Graf's ride to victory has her far from speechless

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

Steffi Graf broke the cardinal rule of the 17th man in the America's Cup - she spoke to the victorious AmericaOne crew during the race.

As Paul Cayard rounded the final mark 7s ahead of Prada, one of the world's most famous tennis stars yelled, "C'mon guys - go, go, go!"

Usually the 17th man, strictly an observer, is not allowed to speak in case he (or in this case she) offers advice.

But the fact that Graf had been on only one other boat in her life would have quashed any suspicions.

Graf felt she must have had some influence on AmericaOne yesterday, as they grabbed a 9s win in a spine-tingler over Prada to tie up the best-of-nine Louis Vuitton Cup challenger final 3-3.

"I hoped that I was giving them a bit of luck, and I guess I did," Graf said after she stepped ashore beaming yesterday.

She admitted before boarding the boat that she was nervous after watching a race on television the night before. But she coped admirably.

"I didn't know I was going to get that close," she enthused afterwards. "It couldn't have been more thrilling and close. So it was an incredible experience.

"Scary? No, it was extremely interesting and very powerful."

AmericaOne trimmer Terry Hutchinson explained where she should sit at the back of the boat and what not to touch, in case she lost a valuable finger.

"I think she knew squat about sailboat racing," Hutchinson said.

"But she was pretty agile on the back of the boat - she did a good job keeping out of trouble. The pre-start was rough and difficult but she's an amazing athlete.

"We told her that the race today was comparable to the Agassi-Sampras game at the Aussie Open - and she agreed."

After the boats crossed the line, Graf rushed up to the wheel. Cayard immediately asked to have his photo taken with his Very Important Passenger.

Graf had a turn on the grinders, before Cayard handed her the wheel to steer the boat home.