1988 Houston Evert vs Navratilova

[@sallyphillips9175]

I grew up watching these two greats play! Chrissie was my favorite, my idol. She was the reason I picked up a racquet in 1978 and taught myself to play at age 10. I later played all four years on my high school team, ranked No. 3 my senior year.

[@gpipeline]

Ranked number 3 on your block

[@sallyphillips9175]

@@gpipeline No, on my high school team.

[@durwoodball4062]

Evert said that her game got better and better even as she lost to Navratilova thirteen times straight. That's the character of a great champion--to improve through adversity and challenge. Indeed, Evert got faster, hit harder, and enriched her shot selection through all those years. For instance, she attacked the net more and hit more overheads, even balls bouncing on the baseline. Evert, driven by Martina, was phenomenal. The videos documents that transformation in her game.

[@tomogden9503]

LOVE Chris's speech! WHAT a class act. Miss those smokin' passing shots so much!

[@jl3322]

Martina may have beaten Chris 13 times in a row from 83-84 but after that Chris beat her 5 out of 8 times until she retired in 89 meaning Chris still had all the tools to beat Martina even when Martina played her best.

[@stevenlynch3813]

Incorrect. Martina one 13 out of 20 of their final matches, or 2 to 1.

[@tomschmitz-dj1fg]

@@stevenlynch3813 from the time of evert's first win over martina in early 1985 (after the 13 losses in a row), until their last match in late 1988 in Chicago. Martina led 12-7. However, who won was based on what surface they played on... martina won on fast, chris on slow... on the most neutral surface that being hard court, Evert actually led 3-2 head to head in those last years of the rivalry...

[@JSmith-zr2ve]

Chris always complimented Martina, and Martina always whined when she lost. Glad that Chris got that little dig on her in that speech.

[@BTURNER1961]

The commentating team did not give Chris enough for that first set. They talked a lot about Martina's unusually high error count. But Evert made exactly one unforced error in the entire set. That is pretty astonishing even for a player who tends to keep errors down. Very rare in fact in this sport, let alone keep the rate so low against the second best player in the world. .

[@Pdjohnners]

I think the reason Evert has kept her countless fans over the years is encapsulated in this match: her class in both victory and defeat. Navratilova . . Hmmmmm

[@marclaumann]

Chris has such a great personality!

[@lenwelch2195]

She really did, but most of the women played of the time outside Graf who didn’t display much to the public preferring to be very private were all sisters in the sisterhood. They fought hard on the court and hugged and supported each other after. Here Chris had no pressure, having won two of the three more previous matches,and played for fun rather than a place in history for she already had that by 86 winning her 7 French open winning 3 of them over Martina. From 85-88 they played 5 x on clay, Chris won 4 of then including this match.

[@fjosephgonzales6870]

Thanks for the download. This match is fine, especially for Evert fans, but not spectacular, like the '87 Houston Final, which ended in the only final set tiebreak this rivalry (the greatest ever in tennis, if not in sports overall) ever saw. Am hoping that one eventually gets downloaded in its entirety.

[@lenwelch2195]

Fred Gonzales nope , Martina beat Evert in 75 in Washington 7-6 in the third . Don’t feel bad , I’m odd , I can list by heart every match in the 80 they played . I remember every tournament location and score in order. And no I’m not a stalker lol

[@lenwelch2195]

Martina’s first win over Evert was a tiebreaker, simultaneous match point for both and Martina hit a service winner to win 5-4 ( 9 point tie break in those days)

[@RedArrow2007]

I can't believe these two played 80 times! And their overall record was practically even! One of the great rivalries of all time! Evert always played better on slower courts while Navratilova's game was better on faster surfaces like grass.

[@carrerau7138]

The two greatest American players of all time! Serena can't hold a candle to them.

[@davidr2802]

Do you really believe Serena can't hold a candle to them? That's just lazy thinking

[@Anjhol73]

All 3 would’ve done great in any era . So stop that nonsense

[@zeddeka]

Martina had a bit of a meltdown after this match. I think part of it was because she was so close to Graf in the rankings at this point and wanted to be number one again desperately. Years later, she also realised that she'd been burnt out from the end of 86 up until around mid 1989. So in this match, she was a bit like a car trying to get into top gear, but with nothing in the tank.

[@joeyconvery2055]

The following year, Monica Seles at 15 years old beats Chris Evert in the final...her first tournament win. We had so many great players and rivalries back then.

[@annettewhitty5617]

Pure class.the best ever to Grace our tennis courts.could have won more grand slams if she had played them

[@obiphil8672]

Martina's display of real emotions was very moving. The self deprecating humor and praise for Chris was very endearing. No wonder the crowd finally gotten around to loving her!

[@jonathankieranwriter]

Evert’s display of depth, shot selection, crisp pace, and consistency during this match is an absolute master class, at least for those who play a “controlled aggression” baseline game. Evert’s return of serve was more outstanding than usual and her decision to take many of Martina’s topspin drives on-the-rise proved lethal to the latter’s sense of timing. Evert was in the zone and simply did not let Navratilova play her game with confidence from the start. Navratilova’s pathetic speech and behavior during the presentation was not one of her better moments, for sure. Her passion at the time for regaining the No. 1 ranking from Steffi is to be applauded, but disrespectful whining after getting clobbered by her chief rival is not. Luckily, Chris’s post-match remarks were as classy as Navratilova’s were infantile.

[@zeddeka]

Not sure Chris hit many balls on the rise in her total career. Certainly in this match we see her letting the ball drop as usual, like at 27:31 - definitely not taking the ball on the rise and ending up way behind the baseline.

[@zeddeka]

Martina's 87/88 seasons were quite odd and a sign that she was starting the gradual decline into retirement In 87 she didn't win a tournament until Wimbledon in July and then also won the US Open. After losing to Chris at the 1988 Australian Open she went on a roll, winning 5 consecutive tournaments and reaching the final here in her sixth. Given that both she and Steffi held two grand slams and that Steffi had lost a number of points that Spring with her first two losses to Gaby, it took Martina closer to getting the #1 spot back. But that's when the wheels came off. She only won one title in the 5 months or so after this, lost early at the French Open to Zvereva, then lost her Wimbledon and US Open titles. She was never again close to being #1.

[@JBlue761982]

Does anyone hit closer to the lines than Chris??!!

[@MrPernell27]

If you’re gonna get it past Martina, then you’d better close to the lines.

[@rayjones5684]

Billie Jean King said it would drive her crazy. Challenging criticism regarding Chrissie hitting from the baseline just a backboard...Chris was hitting the lines.

[@yussepig6629]

Chris was better on grass than Martina was on clay. That’s one argument for her GOAThood. Chris always reached the Final or SF at Wimbledon and faced Martina. Martina only managed to earn the right to play Chris 5 times at the French. If she met her more then the H2H would be more towards Chris.

[@franciscodeoliveira7935]

Yussepi G: Chris lost in the third round against Kathy Jordan at Wimbledon in 1983.

[@yussepig6629]

Ok what’s that got to do with anything ?

[@franciscodeoliveira7935]

In fact nothing🤔So Chris have a great percentage winning on grass, this is incredible for a girl who was raised on clay😉

[@jamespeyton7312]

@@franciscodeoliveira7935 Yes, Evert had spent the morning vomiting because of some cheesecake/foodpoisoning and asked for a day delay to recuperate. Wimbledon, being the gracious tournament it is, refused, and Evert lost. However, she also lost to Jordan indoors. King said Jordan knew how to bother Evert if Evert wasn't playing well.

[@lenwelch2195]

Never seen Martina as grumpy in a match other than this - she is after all playing every on clay no her disdain for losing to every here pisses me off

[@carlochapelle9331]

Len Welch Well, Martina was grumpy for the most part of 1988. Not just at this match. She was having a mental burnout that she hired Billie Jean King to regroup after this year. And Martina is a perfectionist. She’s always doing a self analysis of what went wrong in her approach shots or what she could have done better. That’s just her. She’s very vocal whereas Chris kept everything hidden.

[@johniii8147]

She had a lot of personal drama going on at time with her gf Judy

[@zeddeka]

I think part of it was because Martina was actually very close to Graf in the rankings at this point. She wasn't all that far from taking back the number one spot, until the French open that year when she fell back after that fairly early defeat to Zvereva

[@zeddeka]

@@johniii8147 no, that came several years later

[@johniii8147]

Chris must have herd Jordan spouting off about her forehead. Nails a forehand pass as she rambling on.

[@Mat57-t3y]

I note the commentators got the years wrong, Chris beat Martina 6-0, 6-0 in Amelia Island in 1981 ( 7 years before this match ) and Martina got her revenge in Amelia Island 3 years after that beating Chris 6-2, 6-0 in 1984 😊

[@ramonealexander2459]

' who said Chris cant volley ! ' -Bud Collins

[@leolight5369]

Excellent. Keep posting !

[@lenwelch2195]

Martina didn’t have any patience on this day. Chris slowed the pace and learned to do this from the 87 French loss. Chris didn’t have her timing in that match but made the mistake of slugging the ball as hard as she could , flat and the result was Martina’s return so quickly which harmed Chris’s timing in that match. Chris correctly set the pace a bit slower with more depth to keep Martina back.

[@karrtt1234]

They spent a total of 13 years at number one..7 for Chris and 6 for Martina.

[@jm7804]

1:12:44 "Jesus" .... anyone who ever played Chris on clay would agree wholeheartedly. 🤣🤣🤣

[@bobjacubas6818]

These commentators are really off, in some of there commentary. Evert beat Navratilova Love & Love in 81, and Navratilova beat Evert Love and 2, 3 years later in 1984... the rivalry got unfriendly after and things were said in 1982/83 - after Navratilova had hooked up with Nancy Lieberman.

[@Dbdbe1]

Yes, you're exactly right.

[@lenwelch2195]

Bob Jacubas I think it was generous of Chris to forgive Martina for allowing her lover Nancy to influence her to hate Martina in order to win. Martina was a dick toward Chris for a good two years while Nancy was her coach and lover.

[@carlochapelle9331]

Len Welch Don’t you forget that it was Evert who dissolved her friendship with Martina in the the 70’s. Every admitted recently that she couldn’t handle that Martina started beating her and since she wasn’t that mature to handle that she distanced herself from Martina. Both had their “unfriendly” moments at different stages of their rivalry and friendship. It wasn’t all Martina’s fault. Chris wasn’t that perfect.

[@jamespeyton7312]

@@carlochapelle9331 Chris said that it was difficult to see Martina getting closer to her in the mid 70s and ended the doubles partnership. Pam Shriver said the same about Martina. This is common in tennis, not that it's a great way to end a friendship. I remember Shriver holding a napkin on which Martina promised they would always be doubles partners, end of 84 I think. Two years later, Shiver found out through the media that Martina was going to play with Mandlikova and others. i don't know it that friendship ever mended.

[@carlochapelle9331]

James Peyton Yes. In the series by ESPN “30/30”, Chris did say that she wasn’t mature at the time to be friends with Martina especially when Martina started beating her and becoming I guess too familiarized with her games. Then of course, during Martina’s time with Nancy, Nancy would post “newspaper clippings” of Evert’s alleged “zingers” (could’ve been really misquotes that Nancy thought might make Martina more competitive with Evert). So yes. Both, at certain periods of the rivalry admitted to being immature in the way they handled the situation but they eventually realized both were good for the game and that friendship can co-exist with the competitiveness.

[@funky69funky34]

How upset Martina was..

[@lenwelch2195]

This was Everts last win over Martina to reach 37 wins to Martina’s 43 wins.

[@JBBramlet]

Kathy Jordan is the worst commentator ever. She refuses to say one complimentary thing about Evert....despite the fact that Chris dominated the match.

[@lenwelch2195]

jimmy b true , the red bush of courage was so disrespectful of Chris . Kathy is the opposite of Chris . Kathy respects aggression only in tennis which is why she makes unforced errors . Kathy is a whiner on court, uses her passion but not her head like Chris . Kathy doesn’t understand or respect Evert talent because she doesn’t possess her mind or her skills. You can see why Kathy did. Not have a successful announcing career.

[@BTURNER1961]

Yes Navratilova played some very sloppy stuff in the first set, but the seeds of this victory were sown in Evert's head. she had a clear plan out there, and employed some interesting and successful tactics. Evert kept her depth and of course she hit 75%% of the time to Martina's backhand. that what she has been doing for the last three years,, but I had not seen Chris use the heavy topspin she has mastered, or utilize the moonballs so effectively to drive Martina way back in her backhand corner before. Martina really hates being back that far, and it limited her options. And those topspin lobs were astonishing. Evert's lobs were always effective but they never had nearly that kind of topspin prior to 1986.

[@leolight5369]

I think Evert started to use topspin (especially on her forehand) and "moonballs" when she switched to a Wilson Pro Staff racquet with a bigger frame

[@lenwelch2195]

Brian Turner great analysis . Chris by this stage could hit any shot anywhere. When unsuccessful winning a point , especially on her serve , it was more a. Miscalculation of choice of shot rather than unable to make the shot.

[@carlochapelle9331]

Helena Dweller This was Martina’s “mental burnout” year. After she lost to Evert earlier at the Australian 88, she called Billie Jean King and cried”Help!”. But in the latter stages of the year, she beat Evert at Wimbledon, Germany and Chicago. Though Martina improved in 1989, she didn’t meet Evert at all.

[@zeddeka]

@@leolight5369 it was something that her former husband, John Lloyd, had worked with her on in 1985. They specifically used the tactic in the1985 French open final to keep back. If you see some of Chris's matches in 1985, her forehand technique looks different - trying to get more topspin.

[@zeddeka]

it was something that her former husband, John Lloyd, had worked with her on in 1985. They specifically used the tactic in the1985 French open final to keep back. If you see some of Chris's matches in 1985, her forehand technique looks different - trying to get more topspin.

[@jonathankieranwriter]

KATHY JORDAN-resplendent with joie de vivre, elan, and relaxed whispers of sultry (even seductive) mystique and come-hither glances.

[@lenwelch2195]

“ Chrissie has a few tricks left in her bag “ what ? It’s not a trick , it’s talent . I guess they think she’s a has been reaching fir “ tricks “ to beat Martina

[@lenwelch2195]

Chris correctly points out that Martina ‘s speech at the end was a poor display of ego acting totally disgusted with “ the how could I possibly lose to Chris attitude.” Became a bit too much. Once Chris beat Martina to end the 13 match winning streak ( of winning 13 consecutive times) these two played 5 times on clay with Chris winning 4 times out of 5 The loss on clay was the 87 French , the four wins were 85 French, 86 French, 87 Houston, 88 Houston .

[@moboutmen]

Still have my Chrissie Chrush !

[@NataliAleks-973]

Для меня Мартина лучшая ❤❤❤

[@dougmerry4231]

Martina could be a bad sport

[@andyroo9381]

I forget how whiney Martina is when she loses. Her runner-up speech was something she should be embarrassed about. She didn't give nearly enough credit to Chris for playing well. Yeah, Martina made a lot of unforced errors but Chris made very few! Stop whining, Martina!

[@janeboylan-odowd159]

100%

[@BTURNER1961]

Of the 39 majors played in the 80's ( there was no 86' Aussie played) these two won 24. If you add Graf's 8 majors, you are left with only 7 that those three did not win. Mandlikova won 4 and only leaves one each for Goolagong, Sanchez and two for Austin.

[@CJJAK37]

Brian Turner 1 for Austin . 81 us open . She won the other in 1979

[@lenwelch2195]

Brian Turner And in the 80 ‘s Chris did not play the French in 89, austrailian in 1980, 83, 89, : Martina did not play the Australian 1980, French 1980, so that’s 5 they did not play.

[@franciscodeoliveira7935]

Len Welch. Martina played the Australian 80, she lost against Turnbull.

[@paulperry7678]

Martina was a sore loser and behaved badly, accept defeat, its part of the game. You win some and you lose some.

[@MrYonexguy63]

Evert was as or more snarky than any top.player. She just played it differently...the glares, hands on hips. All very ladylike but the intent was the same. As Don Candy said...she wanted every bloody point. Also while Navratilova could whine during the match, Evert was often the poorer loser. All backed up by countless videos.

[@jm7804]

Not true

[@dmichael100]

I love it when someone claims "countless videos" and doesn't link or reference one- much less "countless"

[@JSmith-zr2ve]

Not true. Just another Martina fanboy.

[@brucewechtler7721]

Disagree

[@rpvp7756]

Great match with moronic commentators; trying to to take away merit from Evert’s game! Embarrassing!!!