Former world number one Steffi Graf has decided to go ahead with her long-awaited comeback to tournament tennis in Hanover next week - but her former coach is warning her not rush back too soon.
A WTA spokesperson confirmed yesterday that the 28-year-old Graf, who hasn't played since having a knee operation shortly after last year's French Open, had been able to practice this week and would be in the Hanover draw.
Graf, who has slumped to 48th in the rankings but who has a protected ranking of third in the world, has said she is determined to climb back to the top spot.
She had hoped to return at this week's Paris Indoor Open - but retired at the 11th hour after sustaining a calf strain in training.
Graf's former coach Pavel Slozil, who now guides Russian teenager Anna Kournikova, thinks she is aiming too high and revealed in Paris this week that Graf had booked five consecutive hours of practice on the eve of the $480,000 event.
"That is simply too much," he said, adding: "Steffi is 28 years old and she has won 21 Grand Slams. She should be easing herself back - not pushing herself to the limits.
"She has got to relax and be prepared to lose some matches. The trouble is that she hates losing and I think she is also terrified of the reaction in the German press if she fails to succeed."
Before arriving in Paris, Graf had hoped to launch her comeback in Tokyo the previous week, but had to pull out after renewed pain from her knee.
Third-seed Mary Pierce, cheered on by members of her fan club perched in the upper terraces of the Coubertin Stadium, won the first title of her career in her adopted France yesterday when she beat Dominique Van Roost of Belgium 63, 7-5 in the final of the Paris Indoor Open.
It was sweet revenge for Pierce who was jeered off the same court two years ago when she offered only token resistance and complained of a back injury while crashing at the first hurdle to Germany's Petra Begerow.
"The public here are perhaps a little difficult to understand. But for me, this time at least, they have been great. They've really helped me through this week," she said.
