Chris Evert d. Carling Bassett - 1984 US Open SF

At only 16 years of age and in her first event back on tour after 2 months of mononucleosis, Carling Bassett made the semis of the US Open where she ran up against the Open's all-time women's champion, Chris Evert. The record 6-time champ was relentless in this otherwise highly entertaining backcourt duel that featured a lot of creative tennis with extended rallies, but usually ending with Evert getting the last word. Chrissie steamrolled 6-2 6-2 into the finals for what would be an historic 61st meeting against her arch-rival Navratilova, with their head to head series tied at 30 matches a piece.
Tony Trabert, Virginia Wade & Pat Summerall provide commentary, with footage provided by chrisevert.net of this classic Grand Slam semifinal.

[@jpeyton62]

@Summon256 In Navratilova autobiography, she stated Evert had incredible court sense, textbook stroke production, a steel trap for a mind, and a two handed backhand that could slash an opponent to pieces. In another book by King who was not initially impressed with Evert, King said that Evert's mind at 16 was better than most seasoned pros, her precision, and stroke production were incredible, and those are the things that made Evert America's greatest champion.

[@thequinnster72]

You may not understand it, but obviously Chris possessed a lot of traits to make her so great. Among them, great strategy, mental toughness, few errors, and great footwork and anticipation. Martina may have been far more physical and forceful play, but Chris had it on her in other areas. To say that Chris would have had at least 22 grand slam titles had she played the '76-'78 French and '75-'80 Australian is putting it mildly.

[@davanmani556]

I think she would have quit after ‘79 playing a full schedule. She was feeling burnt out.

[@vosharap]

Great match from the two of them, Evert in dominating fashion.

[@lenwelch2195]

Chris was ruthless and prepared . She believed she’d beat Bassett it’s why she won . She played as well against Martina in final but lost because she didn’t 100 percent believe she’d win . When it came down to those few points in second set she doubted herself and made errors just hitting top of the tape on one and hitting just long/ wide on 3 others . She didn’t lose those points because Martina hit winners . Chris won the next time they played 5 days later , won next tournament match in Jan 85 . Thus win against Bassett was the last Open semi Chris won .

[@Marchjoy1963]

@Summon256 Had that been the truth then Navratilova would have always won, but she needed a whole team around her to figure out how to get past Chris, not only did she have Leiberman and Richards, she had a nutrionalist and some one who put stradegies in a computer... her game was designed around defusing Chris games... and as Rene Richards said Chris didn't pitty pat the ball... she hit bombs. So your lack of understanding as you put it is one thing, but your condecention is another.

[@jpeyton62]

Vic Braden said that Evert hit the hardest groundstrokes until Steffi Graf. After watching all these videos, I have to agree.

[@shihlin1]

This is the kind of aggressive, attacking tennis Evert used to play back in the mid to late-70's. I don't think the wood vs graphite debate was as big a deal as people were led to believe. Evert's own tennis game backslided somewhat starting around 1982-83, just when Navratilova's game took off. If you watch Evert's matches from the mid-70's, this is how she played with a wood racquet, slaughtering opponents on the way. It's hard to maintain that intensity day in and day out.

[@leolight5369]

Agreed. She never would have lost 13 times in a row against Navratilova with a graphite racquet

[@shihlin1]

Ex hubby John Lloyd (shown here with Chris's mom Colette in the stands) also had a terrific tournament at this U.S. Open. Lloyd got to the Qtrs where he played another Chris Ex, Jimmy Connors. THAT must've been an interesting match for Chris to watch, who of course was in the stands. Afterwards a reporter actually asked Chris "Who were you cheering for?" Chris answered "Of course my HUSBAND !"

[@trent8002003]

Chrissie's matches are always great to watch as she hardly makes any unforced errors. All her shots are purposeful and well constructed.

[@zedlacredit]

Chris played a wonderful match here, her movement and ball striking were exceptional.

[@spartansrace4293]

Loved the 84 rocker look Chris is sporting.. also the 84 year, Chris played some outstanding tennis, including winning the 84 Aussie open over the towering Helena sukova

[@gstarjonny]

no one was more gracious to their opponents than Chris Evert. Heartbreaking she was so close to the 84 USO title. My all time favourite athlete. How we miss this era.

[@tinnnn1]

To this day I cannot watch the USO final from '84. I remember it and how she came so close. I just can't watch it.

[@lkfrostad]

@@tinnnn1 dude I was there it sucked, the crowd was so bummed. She had two solid chances in the 3rd and couldn’t convert. The two ladies were crying when she lost. The guy and his wife next to me were crying. It was a rough day

[@JSmith-zr2ve]

@@lkfrostad Horrible day. I can’t watch that match. Ugh.

[@michaelschwab9806]

I know the feeling,my heart "sank" when she came so close to beating Martina,only to have it slip away😭

[@lenwelch2195]

It took losing that open final before she could feel that when she’s playing near her top form and catches Martina on a day when Martina is not at her best that she should win .I wished she would’ve won but her chances in the third set came just once but had 3 chances in two games in the second set to break Martina . If she could’ve played Martina in a tie break Martina would’ve choked before Chris would’ve . This loss just didn’t disappoint her it made her mad . That’s what was missing in her match at Wimbledon where she was just mad that she didn’t win the first set . Here she won the first set and while she was playing the match a bit too satisfied to be staying with Martina just a service bresk away from even . In the last game she became angry that she let it slip away and realized it was a winnable match . She beat Martina 5 days later in an exhibition . Then beat her in their next tour match in Jan 85 and that set the stage for winning French 85. If I had to pick btw two wins ( 84 Open or 85 french ) I’d pick the French because it cements her legacy as being greatest clay court player of all time with 7 french , beating Martina 3 of the 4 times they met in final , 125 straight match wins , ) Martina established herself as greatest grass court player. She said to Steve Flink “ that would’ve been a great match to retire from “ so if she had won she may have retired and there wouldn’t be 85,86 french . I doubt Chris would’ve retired. I’m my heart I was so happy for her to have won 85,86 french and I appreciate her effort in chasing Martina all of 83,84 but I wanted Chris to win Wimbledon and or the open sometime in the mid 80’s because she played better tennis then than before 82 when she was number one . Last Wimbledon 81 last open was 82. Felt like after 84 open Chris’s luck at the open always reaching the final ran out . Sore knee in 86 , running into a zoned Hana in 85, losing to Mcniel and Zina and having to withdrawal from 88 sf against steffi . I still would’ve wanted to see what Chris would come up with on a big sf day . Last close Sf where she had a chance to make it to an open final was 85yet her legs ran out of energy while Hana played the tournament of her life .

[@lenwelch2195]

Here’s the difference between the two . Bassett is leaning back when hitting ground strokes and get ball has no pace after it lands on everts side of the court . Evert is learning forward when directing groundstrokes and the ball is still penetrating after it lands on Bassett’s court . Evert is dictating the pace and has plenty of time responding to her shots .

[@racketlord64]

Wow Chris hit the ball 30% harder and deeper more consistently with the graphite racket. She definitely would have beat Navratilova at least a few more times if she had switched sooner. By the end of the 80s she was beating Navratilova badly on a few occasions (6-2, 6-1...6-0, 6-4 etc.).

[@johniii8147]

Matthew Buck that's absolutely true she waited a bit too long to switch rackets or chatting influence on the 13th match winning streak by Martina. That's not to take anything away from MartinA but there's a good chance at least a couple of those matches would've gone differently

[@karrtt1234]

This was a great performance by Chris ..... talk about getting the job done ! She was such a pro... This is a good example of will... and what the ladies game today just lacks.

[@zeddeka]

Bassett had some nice strokes, but you can see she just didn't have the court sense Evert did. She didn't construct points like Chris did.

[@jonathankieranwriter]

Chris on the ascendance. She should have won that 1984 US Open against Martina, but wasn’t entirely adjusted to her graphite stick and still uncertain. Bassett was an early big-hitter: Chris showed her “Queen’s Gambit” chess-master genius. Her perm, however, was possibly one of the great disasters of the decade.

[@philippe51916]

la meilleure de tout les temps je l adore chris revers a deux mains le long des lignes super !!!

[@serenakicksass]

It is funny to hear the commentators saying imagine what Basset will be in the future if she is this good at 16. It turns out this was as good as she would get. She was already on decline by next year (even before her father dieing).

[@jokerwildest]

Chris waited too long to switch to graphite, the rest of the girls (with the exception of her and Austin) swiched at the end of the 81 season.

[@casheasy]

Curry Kirkpatrick of Sports Illustrated (I think it was him lol) once wrote, "..if Carling Bassett married the Mets Ron Darling, she'd be Carling Darling." LOL I think of that line when I hear her name, which isn't often. And indeed what an incredible stat to make it to the semis in your first hardourt event of the year!

[@lenwelch2195]

Chris knee she could beat the tar out of Bassett and calmly did . She carried that to first set against Martina in final. She had list 12 straight before this match and forgot how to close Martina out in the second set since it had been since AO 82 that she won . It was mental . She had to lose this close match before she convinced herself she could win . She did 5 days later in an exhibition 6-3, 7-6 . Then in Jan 85 she beat her 6/2,6-4 then beat her in French 85 . From Jan 85-88 Chris won 7 x and Martina won 11 . If Martina’s wins only 3 were straight sets - other 9 went 3 sets v. Chris won 4 of the 5?times they played on clay . If you compare this Evert in 84 to Evert 83 ioen chris is 70 percent better in movement and power . She spent all if 84 improving her game at age of 30 so that by 31 she was finally beating Martina . She gave it her all to catch up to Martina after being year end number one for 7 years . Hard to believe this match with caroling was Everts last Open SF win . She just plays flawlessly controlling every point . Her last pro win was against Seles in89 Open 6-0, 6-2 . One if the top 6 matches if her career showing us vintage evert before she retired . Bassett soon lost her dad and had bulimia / anorexia as a result of that trauma . Shecwas a good player

[@Sully44JJ]

WOW, Chris was devastating this day...she carried it into the final but did not have enough nerve to defeat Navratilova....but she got damn close. Chris would defeat Navratilova at their next match.

[@kljMN2]

To get into the semis of the US Open in what was her first hard court tournament of the year... very impressive.

[@darrin1701]

Well first year with the new wilson pro staff hat wil improve her game..

[@leafyutube]

Chicks tennis is the best sport in the world after chicks figure skating.

[@westfaner]

Just an awesome display of tennis here by Chris..

[@johnblacklovesmar]

@LobOverTheBackhand I prefer her hair in the 83 US Open, straight with the headband. Terrible match for her though

[@charleskristiansson1296]

Carling NOT Car-ling :)

[@seanjenkins331]

I've never seen anyone play so close to the line of proactive-aggressive while still giving so little away. I know they're games are very different but Angie Kerber seems to be able to produce this style now. They're defense forces u to do more than u normally have to but if u pull back too much they'll start hitting winners

[@senorgato70]

I think Chrissie was hitting her groundstrokes much better in this match than she did in the final against Martina. She was moving the ball from side to side and getting alot of depth on her shots, and she seemed to be a bit more aggressive.

[@thomasschmitz9894]

+senorgato70 the difference was, that bassett hit hard and true and evert loved pace and rhythm. evert fed off of this and bassett didn't have the tactical mind or the skills to do anything different, no other game plan.. martina having played her 60 times by this point knew not to give her pace, rhythm and mixed up her game, slicing her backhand making evert try to create her own pace and also evert thinking she could outrally martina sought to NOT make errors and keeping the ball in play and moving it around but not necessarily risking hitting winners but also errors pummeling the ball like she did against bassett. not to mention playing a fellow baseliner a step below you is far different a match then playing the greatest serve and volleyer of all time..

[@douglasvarley3633]

While that is all true the psychological aspect of playing someone you lost to 12 times or so in a row, even if you know you have improved your own game again in recent months, is a big part of it too.

[@lenwelch2195]

senorgato70 Bassett’s ball was setting up and were not penetrating and Chris had all kinds of time to hit and direct the ball . Martina puts pace on the ball and evert is time pressed in hitting it back . Bassett is grooving her strokes .

[@lenwelch2195]

senorgato70 she was but Bassett was giving her the perfect ball hit right in to her strike zone . But when I saw this match I noticed her improved mobility . If you look at Chris here and how she moved in her 83 loss to Martina in open final you can see how much she improved .

[@joshhalcyon1192]

Evert had a good drop shot, she really could've used it more, especially against opponents like Austin or Jaeger

[@andrewromero5008]

Chris should have defeated Martina and won this Grand Slam. I was sooo disappointed after the final. Super Saturday is what CBS used to call it.

[@lenwelch2195]

Everts movement is the best of her career here - she is just there for every shot

[@Hal09i]

Why are these matches not available in full, in HD?

[@JSmith-zr2ve]

Man, I wanted this title for Chrissie so bad.

[@shihlin1]

People didn't realize just how well Evert was playing all tournament until she came close to beating Navratilova in the final the next day. Bassett also had a great tournament upsetting Mandlikova on the way to the SF. Evert is just hitting the ball solidly here. It's apparent she's adjusting well to the graphite racquet that she put off longer than most players. But her inability to beat Navratilova in two years finally caught up to her in the final as nerves crept into her game in the crucial final set. Chris said it was one of the most devastating losses of her career bc she was so close to winning.

[@lancemartin3351]

Evert also lost the Open Final to Austin in 1979.

[@kljMN2]

@Summon256 - You're kidding, right??

[@sharpasaneraser]

...and your spelling is another.

[@salwamelancolic3827]

Today, bullet speed doubled....

[@joshhalcyon1192]

Evert put a clinic out there in this match, perfect strategy moving Bassett around, and drawing her in, really exposed all her weaknesses

[@dmarler1963]

Well I consider myself the world's biggest Evert fan and I've never made a comment about her hair. That said, I preferred her innocent Catholic school girl look with short ponytail and ribbon from 1982 and her sporty, youthful ponytail with scrunchy (is that what it's called?) from US Open 1989.

[@johniii8147]

Chris outlasted Many of the young players trying to challenge her. The list is pretty lengthy so she knew how to handle the situation.

[@johnblacklovesmar]

Hate the hair. But this match just proves once again that everything these young base liners do evert does better

[@ralfbeckmann597]

❤❤❤

[@maheshhadkar2536]

Carling was d darling of the crowd on that period.

[@ST-xg3gy]

Whatever happened to Bassett? Prince Woodie?

[@ST-xg3gy]

Should've shown more doubles back then.

[@lenwelch2195]

It's hard to believe that this was the last u s open semifinal that chris won ! You can tell that she is still getting used to this Racket ! Compare this to the seles match in which she plants her feet more and lays in to the ball - here at times she is flicking the ball back

[@jasonbrooks6562]

I am the same age as carling, and at the time of this thought she was a looker. How wrong l was!. Nice legs though. Too be honest this match looks like mother v daughter.

[@Summon256]

i don't understand what's so special about her and how did she manage to earn 18 grand slams...its beyond me...she's nothing unusual in my vision of things, nothing in her play make her look unique, she could just drop shot better than others from the look of things but thats it...Navratilova is so much better, than its even not funny...

[@AK-fe4sq]

Summon256 LMAO. Troll.

[@markwhitman72]

@@AK-fe4sq What are you really saying?? Chrissie was a groundstroke machine and she threaded the needle better than anyone today including Serena!!!

[@HunterBidenCocaineBag]

Am I the only one who saw the movie Carling was in? I think it was called "Spring Break"? It wasn't horrible that I recall. I rather enjoyed id.

[@robbiexxxxxx]

Yes I saw it and have a video of it. It was called Spring Fever. I only bought it because Carling was in it.

[@rushrush1209]

Spring Fever. I think it did a good job of portraying the pressures that young tennis players face at the junior level.

[@HunterBidenCocaineBag]

@johnblacklovesmar Agreed. Worst hair ever by Chrissie. I loved her 1996 French Open hair. Fluffy. Lovely.

[@HunterBidenCocaineBag]

I thought it was interesting that Chris didn't compare Carling to herself in the interview. Rather, she compared her to Tracy and Andrea. I guess that's a compliment.