"If I play my best, she'd better be careful" - When an 18-year-old Steffi Graf firmly responded to Martina Navratilova's bold 'best player' claim

Steffi Graf once issued a strongly worded response to Martina Navratilova's lofty claims about her standing on tour. The dramatic exchange took place during the pair's respective campaigns at the 1988 French Open.

Graf won her maiden Grand Slam title at the 1987 French Open, beating then-World No. 1 Navratilova 6-4, 4-6, 8-6. The following year, the 18-year-old German arrived at Roland Garros as the top seed with the 1988 Australian Open title under her belt.

Despite following Graf as the second seed and having lost the last three finals at the claycourt Major, Martina Navratilova was very confident about her abilities. Amid her campaign in Paris, she boldly stated that she considered herself to be the "best player" on tour and said she couldn't envision herself losing a match.

"I consider I'm the best player on the circuit. I'm getting to the point where I can't see myself lose," Navratilova said.

Steffi Graf, however, did not appreciate this statement, firmly warning Navratilova that she would need to be careful if they locked horns when the German was at her best.

"She can say what she wants. If I play my best, she'd better be careful," Graf said.

Interestingly, Navratilova suffered a shock 6-3, 7-6(5) loss to Natasha Zvereva in the fourth round of the French Open. Graf, meanwhile, went on to reach the final of the claycourt Major, where she claimed a flawless 6-0, 6-0 win over Zvereva in just 34 minutes.

"I lost to a better player" - Martina Navratilova on 'passing the torch' to Steffi Graf after Wimbledon final

Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf - Source: Getty

Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova got the opportunity to put their words to the test just a few weeks later, locking horns in the 1988 Wimbledon Championships final. The German denied Navratilova the chance to claim her seventh consecutive title at SW19 by securing a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win in the blockbuster final.

Following her loss, Navratilova admitted that Graf was the superior player in the contest and described the match as a symbolic "passing of the torch."

"This is how it should happen: I lost to a better player on the final day. This is the end of a chapter. Passing the torch, if you want to call it that," Navratilova said.

Later that season, Steffi Graf defeated Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the US Open final and also clinched the women's singles gold medal at the Seoul Olympics to complete the historic calendar year Golden Slam.