"Money, love, sex, they would go on and on" - When Steffi Graf's father slammed German media's 'vindictive' coverage of his daughter and Boris Becker

Steffi Graf's father Peter once strongly condemned the German media for the way they treated him and his daughter, despite all of her success on the tennis court. Peter also suggested that fellow German Boris Becker was subjected to the same ordeal.

Graf won her 10th Grand Slam title at the 1991 Wimbledon Championships by claiming a 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 win over Gabriela Sabatini in the closely contested final. Shortly after her triumph, Peter gave an interview to Gautam Bhattacharya, where he candidly discussed being painted as a "difficult person" by the German media.

Peter explained that he had deliberately made himself unavailable to the press in his country due to their extremely "vindictive" reporting. The German pointed out that Steffi Graf and Boris Becker were forced to deal with the constant attention on their romantic lives and finances as soon as they reached tennis stardom.

"They are right. I am not easily available to them. For them indeed I am a difficult person. Why should I speak to them? They are so jealous, so vindictive. The moment a star is born in their country they start writing about all sorts of things. Money, love, sex…they would go on and on. They have just two stars, Boris and Steffi. So they write all kinds of things against them," Peter Graf said.

Peter further revealed that he had stopped speaking to the German media after the invasive coverage of his shocking paternity scandal in 1990. His daughter, who had called out the press for trying to "destroy her family" amid the ordeal, also refused to give interviews and became completely inaccessible to reporters.

Peter Graf also highlighted how busy he was as Steffi Graf's manager, admitting that he was forced to miss a lot of his daughter's Wimbledon campaign due to his other commitments.

"Last year it got to such a stage that I decided enough was enough. I won’t allow them any more to encroach on my private life. I stopped giving interviews. So did Steffi. It made life difficult for them as Steffi became totally inaccessible to them. As it is, I’ve got so many problems," he said.

"Her sponsors, her tennis. I work from morning till night. I remain so busy these days. In most of the tournaments I can’t accompany my daughter. Come to think of it, here in Wimbledon I have come on Monday, after a week. Already half of the tournament is over," he added.

Although Steffi Graf triumphed at the grasscourt Major, her father Peter expressed his belief that she had "played badly" and asserted that Gabriela Sabatini could have clinched the title if she had raised her level a little.

"I can’t understand why they don’t feel proud of Boris Becker and Steffi Graf" - Peter Graf on being 'misunderstood' by the German press

Steffi Graf and Boris Becker- Source: Getty

In the same interview, Steffi Graf's father Peter called out the German press for deliberately misunderstanding them and causing a lot of unnecessary distress to their family with their coverage.

"Why should you subject your champion to so much grief? At times I think the German press misunderstood us. And they did so intentionally. Especially the yellow press," Steffi Graf's father said.

The German was also frustrated by the media's focus on his daughter and Becker's dating lives, arguing that the reporters should be proud of the tennis stars instead.

"I can’t understand why they don’t feel proud of Boris and Steffi. You will always find them fingering these two. Basically most of the write ups centers around two things, love and sex. Now, tell me, why should Steffi waster her time on all these?" he added.

Furthermore, Peter Graf questioned why the German press was making life difficult for Steffi Graf when all she wanted to do was become the "perfect tennis player."