week, with Berlin taking centre stage as the host of the seventh edition of the Laver Cup.
The nation is steeped in tennis history but, so far, only four players from the country have lifted a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era.
We look at the two men and two women from Germany who have tasted major success.
Boris Becker
Becker became the first German of the Open Era – and the first in 48 years – to lift a Grand Slam singles title with his memorable Wimbledon run in 1985.
Unseeded at SW19, ‘Boom Boom’ Becker downed Kevin Curren in four sets to lift the title, in one of the most famous triumphs in the tournament’s history.
Wimbledon would be the tournament he became synonymous with, defeating Ivan Lendl to defend his title in 1986 before downing Stefan Edberg for a third and final title in 1989.
However, his success did not extend just to Wimbledon.
Weeks after his final SW19 triumph, Becker beat Lendl to lift his first and only US Open title in New York.
The German added two Australian Open titles to his trophy cabinet in the 1990s, beating Lendl in the 1991 final and Michael Chang in the 1996 final.
Steffi Graf
A true icon of the game and one of the greatest to ever pick up a racket, Graf is the most decorated player in German history – with a staggering 22 major singles titles to her name.
Graf picked up her first Slam title at the French Open in 1987, downing Martina Navratilova for the first of six titles at Roland Garros.
However, her most famous run came in 1988, when she became the last player – male or female – to win all four Slams in one year, and the only player to win all four Slams and Olympic gold in the same season.
The former world No 1 is perhaps best associated with Wimbledon, where she was a seven-time winner, lifting her first title in 1988 and her last in 1996.
But she remains the only player in history to win all four Slams at least four times, with four Australian Open and five US Open titles also to her name.
Graf won her final major at the 1999 French Open and retired later that season.
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Michael Stich
Former world No 2 Stich is one of the greatest one-time Slam champions of all time, with the German winning an impressive 18 career titles across his career.
Stich is best remembered for his sole Slam triumph at Wimbledon in 1991, where he shocked favourite, three-time champion – and compatriot – Becker in straight sets to win the title.
The two famously did not share a warm relationship during the peak of their rivalry, though did pair up to win doubles gold at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992.
That Wimbledon triumph remained Stich’s only Grand Slam singles title but he did come close to further success, reaching the 1994 US Open and 1996 French Open finals.
Angelique Kerber
The fourth – and to date, final – German star to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era was Kerber, who called time on her legendary career at the Olympics earlier this summer.
For a significant chunk of her career, Kerber was a solid top-10 player, but never one who looked set for a breakthrough.
That all changed at the Australian Open in 2016, where she saved a match point in her opening match before stunning Serena Williams in a thrilling final to lift the title in Melbourne.
After losing to Williams in the Wimbledon final, she then captured her second Slam of 2016 by defeating Karolina Pliskova in another high-quality clash at the US Open.
Kerber struggled throughout 2017 but bounced back in 2018, and a run of resurgent form saw her claim her third and final major, defeating Williams at the All England Club.
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