These were two INCREDIBLY ATHLETIC women!! It's difficult to find two tennis players with this kind of movement, agility, power and speed!! Not to mention a serve and volley style!
Navratilova was the greatest all-around player ever - singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Graf was the greatest singles player ever. She retired at age 29 having won 22 singles' grandslam finals. Had she kept playing for another 4 or 5 years, I'm sure she would have ended with with close to 30 grandslam wins.
At the age when Graf won the golden slam, Martina was losing to pregnant Margaret Court, losing to BJK, Evonne Goolagong, Virginia Wade & was Evert' s bunny. Different player mature differently.
@@rajusaha855 At age 21 prime Graf was losing in slams to a 34 year old Navratilova. If Navratilova had retired at the end of 1987 aged 30 like Graf did, she would have a 7-3 h2h lead overall and be 4-1 up in slams. 🤷
@@tobiasisback4605hahaha a prime 24 years old Martina lost to granny 37 years old BJK in Houston. Losing to 15 years old Jeager 3 consecutive times😂😂 & then beaten by Wendy Turnbull. Had Martina not skip clay court & rebound aces then the h2h would have been different story. Infact 16 of 18 matches between them played on Martina's favourite surface.
@@rajusaha855 Haha, Martina never lost in first round of Wimbledon as #1 seed like Graf did to journeywoman McNeil 😜 😜 😝 McNeil beat Graf again in straight sets in first round of YEC, same McNeil never even took a set from granny Martina 😂
@albertroundtree8546 To be honest, now that I look back at this after all these years, I notice how ugly Steff's strokes are in their movement. Still she is a great player.
@@jeroenvermunt862 Steffi's strokes are a thing of beauty in their movement, you clown. “Steffi Graf moves so beautifully, with such grace, you can freeze the TV frame and see that each position is gorgeous.“ (Troy Dobrin, ballet director, 2012)
Steffi Graf was absolutely lethal on grass. Her tactic of keeping her returns low to neutralize Navratilova's 1st volley attempts set up passing shot after passing shot for Graf, and forced a huge number of Navratilova volley errors. This was a great era for women's tennis. Both are champions.
These are two of the greatest players of all time getting after it. Martina vs. Steffi. It doesn't get any better! I miss this era of tennis. To me, Martina is the GOAT of women's tennis!
@@kazeemadegboyegakola Serena didn't win the Grand Slam. And she won only 30 % of the tournaments she played. Steffi won 50 %, Martina 42 %. Both against better competition.
@@kazeemadegboyegakolagrand slam titles are not everything. Serena didn't hold any significant records in women's tennis. She didn't have most WTA titles, most weeks #1, most year end #1, most dominant single season, longest winning streak etc. Serena didn't won calendar slam either. If you checks her records in Wikipedia & compare them to Court, Navratilova, Evert & Graf then it's Serena who had the weakest resume. Outside of slams her records is not that impressive. Even her 23 slams record is just an open era records rather than all time which Margaret Court still holds with 24 slams. Tbh USA biased media like ESPN publicized Serena so much because she is American & more importantly she is black otherwise she wouldn't have that hype.
@@nrnobleNavratilova was past her prime in 1989. Graf was the rising star by that time coming off a career grand slam in 1988 winning all four majors.
lol ... watch the other Zverev get steamrolled by Roger when he tried that few years ago at wimby. also, watch Roger dominate another serve and volleyer Groth (one of my faves).
@@squidjames7735 yes, but Roger is no longer playing - today no top 10 is using the one-handed backhand and frankly tennis has become boring 🥱 Roger was the last
One big difference in this match, IMO, was return of serve: Graf's service-return game was much better than Navratilova's. Martina missed a lot of her chip returns and many of those that she got in were easy pickings for the Graf forehand. Two great champs.
It would have been better for women’s tennis for the courts to stay that way. The problem was the big servers on the men’s side making tennis unwatchable.
@@FlabbyTitmussyup. There was a sweet spot for women’s tennis in the 90s that allowed for a huge diversity of game plays, many of which were rewarding. Think Graf, Navratilova, Seles, Sanchez-Vicario, Sabatini, Capriati, Novotna, Pierce, Martinez, Davenport, Hingis, Serena and Venus Williams. There was so much diversity in their games styles.
The Serve and Volley Game was killed by the decision to slow down the Game in Wimbledon. I loved watching Rafter, Cash, Edberg, Becker and Stich against each other or against baseliners like Agassi, Lendl or Wilander. Today, we have the same Game at all Grand Slams. People hit the Ball from behind for Hours and Hours.
Uff the times when I wanted Steefi Graf to win but given a choice now I would have want Martina to win . What an era , Agassi , boris becker and Steffy Graf made me fall in love with Wimbledon and obviously tennis.
To think she beat Seles, Sanchez-Vicario, Evert, and Navratilova in four straight rounds is amazing. And that she lost only 13 games in the 8 sets she won in those four matches --- Wow! (Of course, she lost a tiebreak set to Martina in the final though.)
Seles was 15 and it was her first year on the WTA tour, Chris Evert was 15 years older than Graf (and playing her last Wimbledon) and Martina was 13 years older. Hardly an even playing field.
@@pablofrank2466 Yeah, everyone knows Graf didn't play those 4 in the span of a week when each of those 4 were at their respective peaks. That's obvious. It's still spectacular that she beat 4 all time greats in a row with the loss of so few games.
@@squidjames7735Swiatek is not faster than Steffi. Peak Steffi with her GOAT FH & footwork with trash Serena. Serena was lucky that she didn't have to play another GOAT contender in slam.
@@igorgrcic1366 Seles was a punching ball for the top players of the 1990s and early 2000s: 5-10 win/loss against Steffi. 5-15 against Hingis. 3-10 against Davenport. 1-10 against Venus. 1-4 against Serena.
Significantly better tennis then the neverending baseline grunt-and-scream-athons now - power, subtle slices, killer passing shots and lobs, brilliant volleys - thats why i loved 80s tennis - far more assertive play and tactical nous. A pleasure to watch.
@@pablotupone4190 Because she didn't have to play Steffi in the final. Steffi missed many slam finals after the beginning of the Graf Blackmail Scandal - Wimbledon 90, AO 91, FO 91, USO 91. Before that she had made 13 slam finals in a row.
Watching this a couple of things stand out: 1. Steffi often held an extra ball in her left free hand during play. You never see any other pros doing that. 2. How short most of the points were. Hardly any long rallies!! Both players super aggressive, but Martina especially rushing the net almost after every serve. The old serve-and-volley tactics are practically extinct in todays' modern game. 3. I love the steely face of Graff during the match. Hardly ever an expression of emotion. Only at the conclusion of the match when she won did she show any emotion, a happy smile.
Watching these two play in real time = wowsa! Watching them play decades later = really?! The Williams sisters changed the WTA forever with their strength.
You play according to the norms of the time. Martina and Steffi both themselves moved the game forward: nobody was as fit as Martina in the early 1980s and Steffi’s forehand and speed moved the game on in the 1990s. Don’t be rude.
Like how she aced her ass to finish things. After years of watching Navratilova bully many women this was very satisfying seeing her dispatched this way. Steffi had a great game and was very mature and mentally strong. And yes cute as well.
The next year [1990] Graf - in one of her worst matches in GS appearances - got defeated by Zina Garrison (!) in the SF, basically giving Navratilova her 9th (!) and last Wimbledon Championship.
Both, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, were at that time the best tennisplayers worldwide. I remember when Graf defeated Navratilova the first time in the final of Berlin. Navratilova couldn't believe it, she was crying all the time, finally she arranged with her first loss against Graf.
I think that Martina Navratilova was so in tears because she was playing, and lost, in the presence of her family, which was very rare at the time of the Iron Courtain.
@@sapphire3723 No, her family sadly was not present. That was not possible back then due to the Socialist dictatorships in East and Middle Europe back then. However, they were watching the match on German television since they were living only 70 miles away from the German/Czech border. So close and yet so far. That thought overwhelmed Martina.
Navratilova played 33 slams on grass (23 Wimbledon, 8 AOs, 2 USOs) and won 12 of them. That is 36 %. Steffi played 14 slams on grass (all Wimbledon) and won 7 of them. That is 50 %. Serena played 21 slams on grass (all Wimbledon) and won 7 of then (That is 33 %). Margaret Court played 37 slams on grass (14 AO, 12 Wimbledon, 11 USO) and won 19 of them. That is 51 %. Even if you only count open era it is 8 grass slam wins of 16 played (50 %). Court is clearly the greatest grass court player ever. I would rate even Steffi higher than Navratilova.
Navratilova won 9 Wimbledons, Graf 7. Navratilova won 12 grass court slams, Graf 7. Navratilova won 32 grass court titles, Graf 7. Martina has the best grass court winning percentage in the pro era. Graf has the 6th, behind Court, Nav, Serena, and even Evert and BJK. Please 😂
@@carrerau7138If Court is the greatest grass court player ever then she is the greatest player period. 11 of her slams were won at AO on grass against limited competition. You can’t discount Court as GOAT on account of AO vs. Graf but then trot her out to undermine Navratilova's grass record. You are so dishonest.
@@tobiasisback4605 Both Court and Graf are greater than all these Americans. Court had to say this: "But I always thought Steffi was the best. She was my favorite. She won the Grand Slam in 1988 (Australian, French, Wimbledon and US Open) and I always loved watching her because of her athleticism and style.“ (Margaret Court, press conference Melbourne, January 2020)
Le niveau de tennis produit par ces deux super championnes est extraordinaire, enthousiasmant!👏 Et pour ma part, ma préférée est toujours Steffi, la plus grande tenniswoman de tous les temps! Revoir ses matchs est toujours agréable.
Andre Agassi made a wise choice marrying Steffi..both top drawer people being in their profession, and being charitible within noble causes in sacrafice and time. Robert at 69.
Yes and no. How many siblings that try to follow their star parents footsteps attain the same level of success in their respective sports? very few. Will Bronny James be as good as Lebron James? likely no. More examples- Tennis- Peter Korda, his son? Baseball- Carl Yazstremski's son? Comedian Don Rickles daughter Mindy? (flop) Baseball- radio announcer Joe Garagiola, son Chris Garagiola for the Diamondbacks, Nascar driver Dale Earnhardt's son? (semi flop) Sometimes it's best to choose your own path in life instead of trying to copy your famous/talented parents in their field. Robert at 69. as@@a6hiji7
I have the videos of Roland Garros 1987 Final between Graf and Navratilova. I also have the Finals between Martinez and Navratilova Wimbledon 1994 Final
Imagine if these two got to play their prime years with the lighter aluminium rackets everyone plays with today. Stefi's forehand would be unstoppable.
Wow, two athletic women who actually look like women and are great sports. No one here is threatening umpires or line's women. Or playing the " i dont cheat cause im a mother " card.
That’s the GOAT 22 Slams before her 30th birthday and supplanted 2 of the All Time greats to breakthrough. I know Seles got stabbed and was off the court for 2 years. But Serena played in a horribly weak women’s field for the majority of her career.
Don't forget Steffi's reconstructive knee surgery at age 27. She had won 21 slams until then. Navratilova won 7 more slams after that age. Serena even 12. Steffi only one.
just a few loose forehands by MN and thats all Graf needed with that serve and great hands. The final ran away from MN quickly once she lost her first serve third set.
Once upon a time there was a girl whose dreams were thorn apart. Her name is Monika Seles and if some things did not happen in Hamburg Steffi would not have been a Queen for long
Without those things happening in Hamburg Steffi would also have won Wimbledon 94, giving her a 23 slam tally at the end. Since she already was 3-2 win/loss against #1-ranked Seles pre-things Monica would have suffered a lot more losses had she played in 1993-95. She knew why she only returned when Steffi was hampered by yet another scandal, the Graf Tax Scandal. But this time she miscalculated - Steffi was more mature and Seles could not profit AGAIN from a scandal engulfing Steffi (like the 1990-92 Graf Blackmail Scandal).
Its a shame how todays baseline play has all but extinguished serve and volley players. I wonder how martina would have faired against this generation of tennis..would she have evolved her game?
You need eye operations. Steffi & Martina would double bagel Navarro, Pegula & Guaff lmao😂😂. Steffi is fastest women ever. Steffi's consistency & domination put even Serena on shadow.
@@squidjames7735 Dude, Navratilova has nothing that would end up in my mouth. That is, no matter who she identifies herself with, she is still a female. Or what are you talking about?
Drop Iga or today's player here. Tbh both Graf & Navratilova would easily thrash them on centre court even with older racquet. Today women's tennis player are physically & mentally weak with no game plan. That's why they struggle to dominate today.
Martina was already past her prime and lost fair and square. Thankfully Graf didn’t do grunts bc Martina would’ve used that as an excuse like she did when she lost to Monica Seles the following year. Martina was a sore loser
Don't forget than Martina had a 67-3 win/loss streak from June 1989 to April 1990. All 3 losses against Steffi at her absolute peak. With Martina winning one set in each of those matches. Without Steffi Navratilova would have been the clear #1 during that time.
Graf is the only human being win a golden slam! She’s the main reason I fell in love with tennis back in the 80s. She used to glide on the tennis court with such composure. What a treat it was to watch her! Thanks for all my forever champion!
I’ve watched the ‘89 US Open final a bunch of times, where Martina loses from up a set and 4-2. I’d forgotten that she blew the 5-2 lead in the second set of this match. A real harbinger of her challenge closing out leads against Graf.
Unfortunately Martina was the Roger of the WTA. Despite her achievements she should have won more - at least 4 more slams. But mentally wasn't as strong as her strongest competitor.
Tennis nowadays is so Boring compared to when these two champions played. The variety, slice backhand and serve volleying made it entertaining! Now so many just stay at the back of the court and just rally it out, it’s a snooze fest!
