What a wild ride back in history!!... the commercials, the format, the gear!😂😂😂...Chris was more capable than I remember (at that stage in the career) ...and Martina more vulnerable at the net than I remember?! Crazy! Thanks for posting! How the ladies game has changed!!!
It was always a wild ride between in the rivalry between these two. They pushed each other to get better and created the best rivalry in probably sport history. Chris just refused to lose this match
Chris said about this match that she'd realised that Martina's forehand actually was the more suspect of Martina's groundstrokes and so she developed a plan to hit with more topspin and height to Martina's forehand to keep her back. Certainly, forehand errors cost Martina massively in this match, at 3-3 in the final set and then on her forehand volley towards the end. In later years, players like Steffi Graf and Monica Seles would really go after Martina's forehand, knowing that it often broke down under pressure.
L'un des plus beaux, si ce n'est LE plus beau match de tennis féminin que j'aie jamais vu. Un jeu d'un niveau stratosphérique, avec tres peu de déchet. Et une victoire méritée pour evert, bien sûr, même si navratilova était digne de gagner aussi, c'est là toute la cruauté du sport... et dans un monde meilleur, elles auraient pu se partager le titre. En fait, j'étais pour navratilova, que peu de monde en France appréciait alors, à cause de son physique et de ses mœurs - j'ai le souvenir d'un ou deux articles assez infâmes dans la presse sportive de l'époque. C'était d'autant plus dégueulasse qu'elle avait l'honnêteté de ne pas mentir là dessus, ce qui n'etait alors pas courant : total respect. On voit quand elles s'etreignent à la fin à quel point elles s'apprécient. Leur amitié est une plus belles qui aient jamais honoré le monde du sport, et leur palmarès est édifiant : en ce temps-là, il y avait elle et les autres, mais qui comptaient pour ainsi dire pour du beurre. Immenses championnes.
@@lflagr Steffi played superhuman in that FO 88 final. We must not forget that her opponent had ousted Navratilova in the quarters (who had made the 4 previous FO finals)!
How Chris came back serving 5-5 o-4 was miraculous. At o-40 she laid in a backhand almost mad that she let herself downs. K Chris To get into a groove to get the body moving which happens after 30 yrs old. . She took chances and aggressive in last game . She served for it at 6-5 but played not to lose instead of playing to win by being aggressive. Martina forced Chris to hit winners which made the winThe exchange at the net at 30-40 wom her the match. I nbelieve once she reached deuce she knew she could and should win leading in the match all the way till 5-5. Chris’s pride kicked in and her chin moved up after winning that point for deuce. All that pererverence paid off losing 13 matches in a row with breakthrough at Virginia slims of Florida 6-2,6-4, knowing if she was playing near her best and Martina a little off she should win. They played 5 times on clay from 85 French 86 French 87,88 Houston on clay only losing once at French sf 87, 4 time rain delay she never got into a rhythm. . At this in her career the first set was often close as it
you could never count Evert out. She could be behind 6-0, 5-0 and you still wouldn't be sure i f you were going to win the match. Magnificent player. Excellent fighter. Hope she's doing well...
Lobbing Martina, despite here exquisite overhead, was a good idea (and who better to do it than Evert-Lloyd?). She often closed in very close to the net. Had Chris lost this match, I think she would have retired much sooner, and if this match had lasted any longer I think she would have lost it. She was totally out of gas at the end. What a match. What a win!
@@joeyconvery2055Oh look…..it’s the Monica troll. How many times have you made this same comment? Seriously, you. need to get a life. And PS, Steffi was just fine. ✌️
Chris had won 10 of the first 15 games 6-3, 4-2 up 40-15 two break points for 5-2, served for the match up6-5 and lost second set 7-6 , then up 5-3 . At 5-5 serving o-40 Martina was one point away 3 times from serving for the match. Chris had to win this match 3 times in order to make it through. The sting of losing that first set toMartina at 84 Wimbledon, sting of losing two close sets after winning the first set at 84 open had to ring in her ear. With Martina serving at 5-6 Chris gave herself permission to break and win. Had Chris won in second set people would’ve said it was a fluke. Chris had to win in a close 3 setter to believe in the future that she had the right to win. No one believed in Eve4t toppling Martina ever again after Open of 83 but Chris believed in herself.
@@th8257yes open 83 where Chris was lucky to win 4 games. She was no match for Marina that day just before 30 urs old having been number one for 7 years to Martina’s 2 and with a wooden racket and before hitting the gym, haha improved 100 percent by 12 months and nearly beat Martina in 84 open losing just buy a few points. Had a break point and missed a forehand pass down the line that would’ve made it 3-3.in second set had a break point but Martina hit a great serve. She had to lose this close match for her to believe that if Martina was slightly off her work in gym she was able to compete at nearly Martina’s quality. On clay the ball sets up and gave Chris more time to get into position. Martina couldn’t charge the net at will and pick off the volley. She wonn again in 86 French to show the 85 wasn’t a fluke. After the 86 Chris didn’t win a slam but that’s mostly due emergence of graf . I’m oreder to to win a slam shed have to neat Martina and Graf which was a tall task considering she wasn’t dying to win as n 1980. On individual given day she could beat anyone except graf although in boca in 89 took graf 6-3 in third set . That winning first set was perhaps some of her best tennis due to her exceptionable movement that day. Match against Seles 89 open her last official tournament match win was vintage Evert.
Yeah, in those days we didn’t get the Women’s French Open finals televised live. I seem to remember this airing from about 3pm-5pm in the afternoon (Eastern Time, so well after it ended). I’m pretty sure the Men’s Final was aired live the next day, and of course we got NBC’s Breakfast at Wimbledon and CBS’ US Open coverage live. As for the Australian, that was never aired on network television in the US. Possibly it was on ESPN by then, but our house didn’t get that channel.
On the third point Chris hits a drop volley to Martina’s fore hand, a shot I haven’t seen her hit then followed it up with a fierce deep cross court backhand in corner to Martina’s fore hand, her shots are hit deeply and Chris is a slow starter. I knew we were in to a great match because Chris came ready to play. After closing the gap at previous years wimbledon winning several games in a row. When Chris starts out well and holds she can stay with her to 3-3,4-4 and that’s when her mental strength can have a chance to put her over in winning sets. Previously she started slow and often the first set warms her up to win second set only to have Martina furious with herself for not clamping down in the second. In this match she experienced a gut wrenching loss in second set after serving for it at 6-5, having had the lead the entire match. Then again up 5-3 ran out of gas to serve 5-5 0-40. Had Martina won one of the next three points she would’ve steamrolled at 6-5 such familiar memories of so many slam finals serving to win with just one service break. ( 78 w final, AO open final of 81, open Sf 81, open final 84, eastborne 79). Here Chris became fierce and at o-40- hit a severe cross court backhand winner out of sheer disgust. At 30-40 eyeball to eyeball Chris won an exchange at the net, an unlikely win against the best volleyer ever , pivoted around and her chin came up. She was back in business. After leading the entire match Chris believed for first time in a slam final since her AO open win in 82 hit 5 unbelievable winners without hesitation. Martina forced Chris to come up with winners. Chris won this match, Martina didn’t lose it. From here they played 4 more times on clay with Chris convincingly winning 3 of the 4. This was Chris’s most important win of the 80’s. Her win against Austin was the other in 1980 open. Without that Austin win , I doubt Chris would’ve played this match, perhaps retiring earlier if she had not been able to solve the Austin puzzle.
This match really the end of Martina's hyper dominance. She had lost at the Australian open at the end of 1984, but that ended a record breaking unbeaten streak and most people thought she'd get over it and get back to her dominance. Martina would never win the French open again.
@@johniii8147absolutely. It's one of the reasons I think people who say Monica Seles would have gone on with her early 1990s dominance are wrong. It's just not mentally or physically possible to keep that going over so many consecutive years. Navratilova, Graf, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic. All of them took big dips after dominant periods.
Evert brought a lifelong ally to this match that nobody is giving credit to. Not a coach or a family member, no Chris Evert can thank those gusty winds. Evert was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale Florida right in the Florida Keys on clay in near constant windy conditions. Billie Jean called her the best 'wind' player she ever saw and said Chris seemed to read the direction and timing of wind gusts. She hits a moderately flat hard ball, which she claims really helps in the wind because anything with much more spin or heighth over the net can be taken further off course. She lobs a lot more frequently because that very attribute makes hitting overheads very dicy. these were perfect conditions for Chris. Poor Martina was always so dependent on her serve, and high serve percentage and that wind was playing tricks with her toss all match long.
Absolutely no way would today"s players with even the wooden or graphite racquets beat Chris Evert on Clay! Iga wouldn't either. Chris is the GOAT on the red dirt!
