I’ve been watching these old replays of Chris, and I totally forgot how really good she was at the net!!! I think we have this image of Chris as a baseliner, but the more I watch these old matches I see she was 100% all court player! I wish I could see her lifetime statistics at the net. I really miss the days of serve and volley.
This video exemplifies the brilliance of their games and rivalry. Tennis for all its power and athleticism today is not played with this skill anymore. This match is truly a gem whether you are an Evert or Martina fan. Great stuff!
Obviously everyone remembers Martina as a powerhouse - an aggressive, dominant, athletic player. But watching these old matches I had no idea how masterful Evert was. Her passing shots and defensive lobs alone were unparalleled. And she was deceptively powerful too, hitting winners and attacking from all sorts of angles, drawing her opponent into the net and hitting a blazing passing shot or a perfectly placed lob. Quite a pleasure to watch these two with their disparate styles. And quite fitting that they both won 18 slams. Perhaps the greatest rivalry ever.
No matter how slow their balls are compared to the current women's tennis, I enjoy watching this so much more!!! :P I love the setting up the ball and strategies!
1984, one of the 2 yrs of complete dominance by Martina, when Chris couldn't beat Martina even on clay. But still you can see Chris is quite often holding her own in close matches like this one. Chris is incredibly talented with amazing variety of defensive shots and incredible touch. BTW, what I love esp about this clip is the low camera angle. All tennis matches should be shot from an angle close to the court surface. That way you can fully appreciate the angles, the trajectory of the ball.
Always enjoyable watching these two legends play. Chris had amazing talent and her pinpoint accuracy from the baseline was astounding. How many brilliant passing shots did she hit? Martina was a superior athlete and her serve and volley skills were among the best ever. Both are all-time greats.
I am a great fan of these two legends who dominated during my childhood and teenage years. I have to admit that when they played each other I always wanted Chris to win, she was just so gracious and so elegant. From the end of 1982 till early 1985 Chris lost 13 straight times to Martina who completely dominated their rivalry. From 1985 things were more even between the two of them but Martina still had the edge. I don't think we will ever see such a rivalry and friendship again. I wished Evonne Goolagong and Tracy Austin had continued a bit longer on the tour, two other great players from that era.
You can tell Evert's increased footspeed here. She worked with Stan Nicholes who helped Margaret Court become the fittest player of her era. Certainly paid off for Chris! Thank god she swithed to a mid size graphite racket too to match Martina's power!
Martina's backhand volley comes to mind- she won more points with it than Chris did with the lob, though a great shot.... 99% of the men couldn't hit some of those shots Martina got with that backhand volley.
@LobOverTheBackhand No, they played a week earlier in Livingston, NJ and while Chris lost the first set 6-2, she came back in the 2nd & brought the match to a tiebreaker. After the drubbing at the US Open in '83, Chris said the 6-2, 7-6 loss was very satisfying because she felt the new racket was helping her compete better against Martina's power, and added a lot of belief going into this MSG final.
best of 5 set match that Martina won in 3 straight....the first 2 were close- 63, 75...the 3rd was a blowout 61. The Va. Slims made the match best of 5 because the last 2 years Martina was beating everyone in under an hour and people were complaining they weren't getting their money's worth, so a 3rd set made the match 30 minutes longer...
These two form a group of top players that transitioned from wood to composites. Must of been difficult against the younger players who grew up with the new rackets. Kudos to Connors for persisting with the Wilson steel for most of his career.
Her very first tournament final with the graphite racket she lost 6-2,7-6 to Martina and then this match . With the graphite racket the scores were much closer than the 6-0,6-2 of the wooden racket matches. You can see the increase in power
Chris Evert....what a great, great champion, and always a lady on the court. No yelling at the umpire. No pumping her fist at the other player after hitting a winner. No loud, obnoxious grunts. Just the consummate professional. She is my favorite player of all-time by far. Funny watching these dated matches though. It almost seems like Chris and Martina are powder-puffing the balls, compared to the way the ladies smack and punish their 'groundies' nowadays.
Not at all. Look at Vinci versus Serena at the US Open. Vinci is not hitting harder than Navratilova did. The racquets make a big difference, as do the strings and grips. Give even Serena Martina's continental grip and one of her 1984 racquets and you'll see a big difference in how she hits the ball. But, of course, Serena's muscles make a difference. Give any player from any period that amount of muscle and you'll have harder hitting. People vastly underestimate the differences in the sport that come from the equipment and surface changes. Plenty of women in tennis today do not hit as hard as Keys does. And Keys pays for it with injuries.
She did... but the Slims Championships was held in March back then. This final was played on March 4, 1984 and was Chrissie's second tournament of the calendar year. While a seemingly strange time for the premier Slims event, the Australian Open was played in December & owned the end of the year focus. As an indoor event, the winter indoor season was the only time in the calendar that did not have a season-defining tennis event. So that was how it worked.
well- they used to hold the Toyota Championships after the Aus in Dec....before the mid 80s, players routinely skipped the Aus Open...Chris skipped about 10 times and Martina skipped 7-8 back when it was on grass- both could have several more slam titles.
There is a new documentary called "Unmatched" about the Chris and Martina rivalship as their are calling it, in this documentary.. half friendship half rivalry. There was a 15 minute presentation at this years Wimbledon about this up coming documentary. I hope that maybe something can be posted here about it !
Looks like a great match. In my view, much more entertaining style of tennis than today's game. Martina seemed able to handle Chris's level of power, would be interesting to see see how she would fare in her prime agains today's players. Maybe quite well, though she'd probable have to tweak her play style a little.
@@guest4590 Yes - but that's because of the 40-year old racquet and string technology - duh.... They're still putting just as much effort in. And while we're here: why doesn't Iga shriek? Or Ashleigh? They're the top players and don't feel the need to shriek - and can thump the ball.
as someone mentioned earlier you can see evert is hitting the ball harder and with more variety (and her serve is helped as well with the graphite racket, not to mention her improved strength from working out and she is actually using her legs and stepping into the court to get that extra bit of "hmph" to her serve) however, she is NOT fully used to the racket and what it can do and what she can do with it... harder hit balls with more variety but so many balls landing very short, around the service line giving a huge advantage to martina... you can also tell evert's improved "athleticism" as well... if ONLY she had switched at least a year earlier if not 2 years earlier!..
Watch Evert's defeat of Martina in '81 at Amelia Island love and love and you'll see that Evert hit with her wood racquet with more power then. It wasn't just the graphite racquet here that was giving her issues. She was aging.
Chris hated playing indoors cause she just preferred being outdoors and having grown up in Florida she knew she could handle the sun, heat and wind better than anyone else plus that indoor carpet surface was lower bouncing and faster than grass which suited Martina's game better than it did Evert's. I do think if Evert had the opportunity for a redo that she would have switched to graphite a few years sooner than she did. Clearly you can see she is still getting used to it here. I always thought she got more much needed power to her strokes but also lost a bit of her exquisite touch with the graphite, even once she fully adjusted. Her touch was amazing with her trusty wood racquet.
Martina seems incredibly confident in this match, you can tell by the way she's playing within herself - not overplaying any shots at all. She looks totally relaxed and confident that she's going to win, and win easily/
@jollycorner1 I never realised that Martina encouraged Chris to change racquets! How interesting. I aways just thought that Chris being a traditionalist just took a bit longer than she ought to change over.
Mark Bpharm she actually should have switched to graphite in beginning if 83 but she felt dependent on that wood racket . She had to shorten her strokes with graphite and have a more open stance . You can tell on return if serve the most ( not on these clips but yes when you watch whole match ) she hit many string serves long .
84 Navratilova won the French Wimbledon us open. Just had to win australian open to win grand slam. But martina was beaten by Helena sukova in the quarter final. Sukova stopped Martina from doing the calender grand slam.
@tebtg1 You made it the point when you decided that your 'information' was definitive and I had no idea what I talking about. Nearly everyone in this forum is as much a tennis buff as you or I and we're all entitled to opinions - even if you think it should not extend to questioning the reputation of a player you like. I am not sure where "envy" come from, but whatever...your arguments are consistently illogical and obviously based on being her fan. That's great, be a fan and best wishes.
@Vengeance509 UM, are you a retired tennis commentator? that was well put together, thanx for the info-I hope the next video i click has another youtube user giving out knowledge about tennis nearly 30 years ago. :-)
In 1984 the Virginia Slims was played in March which was the last tournament in tennis calendar year. In 1985 started the Lipton Championships in Boca Raton (then Key Biscayne now Miami Open), began. Tennis season was adjusted to follow the calendar (January-November). The Australian Open was played in November 1985, and then again in January 1987 (not played in 1986). Chrissie played 1984 Grand Slams with graphite racket.
Don't you mean: "2nd Graphite Racquet Tournament"? Each round is a "match" and Chris played 4 rounds just in this tournament (Jordan, Sukova, Potter, Navratilova).
Read the title of the video again - properly - and you'll get your answer (clue: it's the 2nd time *_Martina and Chrissie_* played with Chrissie using graphite)
@tebtg1 I will say it again: no tennis player has ever looked like Martina, even 20 years later with all the advancements in training. Not Steffi, not Serena, no one. Ask yourself which female athletes she does resemble, and then draw your own conclusions. You are of course welcome to believe anything you want. We all need our heroes.
The time when women still played like women and did not scream as if they were being raped. As a man I always loved Chris's femininity to play tennis. Even Martina is a lady compared to some mammoths who are on the courts today playing like males with skirts, and scream up to the unbearable. Disgusting.
I agree, Chris & Martina were Great Champions. I loved their games & rivalry. As far as ladies today smacking & punishing the ball, if Steffi & Monica didn't punish the ball, they wouldn't have beaten Chris & Martina & taken over the top rankings. I love that today's players show emotion & pump their fists. It's sports but tennis is still sports entertainment. Showing emotion, smacking & punishing the ball makes the once boring sport of tennis, a bit more exciting & the Top Pro Sport 4 Women.
@tebtg1 Wow, really? Please enlighten me about your superior information. I am a huge tennis buff and Martina was my favorite in the 80's. I've seen her play dozens of times, been to many tournaments, read everything and hit with pros when I was a junior. Moreover, I am active in the fitness industry, so I have an idea of what PEDs do and what they look like. Please, tell me how ignorant I am, while your opinion is based on solid, concrete evidence of reading and following her career.
This is the kind of tennis I like to see and play. I watched the FO '14 Men's Final and was bored out of my wits. What's the point of all that scrambling and abbreviated shot making? Today's singles tennis should not be categorized the same as classic singles tennis. It should be called something else. Like, 'Gladiator Tennis' or 'Too Damned Physical for anyone to have long-term success Tennis'.
totally agree! i would take watching a evert vs navratilova mid to late 80's match over ANY female match today! mindless ball bashing from the baseline! no serve and volley anymore, no different styles or stroke production.. everyone looks the same, everyone plays the same, blah, blah!..no sense of how to construct a point, no real sense of strategy, hope i get hit more winners then errors if not as long as my errors aren't as much as my opponent is what today's tennis has come down to... i still watch it on tv, but the huge "thrill and excitement" is gone... i do still enjoy watching federer and wawrinka (can't stand nadal whose entire game is a product of today's rackets), and serena if only for her drive and fighting spirit on the court..
@Carlski79 Nothing you said convinces me she was clean. I saw Martina play live dozens of times, and she was ripped and far more muscular than any other player. Dress size is totally irrelevant. No female tennis player has ever had her legs or arms - even with today's training techniques she still stands apart ... 20 years later! There was no meaningful drug testing back then in women's tennis, give me a break.
Martina had big biceps when she was a fat teenager. Yeah, a fat teenager is really going to be full of steroids. One of the most important things Kinsey found in his research is that every individual creature is unique. Martina was born with those muscles. She told a story about how she beat all the boys in races when she was young and her mother told her to let them win because a woman shouldn't hurt a man's feelings. I suppose she was doing steroids when she was a little kid, too. When a mare recently shocked people by beating male horses at Preakness the mare wasn't on drugs.
@tebtg1 Look - I am not saying I KNOW anything about Martina, but neither can you. I am as informed as any tennis fan and LOVED Martina in the 80's. All I am saying is that, looking at all the facts and circumstances that are available to me (the uncovering of steroid abuses in the 1980's by other athletes, Martina's physique, the physique of other players (and indeed, athletes), etc) I personally do not believe she was clean.
@tebtg1 My opinion is as uninformed as yours, neither of us has first hand knowledge. But I am at least taking an objective view. Your examples are inapposite, Serena is more muscular, and more fat. Steroids allow athletes to maintain very high muscle mass with very low body fat. Which is where my point came from: no female tennis player has ever had Martina's physique. Few men have had her ripped muscles and veins (and none in the 80s when she was playing)! Believe whatever you want.
I’ve been watching these old replays of Chris, and I totally forgot how really good she was at the net!!! I think we have this image of Chris as a baseliner, but the more I watch these old matches I see she was 100% all court player! I wish I could see her lifetime statistics at the net. I really miss the days of serve and volley.
This video exemplifies the brilliance of their games and rivalry. Tennis for all its power and athleticism today is not played with this skill anymore. This match is truly a gem whether you are an Evert or Martina fan. Great stuff!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I love those lobs, angled volleys and passing shots.
Obviously everyone remembers Martina as a powerhouse - an aggressive, dominant, athletic player. But watching these old matches I had no idea how masterful Evert was. Her passing shots and defensive lobs alone were unparalleled. And she was deceptively powerful too, hitting winners and attacking from all sorts of angles, drawing her opponent into the net and hitting a blazing passing shot or a perfectly placed lob. Quite a pleasure to watch these two with their disparate styles. And quite fitting that they both won 18 slams. Perhaps the greatest rivalry ever.
Agreed, except most of her lobs were offensive, not defensive. That's the beauty of it.
Have to say, I give the edge to Monica Seles with passing shots. Her greater use of topspin allowed her to get better angles.
No matter how slow their balls are compared to the current women's tennis, I enjoy watching this so much more!!! :P I love the setting up the ball and strategies!
1984, one of the 2 yrs of complete dominance by Martina, when Chris couldn't beat Martina even on clay. But still you can see Chris is quite often holding her own in close matches like this one. Chris is incredibly talented with amazing variety of defensive shots and incredible touch. BTW, what I love esp about this clip is the low camera angle. All tennis matches should be shot from an angle close to the court surface. That way you can fully appreciate the angles, the trajectory of the ball.
Always enjoyable watching these two legends play. Chris had amazing talent and her pinpoint accuracy from the baseline was astounding. How many brilliant passing shots did she hit? Martina was a superior athlete and her serve and volley skills were among the best ever. Both are all-time greats.
True greats both. Never seen this before in the UK thank you.
they both look fabulous...............
I am a great fan of these two legends who dominated during my childhood and teenage years. I have to admit that when they played each other I always wanted Chris to win, she was just so gracious and so elegant. From the end of 1982 till early 1985 Chris lost 13 straight times to Martina who completely dominated their rivalry. From 1985 things were more even between the two of them but Martina still had the edge. I don't think we will ever see such a rivalry and friendship again. I wished Evonne Goolagong and Tracy Austin had continued a bit longer on the tour, two other great players from that era.
Excuse me til 84 Aussie final not 85. Chris beat Martina in 84 Australian open final.
Guillermo61 incorrect. Martina lost to Helena in semifinal and Chris won against Helena in the final. Look it up
Late part of 82 till 84.
You can tell Evert's increased footspeed here. She worked with Stan Nicholes who helped Margaret Court become the fittest player of her era. Certainly paid off for Chris! Thank god she swithed to a mid size graphite racket too to match Martina's power!
there is nothing better in tennis than Evert's lob
Martina's backhand volley comes to mind- she won more points with it than Chris did with the lob, though a great shot.... 99% of the men couldn't hit some of those shots Martina got with that backhand volley.
I totally agree. She had the best lob in tennis and Martina Hingis is second.
Evert had the most accurate lobs of any player ever. M or FM
I was in the 5th grade that year. It was a magical time.
@LobOverTheBackhand No, they played a week earlier in Livingston, NJ and while Chris lost the first set 6-2, she came back in the 2nd & brought the match to a tiebreaker. After the drubbing at the US Open in '83, Chris said the 6-2, 7-6 loss was very satisfying because she felt the new racket was helping her compete better against Martina's power, and added a lot of belief going into this MSG final.
I just bought the same racquet Chrissy is playing with,.....in 2020. Awesome racquet
every shot on both sides is a miracle save during the point around the 6 minute mark
best of 5 set match that Martina won in 3 straight....the first 2 were close- 63, 75...the 3rd was a blowout 61. The Va. Slims made the match best of 5 because the last 2 years Martina was beating everyone in under an hour and people were complaining they weren't getting their money's worth, so a 3rd set made the match 30 minutes longer...
Oh wow I so miss these opposing styles and would love more volleying
These two form a group of top players that transitioned from wood to composites. Must of been difficult against the younger players who grew up with the new rackets. Kudos to Connors for persisting with the Wilson steel for most of his career.
6:06 - WOW. What a rally!!
Her very first tournament final with the graphite racket she lost 6-2,7-6 to Martina and then this match . With the graphite racket the scores were much closer than the 6-0,6-2 of the wooden racket matches. You can see the increase in power
Did anyone read my comment. This march was second granite racket match vs Martina. Scores of the first 2 sets were the same
Chris Evert....what a great, great champion, and always a lady on the court. No yelling at the umpire. No pumping her fist at the other player after hitting a winner. No loud, obnoxious grunts. Just the consummate professional. She is my favorite player of all-time by far. Funny watching these dated matches though. It almost seems like Chris and Martina are powder-puffing the balls, compared to the way the ladies smack and punish their 'groundies' nowadays.
Not at all. Look at Vinci versus Serena at the US Open. Vinci is not hitting harder than Navratilova did. The racquets make a big difference, as do the strings and grips. Give even Serena Martina's continental grip and one of her 1984 racquets and you'll see a big difference in how she hits the ball. But, of course, Serena's muscles make a difference. Give any player from any period that amount of muscle and you'll have harder hitting. People vastly underestimate the differences in the sport that come from the equipment and surface changes. Plenty of women in tennis today do not hit as hard as Keys does. And Keys pays for it with injuries.
That’s how you play tennis . 2 legends of the game using such skill and variety . Not just bashing the crap out of a ball.
She did... but the Slims Championships was held in March back then. This final was played on March 4, 1984 and was Chrissie's second tournament of the calendar year. While a seemingly strange time for the premier Slims event, the Australian Open was played in December & owned the end of the year focus. As an indoor event, the winter indoor season was the only time in the calendar that did not have a season-defining tennis event. So that was how it worked.
well- they used to hold the Toyota Championships after the Aus in Dec....before the mid 80s, players routinely skipped the Aus Open...Chris skipped about 10 times and Martina skipped 7-8 back when it was on grass- both could have several more slam titles.
There is a new documentary called "Unmatched" about the Chris and Martina rivalship as their are calling it, in this documentary.. half friendship half rivalry. There was a 15 minute presentation at this years Wimbledon about this up coming documentary. I hope that maybe something can be posted here about it !
5:45 what a point and 4:37 what a volley. Nav' on the top of her game. I love the court view
Dang Chris Evert two fisted backhand is incredible!!!!!!
Her two-handed backhand inspired generations of player whether they knew it or not...She was a trail blazer.
Beautiful tennis!
Looks like a great match. In my view, much more entertaining style of tennis than today's game. Martina seemed able to handle Chris's level of power, would be interesting to see see how she would fare in her prime agains today's players. Maybe quite well, though she'd probable have to tweak her play style a little.
After this they split their last matches 5-5
The best service-action in the game, ever!
No grunting and groaning?
Well, no. They’re not hitting the ball at 85mph
@@guest4590 Yes - but that's because of the 40-year old racquet and string technology - duh.... They're still putting just as much effort in. And while we're here: why doesn't Iga shriek? Or Ashleigh? They're the top players and don't feel the need to shriek - and can thump the ball.
as someone mentioned earlier you can see evert is hitting the ball harder and with more variety (and her serve is helped as well with the graphite racket, not to mention her improved strength from working out and she is actually using her legs and stepping into the court to get that extra bit of "hmph" to her serve) however, she is NOT fully used to the racket and what it can do and what she can do with it... harder hit balls with more variety but so many balls landing very short, around the service line giving a huge advantage to martina... you can also tell evert's improved "athleticism" as well... if ONLY she had switched at least a year earlier if not 2 years earlier!..
Watch Evert's defeat of Martina in '81 at Amelia Island love and love and you'll see that Evert hit with her wood racquet with more power then. It wasn't just the graphite racquet here that was giving her issues. She was aging.
Syrinx .. no. That's really wrong. She herself said that she played her best Tennis in the middle of the 80s.
Chris Evert is a defensive baseliner indeed
Evert is the goat.
Chris hated playing indoors cause she just preferred being outdoors and having grown up in Florida she knew she could handle the sun, heat and wind better than anyone else plus that indoor carpet surface was lower bouncing and faster than grass which suited Martina's game better than it did Evert's. I do think if Evert had the opportunity for a redo that she would have switched to graphite a few years sooner than she did. Clearly you can see she is still getting used to it here. I always thought she got more much needed power to her strokes but also lost a bit of her exquisite touch with the graphite, even once she fully adjusted. Her touch was amazing with her trusty wood racquet.
Martina seems incredibly confident in this match, you can tell by the way she's playing within herself - not overplaying any shots at all. She looks totally relaxed and confident that she's going to win, and win easily/
I am sorry and I know many will disagree, but looking back I just cannot believe Martina was a clean athlete.
Any videos above 480p of Chris??
Chris picked a good racket.. It's very similar to the ones used later by Edberg and Federer.
Now THIS was entertaining tennis, not that crap that masquerades as tennis nowadays
@jollycorner1 I never realised that Martina encouraged Chris to change racquets! How interesting. I aways just thought that Chris being a traditionalist just took a bit longer than she ought to change over.
Mark Bpharm she actually should have switched to graphite in beginning if 83 but she felt dependent on that wood racket . She had to shorten her strokes with graphite and have a more open stance . You can tell on return if serve the most ( not on these clips but yes when you watch whole match ) she hit many string serves long .
Chis waited to long to make the switch to a new racket away from wood, it’s part of the reason for her losses to Martina on her steak.
84 Navratilova won the French Wimbledon us open. Just had to win australian open to win grand slam. But martina was beaten by Helena sukova in the quarter final. Sukova stopped Martina from doing the calender grand slam.
@tebtg1 You made it the point when you decided that your 'information' was definitive and I had no idea what I talking about. Nearly everyone in this forum is as much a tennis buff as you or I and we're all entitled to opinions - even if you think it should not extend to questioning the reputation of a player you like. I am not sure where "envy" come from, but whatever...your arguments are consistently illogical and obviously based on being her fan. That's great, be a fan and best wishes.
WOW!!!
@1414yanks I know, right. I thought the same thing. (@ the last part of your comment)
@Vengeance509 UM, are you a retired tennis commentator? that was well put together, thanx for the info-I hope the next video i click has another youtube user giving out knowledge about tennis nearly 30 years ago. :-)
I thought Chris's first match with the new raquet was way earlier in the year, because she played the French, Wimbledon and the US open with it
In 1984 the Virginia Slims was played in March which was the last tournament in tennis calendar year. In 1985 started the Lipton Championships in Boca Raton (then Key Biscayne now Miami Open), began. Tennis season was adjusted to follow the calendar (January-November). The Australian Open was played in November 1985, and then again in January 1987 (not played in 1986). Chrissie played 1984 Grand Slams with graphite racket.
Don't you mean: "2nd Graphite Racquet Tournament"? Each round is a "match" and Chris played 4 rounds just in this tournament (Jordan, Sukova, Potter, Navratilova).
Read the title of the video again - properly - and you'll get your answer (clue: it's the 2nd time *_Martina and Chrissie_* played with Chrissie using graphite)
Navratilova had almost Graf-like footwork!
What was the last professional match at which Chris Evert used a wooden racquet?
@tebtg1 I will say it again: no tennis player has ever looked like Martina, even 20 years later with all the advancements in training. Not Steffi, not Serena, no one. Ask yourself which female athletes she does resemble, and then draw your own conclusions. You are of course welcome to believe anything you want. We all need our heroes.
@eajrone UM? OK? You're very very welcome. Warm regards
@Vengeance509 I must say I agree with you.
AND ....there is nothing more exquisite in tennis than Everts gorgeous body ( rivaled only by Hingis ...IMO )
@peejes I know, I agree.. I am not saying Martina was dirty, but the comment about the drug testing .... please ! I am so with you!
What was their first match?
The time when women still played like women and did not scream as if they were being raped. As a man I always loved Chris's femininity to play tennis. Even Martina is a lady compared to some mammoths who are on the courts today playing like males with skirts, and scream up to the unbearable. Disgusting.
That's some sexist bullshit. I can only imagine what comes out of your mouth when it comes to blacks, Hispanics, Jews, gays, etc.
fedecasares so Serena Williams plays like a ! I’d like to hear .
@peejes By that logic, Serena is most definitely juiced up with steroids and testosterone shots. Hope you comment similarly in Serena clips :)
Look at the point at 6:27!
I agree, Chris & Martina were Great Champions. I loved their games & rivalry. As far as ladies today smacking & punishing the ball, if Steffi & Monica didn't punish the ball, they wouldn't have beaten Chris & Martina & taken over the top rankings. I love that today's players show emotion & pump their fists. It's sports but tennis is still sports entertainment. Showing emotion, smacking & punishing the ball makes the once boring sport of tennis, a bit more exciting & the Top Pro Sport 4 Women.
truly stupid stuff
👏👏👏👏👊👊👊
I don't understand why the crowd was Always on Evert side althougt Martina more brilliant tennis
@tebtg1 Wow, really? Please enlighten me about your superior information. I am a huge tennis buff and Martina was my favorite in the 80's. I've seen her play dozens of times, been to many tournaments, read everything and hit with pros when I was a junior. Moreover, I am active in the fitness industry, so I have an idea of what PEDs do and what they look like. Please, tell me how ignorant I am, while your opinion is based on solid, concrete evidence of reading and following her career.
@Peteypooooo UM?, OK? good to know, thanx
This is the kind of tennis I like to see and play. I watched the FO '14 Men's Final and was bored out of my wits. What's the point of all that scrambling and abbreviated shot making? Today's singles tennis should not be categorized the same as classic singles tennis. It should be called something else. Like, 'Gladiator Tennis' or 'Too Damned Physical for anyone to have long-term success Tennis'.
totally agree! i would take watching a evert vs navratilova mid to late 80's match over ANY female match today! mindless ball bashing from the baseline! no serve and volley anymore, no different styles or stroke production.. everyone looks the same, everyone plays the same, blah, blah!..no sense of how to construct a point, no real sense of strategy, hope i get hit more winners then errors if not as long as my errors aren't as much as my opponent is what today's tennis has come down to... i still watch it on tv, but the huge "thrill and excitement" is gone... i do still enjoy watching federer and wawrinka (can't stand nadal whose entire game is a product of today's rackets), and serena if only for her drive and fighting spirit on the court..
thomas schmitz I agree 100%, particularly what you say about Nadal. What do you think of Djokovic?
JoshWritesSongs all the pros play virtually the same nowadays...great players, great athletes, boring strategy.
Martina hated Chris from 81-84 Chris NEVER hated Martina. Chris had class, Martina had a chip on her shoulder as a lesbian
@Carlski79 Nothing you said convinces me she was clean. I saw Martina play live dozens of times, and she was ripped and far more muscular than any other player. Dress size is totally irrelevant. No female tennis player has ever had her legs or arms - even with today's training techniques she still stands apart ... 20 years later! There was no meaningful drug testing back then in women's tennis, give me a break.
Martina had big biceps when she was a fat teenager. Yeah, a fat teenager is really going to be full of steroids. One of the most important things Kinsey found in his research is that every individual creature is unique. Martina was born with those muscles. She told a story about how she beat all the boys in races when she was young and her mother told her to let them win because a woman shouldn't hurt a man's feelings. I suppose she was doing steroids when she was a little kid, too. When a mare recently shocked people by beating male horses at Preakness the mare wasn't on drugs.
Another Chrissie makes all
The good shots and Martina’s are ignored video, yawn
@peejes
Why's that? She's tiny in comparison to the likes of Serena Williams these days
It's easy to get to the net when you playing slow slow slow tennis...
safina,yelena,caroline,vera shud see dis match and mumble all d day..."I am a stupid, I am a stupid"...
@tebtg1 Look - I am not saying I KNOW anything about Martina, but neither can you. I am as informed as any tennis fan and LOVED Martina in the 80's. All I am saying is that, looking at all the facts and circumstances that are available to me (the uncovering of steroid abuses in the 1980's by other athletes, Martina's physique, the physique of other players (and indeed, athletes), etc) I personally do not believe she was clean.
Such a slow play! Like retired people. Women's tennis has gone a long way it seems.
You don't know much about tennis. Try one of those 14 ounce flexible head-light racquets and see.
Steffi Graf delivered that revolution almost single-handedly. This is the "before" game. Watch one from six years later.
I swear some of these matches were rigged
@tebtg1 My opinion is as uninformed as yours, neither of us has first hand knowledge. But I am at least taking an objective view. Your examples are inapposite, Serena is more muscular, and more fat. Steroids allow athletes to maintain very high muscle mass with very low body fat. Which is where my point came from: no female tennis player has ever had Martina's physique. Few men have had her ripped muscles and veins (and none in the 80s when she was playing)! Believe whatever you want.
Oh wow I so miss these opposing styles and would love more volleying