Graf, who claimed the first of her 22 Grand Slam singles titles on Paris clay 12 years ago, said it would be impossible to top her dramatic 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over world No. 1 Martina Hingis in Saturday's final.

And so she has decided to bid farewell to Roland Garros.

``This is definitely the last time I will play here, without a doubt,'' said Graf, a broad smile etched across her face after her sixth French Open title.

``You know, this memory should stay the way it is -- it's very special so I'm not going to play here again.

``This is the most incredible moment that I've had. I just want to keep it the way it is. This is my last French Open.''

Graf, who turns 30 June 14, said she made her decision only minutes before entering the post-match news conference. But she is yet to decide when she will retire for good.

``It is a tournament by tournament, match by match thing,'' said Graf, who will climb to No. 3 in the world rankings after her win.

In a career crammed full of remarkable moments and achievements Graf didn't hesitate to place this victory at the top of the list.

Before Roland Garros she had not won a Grand Slam title since 1996 after being hit by a number of persistent injuries, one of which required knee surgery in 1997.

Hingis and a new generation of young power-hitters have begun to dominate the headlines and Graf had been written off as a serious contender at the Open. She was beaten at last month's clay-court German Open after receiving treatment for back pain, but the enforced rest did her good and she looked as fit in Paris as she has for years.

``This is the biggest win I've every had,'' smiled Graf, who has spent a record 377 weeks as world No. 1. ``I've had a few unexpected victories but this was by far the most unexpected.

``This is the most incredible memory I will ever have.''

The center court crowd of 17,000 were firmly behind their former champion as Hingis was docked a penalty point and indulged in dubious antics to complain at line-calls.

They gave Graf a rousing send-off, shouting ``Steffi, Steffi'' and reducing the German to tears as she stepped on to the rostrum to accept the trophy from Margaret Court, the only person to have won more Grand Slam singles titles.

It was 17 years ago that a precocious Graf first arrived at Roland Garros and claimed her first victory at 13 years old.

She now has 22 Grand Slam titles to go with 84 tournament wins and an Olympic gold medal.

In between Graf saw her father Peter sent to prison on tax evasion charges stemming from the mishandling of her earnings.

``Ever since my knee operation it's been up and down,'' said Graf. ``In the beginning of the year things didn't go so well.

``The last two weeks I've been able to turn things around again. It's been a tough road.

``Usually I play for myself but it's been extremely helpful to have a family that supports me.

``That's been really important the last few weeks because with injuries and the way I was playing things hadn't been going that great.''