"My confidence slipped from game to game" - When Steffi Graf was handed the worst defeat of her career by Amanda Coetzer

Steffi Graf faced the worst defeat of her career at the 1997 German Open in Berlin.

The German entered the tournament as the top seed and defending champion. She booked her place in the quarterfinals with wins over Chanda Rubin and 15th seed Ruxandra Dragomir. Graf played seventh seed Amanda Coetzer in the final eight and was thrashed 6-0, 6-1 in just 56 minutes.

The loss at the 1997 German Open remains the worst defeat of Steffi Graf's illustrious career. This was her second successive defeat to the South African, having also lost to her in the fourth round of the Australian Open a few months earlier.

After the match, the German stated that she was very nervous while playing and that her confidence kept slipping.

"I was incredibly nervous out there," Graf said. "My confidence slipped from game to game, from shot to shot."

Graf also claimed that her erratic forehand was a telltale sign that she was nervous.

"I couldn't keep a forehand in the court, that's usually how you can tell I'm nervous," the German said.

Steffi Graf's 1997 season ended after the French Open, as she underwent reconstructive knee surgery. The German won 16 out of 19 matches that year, including the Internationeaux de Strasbourg title, where she beat Mirjana Lucic in the final.

Steffi Graf and Amanda Coetzer locked horns on 15 occasions

Amanda Coetzer in action at the 2004 Australian Open

Steffi Graf and Amanda Coetzer squared off on 15 occasions, with the German coming out on top 11 times.

The first meeting between the two came in the third round of the 1992 French Open, which Graf won 6-2, 6-1. She triumphed in the next five matches against Coetzer too before the latter won for the first time at the 1995 Canadian Open.

The only time the two faced one another in a final was at the 1994 Evert Cup (now known as the BNP Paribas Open) in Indian Wells, which Graf won 6-0, 6-4. They locked horns in six Grand Slam matches, with the German coming out on top in four of them.

The last meeting between Steffi Graf and Amanda Coetzer came at the Pilot Pen International in 1998, with the former winning 6-3, 6-0 to reach the semifinals. Graf went on to win the tournament by beating Jana Novotna 6-4, 6-1 in the final.