Nils Ermeling was a German foreign exchange student. Although Germany offered better education than the United States, Nils told Scott Campbell of The Pittsburgh Press in 1991, "I came (to America) just to have a new experience, to see new people and a new country. The people are much the same here, they have the same interests. I like it very much, I am learning a lot." In Germany, "It is much tougher. You have 6 classes a day that are fairly tough. The teachers want you to get a lot. Every class is like an AP (advanced placement) class here. I am getting alls A’s and B’s except for English. I am not doing so well in that."
Nils played tennis since 5 growing up in Detmold Germany, "Soccer is the biggest sport, (but) they made tennis popular." Bernhard Langer made known in 1993, "Soccer and tennis are such bigger sports (than golf) in Germany. Everyone knows Franz Beckenbauer, our soccer star. Boris (Becker) and Steffi (Graf) are extremely popular, but most Germans have heard of me because I've been around a very long time." Nils added, "They are the big idols." However "there is not much difference between the tennis here (in the U.S.) and there (in Germany). Only in Germany, we don't play it in schools. They have private clubs where you play with your friends. I played on a club team. And in Germany there is 6 games (in team competition), 4 singles and 2 doubles. If it's tied at 3, the team that won the most sets wins the match. The competition is much more in Germany. In my town we have 3 club teams and I am only the No. 2 player on the No. 2 team. There are a lot of players better than I am."
In the U.S., baseball was one of the most popular sports. Football, golf and tennis were also recognized major sports. According to German television officials in 1987, only the top soccer matches could outdraw tennis matches featuring Steffi. Pam Shriver made the observation in 1986, "Steffi is the most legitimate prodigy since (Andrea) Jaeger. The others are iffy. You can speculate about them in a way that you no longer speculate about Steffi." By 1987, Steffi was "no longer supporting actors in a sport that had been monopolized by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova." She had moved "into starring role". Pam pointed out at the time, "If Graf wins here (at Wimbledon in 1987), there is no doubt in anyone's mind that she is No. 1 right now (in 1987). As of right now (July 1987), it's probably 50-50 anyway. But it's like in boxing. You've got to give the benefit of doubt to the champion (Martina) until she's totally knocked out." Steffi eventually took over the No. 1 ranking in August 1987 after winning the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles. Finalist Chris Evert acknowledged, "Every 5 or 10 years , a young player comes along who's really special, really unique. Steffi is one of those players."
In December 1987, some 15.7 million German viewers were counted watching the Virginia Slims Championships singles final played in New York City. "If I could have planned it, this is the year (1987) I would have planned," Steffi said afterward. In 1986, some 14.2 million German viewers were counted watching Boris played in the men's singles final of Wimbledon. Boris and Steffi "grew up 6 miles apart in Germany, played tennis together as children." Steffi first visited Gleneagles, Colorado in 1986, "They arranged something (clay courts) here at Gleneagles and I played a few times with Ivan (Lendl)."
Known for "running around her backhand and pounding forehand winners across the court and down the lines", Steffi told The Associated Press in 2013 Serena Williams had "got a lot of tennis left in her. I can easily see her pass all of our records. I don't see the competition catching up to her at all. Her body has been holding up really well. We'll see how mentally and physically she's able to preserve herself over the next few years. I don't think anybody's ever played that far, that kind of tennis, at her age. I'll be curious to follow her."
In December 1987, some 15.7 million German viewers were counted watching the Virginia Slims Championships singles final played in New York City. "If I could have planned it, this is the year (1987) I would have planned," Steffi said afterward. In 1986, some 14.2 million German viewers were counted watching Boris played in the men's singles final of Wimbledon. Boris and Steffi "grew up 6 miles apart in Germany, played tennis together as children." Steffi first visited Gleneagles, Colorado in 1986, "They arranged something (clay courts) here at Gleneagles and I played a few times with Ivan (Lendl)."
Known for "running around her backhand and pounding forehand winners across the court and down the lines", Steffi told The Associated Press in 2013 Serena Williams had "got a lot of tennis left in her. I can easily see her pass all of our records. I don't see the competition catching up to her at all. Her body has been holding up really well. We'll see how mentally and physically she's able to preserve herself over the next few years. I don't think anybody's ever played that far, that kind of tennis, at her age. I'll be curious to follow her."
