Her parents' marriage broke up and Steffi never the most gregarious of athletes did not smile much after that

Her parents' marriage broke up and Steffi, never the most gregarious of athletes, did not smile much after that.Clutching privacy fiercely to her against the intrusions of the German media, Steffi enjoyed the fleeting opportunities to let that blonde hair down. Knees, ankles, fingers, toes, shoulders, elbows - all suffered serious damage. The mind took a beating, too, never more horribly than when her beloved and trusted father, Peter, went to prison in 1996 for evading tax payments on her prize money. "The operation would mean opening me up from the front and right now I'm too young for something like that." A check with an expert on back ailments elicited the information that Steffi's condition was something more frequently found in women in their sixties.The Graf body took an awful beating in the name of tennis, world fame and millionairess status. "This is something I will have to learn to live with," said the 26-year-old woman in a simple black sweater. This time it was a strain too far.You had to wonder in the end what, except fortitude, held Steffi together.The abiding memory is not of 22 Grand Slam trophies held smilingly aloft but of countless tight-faced press conferences with details of the latest pain being endured.

The most graphic of these was at an indoor event in Paris in February 1995 when Steffi told simply how bones in her lower back had fused and turned on-court movement into agony. The time had come, she decided, to pack it in, so she went, bidding a brief and simple, if undeniably emotional, farewell in her home town, Heidelberg.The catalyst was, apparently, yet another calf strain, suffered in the opening round of a Californian tournament two weeks ago Yet another injury to combat and to overcome. Not for her the lingering, tear-stained farewells of a Martina Navratilova. The brisk, businesslike German, forever looking as if she was hurrying for the last bus, hustled to six titles in Paris and another 16 Grand Slams, including seven Wimbledons. Now, just as briskly, she has departed the scene. "You will be seeing a lot more of her." Rex was spot on, as ever. The gangly teenager, then in pre-ponytail days, saw off Sweden's Carina Carlsson in straight sets before permitting a South African called Beverly Mould to claim a niche in the Roland Garros annals by becoming the first to defeat Steffi at the French Not many people managed to do that subsequently.

IT WAS the man from the Times who first alerted me to Steffi Graf at the 1983 French Open. "Pop along and have a look at the 13-year-old blonde on Court Seven," said Rex Bellamy, an acknowledged expert in everything but the choice of suitable sports shirts. We will need him for the Champions' League, if he is in the right frame of mind, but I think it is touch and go... "He did not say so, but it was obvious that Bayern's fragile hopes of European success this season may well be in the same condition thanks to the reverberations of Barcelona..

"Effenberg was our most important player last season," said Henke "He is so difficult to replace. A row between him and injured goalkeeper Kahn, who believes Matthaus should not play for just half a season, spread across the local media and did neither any credit. With Effenberg out for eight weeks (and doubtful for the Champions' League group stage), the 38-year-old veteran's decision to leave mid-season for New York and a swansong in the United States has been severely damaging.On Wednesday, at a meeting with Bayern's overworked president Beckenbauer, who is also heading Germany's campaign to host the 2006 World Cup finals, Matthaus confirmed he was going. In Europe, it will be tougher than ever."Making matters worse for Hitzfeld and Bayern is the vexed role of Matthaus, for so long the hub of everything in the Munich team. Who is next? I don't know, but look carefully at Real Madrid and Barcelona, at Milan and Parma and all the rest.

He is not surprised at the strength of the English clubs' revival. "Manchester United are now the best team in the world," he said, with sincerity. "They have great players, a great team spirit and they are strong But they are not alone The standard and the stakes are rising all the time. So, it is very important that we settle down and make a solid start."Hitzfeld has seen it all before. Then there are Lizarazu and Elber coming back after bad long-term injuries It is a tough time We have to recover.