Steffi Graf never stops to take a breath, not that she has needed to while blasting her way into Saturday`s Wimbledon final against Martina Navratilova.
The West German plays at a pace that exhausts her opponents` chances in a hurry.
''She serves, she plays, she serves, she plays,'' said Karine Quentrec of France, beaten by Graf 6-2, 6-0 in 34 minutes in the second round. ''She could play 10 minutes and never take a breath.''
The victory over Quentrec was Graf`s quickest in six Wimbledon matches, but none lasted an hour.
Pam Shriver kept the top-seeded West German on court for 59 minutes in Thursday`s semifinal, although that included time lost while Shriver retossed her service balls several times and stopped to tie her shoes.
In the French Open final, played on slow clay, Graf disposed of Natalia Zvereva with ruthless efficiency in 34 minutes.
''I`ve never been anyone who has done everything slow,'' said Graf, from the south German town of Bruhl. ''I try to get the points over-everything has to be fast. That`s the way I`ve always played.''
Graf has worked so little at Wimbledon, even while playing doubles with Gabriela Sabatini and mixed doubles with her coach, Pavel Slozil, that she has spent nearly an hour every day practicing.
Her play has been breathtaking, not only here but in the other two Grand Slam tournaments she has won this year. She has not lost a set in the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. In 20 matches, she has lost merely 66 games, an average of only 1.65 per set.
Graf, who made it to No. 1 in the rankings by running around her backhand to use her howitzer forehand, has now improved her backhand and volleying. Her court quickness is, as ever, almost as formidable a weapon as her forehand.
At 20, with an annual income estimated at $6 million, Graf is clearly the successor to the women`s tennis empire ruled for nearly two decades by Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who between them have won 11 of the last 14 Wimbledons.
Graf has risen from 22d in the world in 1984 to first by the end of last year, when she won the French Open and was the losing finalist to Navratilova in both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon.
The only thing that kept Graf from already being crowned the new empress was the loss at Wimbledon in 1987. She had been equally impressive in getting to the final a year ago, but Navratilova beat her 7-5, 6-3.
''She is human,'' insisted Shriver, who has won just five games against Graf in successive Wimbledon semifinal defeats.
Navratilova, a left-hander, proved that by using a slice serve to keep the ball away from the righthanded Graf`s forehand. Graf has tried to find a solution to that problem by practicing with lefthanders as much as possible.
''I think Steffi is coming over the backhand better,'' Navratilova said.
''I expect her to return better than she did last year. I think I have a little more on the ball than last year. It should be a good battle.''
Graf, picked by nearly everyone to add Wimbledon to a fast-growing list of achievements, nevertheless insists she is the underdog.
''The pressure is definitely on her,'' Graf said. ''She has won it so many times, and this (grass) is her surface.''
Navratilova`s formidable task is to prove not only Graf`s mortality but underline her own claim to immortality. The Czech-born American, who has won six straight Wimbledon titles and never lost a final here, is trying to break the overall record of eight she shares with American Helen Wills Moody, whose last title came exactly 50 years ago.
''A lefty serve-and-volleyer against a big, booming righty-it`s a great occasion,'' Shriver said. ''I think it will be a wild match.''
As a concession to Saturday`s task, Navratilova withdrew from the mixed doubles Friday when her second match of the day threatened to drag on.
In the ladies doubles, Chicagoan Katrina Adams and Zina Garrison lost 6-3, 6-3 to Larisa Savchenko and Zvereva. The Soviets will meet Graf and Sabatini in the final.