Chris Evert d. Gabriela Sabatini - 1987 Virginia Slims of Worcester SF

[@neurom.d.6587]

Chris Evert will go down in history as the most talented, honourable, and influential player in all of the WTA. She is also the kindest and most beautiful woman athlete in any & all sports. No one will ever take her place.

[@pjesf]

Nearly 50 years after having watched Chris for the first time and I'm still awestruck by that gorgeous backhand

[@stevenmac9158]

When Evert started playing on the Pro Tour, nearly all the top women hit a one-handed backhand slice (King and Goolagong hit both slice and topspin) to chip-an-charge to the net, or "push" ball from baseline. It was also a much weaker shot than the forehand for the top pros. And slice or underspin is not a very effective passing shot. Enter Chris Evert with her two-handed backhand. It's her best stroke (her forehand was not a liability like the backhand was for so many) and the GOAT two-hander in women's tennis. It was revolutionary and helped evolve the game as grass courts were becoming obsolete. Immediately Chrissie and her 2-hander were beating the top players from the baseline by. hitting 90% of her shots to her opponent's backhand, frustrating them and wearing them down. Common scores were like 6-4, 6-0 (lots of 2nd set. bagels). People were amazed how a skinny teenager could hit a backhand with such power and control. Martina said. after the 1st time she played Chrissie in Akron 1973, she needed cortizone shots in her shoulder for 2 months from having to hit so many backhands.

[@MrMahlerman]

I would love to see this complete match. Evert played so many, the greatest ball striker and thinker and player our sport ever saw. Highest winning percentage, did not duck opponents, gracious, the very very best. I try to model my life after her professional example, because growing up I never had other guidance. I'm 50 now, and making it in life, living by Chris's example, aware where I fail and can still do better. THE Greatest.

[@ShipsKat]

Loved seeing some vintage Evert. No body has ever quite filled her boots.

[@shadowby]

Really enjoyed these match highlights! Evert was really on this particular day, great shotmaking and movement on her part.

[@2frakers]

Classiest athlete ever. Period. Winning or losing her expression never changed. Thanks for posting this!

[@SyncopateTheShot]

Chris had a devastating running forehand. Not usually mentioned as one of her primary weapons, but her anticipation was second only to known. 2:27.

[@yussepig6629]

Two women with beautiful tennis and contrasting styles.

[@jl3322]

I watched all these matches-loved chris

[@JorgeDan75]

I miss this fantastic tennis, I miss these great players, these beautiful women with womanliness and class in their way of play tennis.

[@BTURNER1961]

I saw this match Evert's dropshot was astonishing. She won every point she used it. Never saw a running dropshot from behind the baseline before? !Never saw a dropshot hit on the run, from behind the baseline, and outside the sideline? You will!

[@fantome19]

I so miss the great tennis of the late 80's/early 90's... such great variety & skill of the top players made the match-ups so much more interesting than the monotonous ballbashing that's on the tour today.

[@pawshands9706]

It was a match between Chrissie and Martina that captivated me into playing this great game. Thanks Chris!

[@niev3006]

Chris' last two winners, the drop shot and the drop volley, are pretty great.

[@senorgato70]

the last shot wasn't really a drop volley, it was an angle volley

[@niev3006]

senorgato70 Hope you didn't lose too much sleep over that. Still pretty great. Feel better? It must be so hard going through life (at least for your friends)...

[@senorgato70]

niev300 Aw, was someone's feelings hurt because they were corrected? Sounds like you're the only one losing sleep over anything. Don't like being corrected? Then don't comment stupid sh*t. More importantly, don't be such a f*cking lowlife to try to take pot shots at someone who corrects you. Let me be very clear that I did not insult you in my comment, nearly clarifying your comment. Maybe once you're done with your time of the month, you'll re-read it and not have such a negative response.

[@niev3006]

Please re-read your rant and get help. You are WAY too invested in this...

[@adamknox2584]

niev300 Both of you need help. LMAO.

[@siberiantiger8553]

Chris is the n.1

[@tonyalder]

Love seeing the end of Evert and Navratilova era but still giving Graf and Sabatini tough games really good era of women’s tennis 85-90 golden era for women’s tennis

[@neil663]

great to see thank you

[@tomogden9503]

Evergreen Evert. What an extraordinary match. Better than both the Wimbledon and US Open finals of that year!

[@BTURNER1961]

this match is absolute proof that there were matches where Evert played better tennis late in her career than at any time. she moved as well as ever, and the shotmaking!!!. The next day's match was absolute proof that age made this quality unsustainable day after day. If she could have bottled her maturity, her athleticism and her shotmaking in this match and uncorked it in majors....

[@rugbier28]

Ese es el tenis q se extraña . La época dorada de la wta

[@NOTHEOTHERGUY]

I'm always amazed (and disappointed) at the number of chair umpires who didn't know how to pronounce Chris Evert's last name! It's not "Everette"...it's EV-ERT.

[@dmbunny8000]

You must be hearing things I can't. I never heard a chair umpire call her everette. It's just the way Americans prolong and reinforce the R in Evert. UK speakers say "Evet"

[@fjosephgonzales6870]

Yes, you're right! Or "Ev-rit." SMH! ;)

[@danguee1]

I know - it's amazing. Watch the Evert-Navratilova 1988 Aus open semis yt video. Exactly the same thing!

[@Morgana3781]

CORRECTION: Bud Collins called it correctly and in order: 1st WAS: a "Running (laterally), crosscourt, forehand, drop". 2nd WAS: a Running (forwards) backhand cross court (angled) going (over midline) approach (running towards net) backspin (under the ball) shot. I'm surprised Gabriela didn't use her usual over looping top spin that helped her beat both Martina and Steffi against Chris. She may have thought Chris could out "loop" her? I miss Bud Collins and Dick Edberg. Great commentators.

[@michaelschwab9806]

Chrissie is the greatest "strategist" on a tennis court,that I've ever seen,male or female..her sharp cross court angles are the "greatest" of any player..ever..and her demeanor is so "classy" never ever celebrates her own great shots,unlike today's players,who celebrate every shot(which is so ridiculous) and today's generation wonders why we older fans miss (this type of great tennis) we'll never see great players like Chrissie,and all of the others from that generation ever again . today's tennis,along with their players..boring!

[@jean-lucbereda1155]

Evert for evert.

[@vosharap]

Good match from Evert

[@greenwolfegreen6028]

How did she even consider hitting a running drop shot from that position?

[@zeddeka]

Great performance by Chris here. Interesting too to see how Gabi's game improved over the years. At times here it doesn't look like she really has a strategy. With a couple of exceptions it looks like she isn't really thinking much out there.

[@robrivax]

Many Evert skills displayed: drop shots (the best ever IMO) incredible footwork (cat like) strategy (soo important) lobs (the best ever IMO) and consistency (need to be consistent in execution to be a top player, really you cant miss .) Can you tell Chris Evert is my favorite player ever? Loved this match with Sabatini whose game is soo incredible to watch. But I would say Sabatini lacked strategy overall and relied on her execution of her strokes and her athleticism to get her through matches. But Chris here outplayed the very talented Sabatini.

[@timian314]

This looks like it was a great match! By any chance is there a recording of the complete match available?

[@joshhalcyon1192]

Evert really had remarkable anticipation and natural court sense. She was far from the fastest but always seems to get to the ball just in time bec of those instincts

[@robrivax]

watch her feet and the little steps she takes to get her body into the hitting zone. Evert was a master of footwork and balance.

[@mbblover]

too bad after playing this fantastic match chrissie came out totally flat and lost to pam shriver! for the first time in the finals.

[@senorgato70]

niev300 At least I know what I'm talking about. Again, I didn't initially insult you, yet you decided to throw a low comment my way. Clearly only one of us needs help. Done here, I don't want to mar the channel owners' video.

[@jm7804]

Sabatini played Evert's backhand way too much. That was not a winning strategy for any player. Gabby loved to do that backhand to backhand exchange and wait for a short shot to go up the line, but Chris hardly ever made backhand errors and had an excellent down the line backhand of her own...as you can see from several of the highlights.

[@7Lukibi99Tore7]

@ MrMahlerman. Contrary to what many tennis fans erroneously think, Chris Evert does not hold the highest career singles match winning percentage in history. Lenglen hold's the all-time women's record, although Lenglen's career was much shorter than Evert's, Court's Navratilova's and Graf's careers, and Lenglen played most of her career singles matches in France against local competition. Court has a higher winning percentage than Evert both in terms of overall singles career and Open Era singles career. Tilden holds the men's record for highest career singles match winning percentage which is also higher than Evert's career singles match winning percentage. Helen Wills also has a higher career singles match winning percentage than Evert although Wills played far fewer singles matches in her career than Evert. I list the highest career singles winning percentages for Tilden, Evert, Lenglen, Court and Wills in my comment on another tennis video on KZbin.com., but unfortunately I can't find that comment right now.

[@mbblover]

i suppose it's the greater variety of the competition, the stiffer competition, the world wide sport that tennis became, the different surfaces and the year round competition that makes evert's winning percentage the greatest?.. as opposed to lenglen, wills.. i'll have to look into court's singles records and grand slam efforts more to make any sensible comment though...

[@7Lukibi99Tore7]

Margaret Court's women's tennis record of 24 major singles titles is to some degree less impressive than it appears because approximately half of her 11 Australian Open/Australian Nationals Championship singles titles were won against local Australian competition since many of the top women's tennis players from other countries during the 1960's--early 1970's skipped the Australian Nationals Championship/Australian Open tournament because of the long flight to Australia, the expense back then of having to fly the long distance to get to Australia, and the scheduling of the tournament during the month of December so close to Christmas.

[@mbblover]

evert herself only played the australian 6 times in her entire career from 1971 to 1989.... that's alot of non showing and who knows what she could have done if she played every year or at least alot more.. this non appearing and those 3 years she didn't play the french because of wtt, who knows what evert's "real" grand slam singles total could have been?...

[@jubbadupa]

Court's tennis record has not been ratified by the ITF, secondly Courts career is split between the Open Era and before the Open Era and although some of her Open Era wins are impressive, the majority of them came at the beginning of the Open Era.

[@iwantafennec9577]

I know Sabatini was an extremely popular player, but I just think her game was less than entertaining to watch. Her endlessly annoying topspin genuflects sending looping ball after looping ball made her a total pusher. Its also mindboggling that she was as successful as she was with that atrocious second serve. I bet Chrissie hated every minute of playing her, especially at this stage in her career. That ten deuce point game must have been totally infuriating. Hitting crisply but getting nothing back but loopy junk is SO annoying🙄

[@gerardsatamian]

I was watching until I saw the result in the title. I stopped watching!

[@jl3322]

I watched all these matches-loved chris

[@jl3322]

I watched all these matches-loved chris