Chris Evert d. Martina Navratilova - 1988 Houston final

When Chris & Martina met in the Houston final in 1987, it ended with Evert winning 7-6 in the 3rd set. The expectation for a repeat thriller was high when they clashed again in the 1988 final. But this time Chrissie came into the match having won 2 of their last 3 matches in straight sets, so her confidence was also high, especially since none of the previous 3 matches had yet been on clay. The result surpassed even her own expectations however, with a resounding 6-0 6-4 triumph.
Special guest commentator: Kathy Jordan, who has among her credentials victories over both Evert & Navratilova - a feat few can claim! dvd footage courtesy of chrisevert.net.

[@bobuk161]

The ice maiden at her most ruthless best😊😊I loved her then and still love her now. xx

[@rivermi1]

Hotsteppa Nator nnnnioiinnnnnnnnn

[@markwhitman9029]

I always rooted for Chris her entire career! It has been said if she would have had a more powerful serve (although it did greatly improve) she may have dominated even greater.She never needs to serve volley because she had other assets but it may have helped an even greater winning % if that's possible.

[@vosharap]

Good match from Evert, dominating performance.

[@joeyconvery2055]

Flawless tennis by Chris.

[@kljMN2]

Amazing that Navratilova stayed in singles for six more years until 1994.

[@jmiller05]

And played in 5 slam finals after 1988, winning one of them. Her longevity and consistency at the top of the game was phenomenal.

[@jl3322]

Hard to have anything but disdain for Martina after it came it in Lieberman’s book that she had to learn to hate Chris as a tool to beat her with Chris responding “she was my opponent who I respected, i did not need to hate her to beat her”. Class act.

[@markwhitman9029]

Wouldn't surprise me if Chris did say that!

[@pekenjos]

These two ladies are the epitome of all the women's sports codes out there. What they managed to achieve, as individuals, foe, and friends and as experts of their specific sport is unparalleled and what legends are made of. They are superb role models for not only young girls, but for boys as well. Their dedication, professionalism and sportsmanship is unfathomable.

[@danguee1]

Agreed. Just one caveat: Martina was a terrible whiner. Having a toddler tantrum over every bad bounce or unlucky net chord is unseemly.

[@jonathankieranwriter]

Chris just taking deep, precise, hard cuts from the baseline and on return, moving Martina at will. Exactly how she played her earlier that year in the Aussie Open semifinals, and dominated her then, too. A shame Evert didn’t still have the belief and speed to beat Graf at this point, because her game was still at a technical peak.

[@trent8002003]

By this time, Martina's spell over Chris was well and truly broken. Chris had another great win over Martina earlier in the year at the Aussie Open.

[@jl3322]

Nicely put.

[@MirjanaLfan]

They played 5 times that year, Chris won the first two and Martina the next three.

[@rolandgreen7484]

Too bad she didn't break it before Graf took over on top, so she could have taken more big titles. It would have been ideal to break it while Martina was still dominant.

[@johnblacklovesmar]

Thx for posting. There were some great athletic volleys and som great lobs,

[@jondavwal13]

@lukesilver5369 Maybe. But I doubt it. I think she would have lasted until 1989 regardless. She might have retired in 1979, but the competitive fire still burned too brightly. It's possible had she won the 1984 US Open she would have been even more motivated. I just wish she had played the French and Australian Opens every year. She would have at least 21 Grand Slams.

[@lenwelch2195]

Jonathan Wallach 10 australians and 3 years French she didn’t participate

[@kljMN2]

Anyways, thanks for posting. i always enjoy whatever you post... I get to see matches I have never seen from the past

[@michaelschwab9806]

We love you Chrissie, you're the "Greatest" female ever on a clay surface.. congrats on a fabulous win,against another "Greatest" female player ever on a grass surface!

[@jockfl25]

That was a serious butt kicking.

[@gandolph7poet]

No player in tennis history, male or female, had a better lob than Chris Evert.

[@theexmann]

And the best drop shot.

[@cush6827]

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario did.

[@jmnny85]

Lobs and Drop shots👍

[@th8257]

Not sure I agree. Arthur Ashe always said the best belonged to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Ivan Lendl also had a formidable lob. Chris' lob was hampered by her relative inability to hit with topspin.

[@markwhitman9029]

@@cush6827 Sanchez good drop but not better than Chrissie's. Also no better two handed backhand and passes on that side than Evert! It was a joy to watch

[@shihlin1]

Nothing was going right for Martina and everything going well for Chris in this match. Similar to their 81 final from Amelia Island when Chris blanked Martina 0-0. This match typifies the kind of match Chris played going back to the mid-70‘s. She's playing like she's only 20 yrs old here with an aggressive all-around game.

[@HunterBidenCocaineBag]

I have this match on DVD. Personally, I saw nothing different about Martina's behaviour than usual. Nevertheless, Evert's forehand was ON for this match.

[@48blackman]

This would be Chris's second consecutive tourament win, and the last of the clay court season in 1988, she would pull out of Italian Open with a heel spur at the top of May, and she would lose to Sanchez at the French Open with the same heel spur problem in the 3rd round. She had beaten Sanchez in the Tampa final a few weeks before this tourament in Houston.

[@JBlue761982]

5:02....80s fab!

[@ralfbeckmann597]

❤❤❤

[@jonathankieranwriter]

Kathy Jordan commentating, with all her little passive-aggressive, backhanded “compliments” to Chris. 😄 Kathy was actually a gutsy, gifted, courageous player who could intimidate Chris, and who got a wildly famous win over Chris at Wimbledon in 1983, in R3. She beat Chris a few times with an almost crazily belligerent game, but Chris soon got her number and, sadly, injuries, hampered Jordan’s later efforts on tour. Commentating was clearly not in her future.

[@kljMN2]

I never knew why there was so much drama in the awards ceremony.. Just curious, but why would Chrissie get a "dig" in at Martina, especially seeing how easily she won? So Martina is upset by a bad loss... it happens!

[@fong03]

Yes, but '91 was far from Graf at her peak. Martina, Aranxta and Gabby were really getting the better of her. I'm not disagreeing that Martina's peak might be the best we've ever seen. It's close but I can definitely see the argument and even more so if we factor in doubles and mixed. I just would not put too much stock in victories during that '90-92 period. Monica wasn't the only one beating Graf.

[@dennisjacks7923]

Yr absolutely correct, Sabatini was dominate over Graf during this period 9-4, although losing both matches at Wimbledon (91 & 92). Jana Novotna knocked Graf from the Australian Open and WTA championships in 1991, Martina from US Open. Sanchez too her out in the semi-finals of the French in 1991, and the quarters of the US in 92 and Lori McNeil at the WTA championships in 92.

[@preciousjey]

Wow saw that double fault coming.

[@trent8002003]

@spacecolt Now you made me really want to see the award ceremony. Hard to imagine even Martina making such a big scene. Anyway, being a pro tennis player is hard. You not only have to get used to losing all the time, you also have to get used to NO LONGER dominating someone you used to dominate, which is just as hard.

[@th8257]

There are other videos on KZbin which show Martina's meltdown during the awards ceremony

[@JBlue761982]

Off topic....but love the lady at 5:02!

[@nancyyoung9799]

You didn't sleep on Chris Evert.

[@chrisevertdotnet]

@SanPaTrip We know...We decided it was not Martina's best moment & nothing is gained from exploiting the fact that she lost hold of her emotions & acted in a way she surely regretted looking back. It was certainly not representative of her normal behavior. Chris got plenty of 'dig' in by winning the way she did. :) So we decided the clip is already long enough. :)

[@95KIPPIE]

Chris too good on the day

[@johnblacklovesmar]

@spacecolt : Funny line. Thanks

[@andyjourn]

Yes remember her infamous loss to Pam Shriver during the quarter finals of the US Open. Throwing a camera out of the arms of a photographer with a towel who got too close afterwards, and then saying at a press conference that she had been weakened by a bug infested cat!

[@johnblacklovesmar]

The commentator said that Navratilova was having words with someone. What was going on?

[@johnblacklovesmar]

Their behaviors on court are very relevant to their matches. Their lives off court undoubtedly affect their play too but that is IMO much harder to connect. I will say though that anyone who has been so critical of Serena Williams, even making comments about her appearance, probably shouldn't judge others. It looks a tad hypocritical.

[@beavertown2006]

Martina's serve is excellent.

[@thequinnster72]

Martina was a bit out of it in the first set here. She didn't even seem particularly annoyed or pumped about the score until the second set, when she started to play better. Sure, Chris played well, but not spectacular. Martina was flat and not hitting with much confidence. I don't think Martina was being a poor sport at the end, she always just wore her emotions on her sleeve. Clearly, she was upset at the score esp. after beating Sabatini 6-0 6-2 in the final on clay the week before.

[@JBlue761982]

I wasn't old enough to remember this rivalry first hand, but I can't understand how Martina beat Chris so many times. Chris just seems so far superior from the ground. How did Martina defeat her?

[@lenwelch2195]

JBlue761982 when Martina’s serve was on Chris couldn’t return it . Martina got in great shape sooner than Chris so there was a 2 yr lag where Martina won 13 straight matches till Chris caught up

[@jonathankieranwriter]

Guess.

[@tomschmitz5745]

@John David from 1985 to 1988, martina had the 12-7 edge, HOWEVER it was usually if not entirely based on what surface they played on.. martina won on grass and faster courts, evert won on clay and on the most "neutral" surface that being hard court, evert actually had a 3-2 edge over martina... the final tally 43-37 to martina i think after 80 matches is more or less a "statistical" tie..

[@markwhitman9029]

Martina got buffed and her serve volley and power game went to the moon. Chrissie changed racquets a little too late and although never out of shape got fitter and remarkably quicker overall. She improve her great game over the last 5or 6 years to really rebound after those 13 straight losses.Martina was a beast on grass but Chrissie that way on Clay. Loved Chris and highly respect Martina and still concede that Martina GOAT with Chrissie second and Stefi third

[@cyriljacob4839]

I love how Chris tries to hit against the back hand of Martina. Coz Martina is hesitant or lazy to hit a top spin back hand.

[@spacecolt]

@trent8002003 Apparently Martina doesn't agree with you... probably the fact of losing 3 of 4 matches, winning only 14 games total, to Chris was too much for her. She did more than cry, she stormed off after just a few words, banging the microphone with a big thud. The h2h isn't the only thing that matters...

[@johnblacklovesmar]

So what was the dig

[@yussepig6629]

Wow, Chris mauled her here. And Martina was moving well.

[@spacecolt]

@trent8002003 Ha! exactly.... You give up everything else to pursue this 1 activity, so it means everything, & you live & die on it. She wanted to be NUMBER 1 ...but over Steffi!! Yet here was Chris, who she THOUGHT she had put in the rear-view mirror, saying, 'Not yet!" so imagine how that felt. Plus MN was always the most emotional of the top players. :)

[@lenwelch2195]

spacecolt tennis meant everything to Martina . By this match Chris was in love and ready to retire and have kids

[@trent8002003]

@SanPaTrip If memories serve, Martina lost exactly the same final to Chris in 1989 AGAIN and again she broke down at the award ceremony thinking she'd played poorly to lose 6-0 6-4. That time she did acknowledge how great Chris played and Chris in turn praised Martina's excellent tournament wins leading up to that final.

[@th8257]

They didn't play in 1989.

[@HunterBidenCocaineBag]

@Nicklas4500 Oh, I appreciate the shotmaking. I would love to have 2% of Martina's net skills!!! I was just saying I saw nothing different from Martina in this match that I hadn't seen before: moody, overly emotional, tempermental. It's part of what makes this rivalry all the more interesting. You always knew where Martina was emotionally on the court. I certainly don't "hate" Martina, and I'm sorry if you got that impression, but Martina was very ungracious after the match. That's all.

[@LiamForeman]

Roid rage.

[@stubbysmallpox]

Martina was playing with a dunlop max 200g.. like graf, interesting/....

[@spacecolt]

@johnblacklovesmar She didn't make much of a dig from what I recall, only by Evert standards!!! Marina said that she had played pitiful & not to take anything away from Chris, but people should get their money back, then said, 'It's not worth crying over" and slams the microphone to her side that made a loud THUD, and she cries & walks off.... So Chris said, "I'm sorry she thinks she played so poorly...but not to take anything away from Martina, I don't think I was too shabby out there."

[@HunterBidenCocaineBag]

@Nicklas4500 Well don't tell Martina that. She'll start crying.

[@westfaner]

@trent8002003 Chris lost to Monica Seles in 3 sets in the 89 final.

[@lenwelch2195]

westfaner but got her back at open 6-0, 6-2

[@shihlin1]

Evert said that 89 loss to Seles a year later was one of the motivating factors she decided to call it quits at the end of 89. Evert felt she should have defeated Seles that day, but she was running out of patience dealing with Seles‘s persistent lobs (Seles lobbing? Wow !) and lost 6-4 in the third.

[@LiamForeman]

@@shihlin1 I was there in both 88 and 89 for the finals. The first set with Martina wasn't a typical bagel, it was much closer. The crowd was decidedly pro-Evert, in fact I was cheering for her too. The 89 final was a mess. Chris was off, and yes Monica would resort to moon balls and the crowd would groan. Definitely 88 was the better final despite the score. But one thing you could tell was that Monica was going to be number one. She looked like a pipsqueak but her shots even then were lethal. Great memories.

[@lenwelch2195]

shihlin1 it was the long points with someone half her age that bored Chris .

[@lenwelch2195]

Showing too many Martina winners - Evert won 6-0,6-4. Evert hit tons of winners but you wouldn’t know it from this

[@markwhitman9029]

LOL when Chrissie hits those lobs! Martina ever the whiner abuses her racquet and shakes her head.True she is probably the GOAT with Chrissie close second though

[@l__1680]

Now you know that Evert and her lobs and passing shots, more than any other player and shot, had to have given Martina nightmares during their playing days and maybe even still does lol - and right behind that would be Graf's forehand

[@th8257]

Have to say I think Monica Seles had better passing shots and returns than Evert.

[@trent8002003]

I'd love to see Martina showing her emotions at the award ceremony. But why would she have cried nei? She dominated Chris for so long and even though Chris was starting to turn it around, there surely would never be enough time for Chris to catch her in the head to head record. BTW, It's just a tour stop, Houston. Not even a Lipton international, much less a Slam.

[@lenwelch2195]

trent8002003 Martina dominated Chris from 82-84. From French 85-88 Chris won 7 times to Martina’s 12. Yes Martina had an edge but she didn’t Dominate her . Chris beat her in 3 grand slam events Martina won 5 times in slam events from 85 on.

[@911801111801]

As a matter of fact, Evert got to be in front of Navratilova 21-3

[@yussepig6629]

Back then these tournaments mattered. Plus the loss ruined her momentum emotionally for the season. Chris destroyed her.

[@iwantafennec9577]

Kathy Jordan has the personality of a beige sofa cushion.

[@lenwelch2195]

SW Sabin dry as toast, you can tell her bias and her lack of respect for Chris’s game - that Martina’s game is the way real tennis players play . May be this is why Kathy lost so many times against Chris - she rushed the net time and time again and Chris led by a good margin in head to head matches and doesn’t come close to her record. She believes Martina should beat Chris even on clay , can you say French finals 75, 85, and 86? Houston 87, 88.

[@iwantafennec9577]

Oh yeah. Big time agree with you, Len!!! Players like KJ thought that they should be beating Chris because she didn’t seemingly possess the flashiest game, but what that they never understood was that under Chris’ metronome efficiency was a very verstatile player with an aresenal of shots. Even Martina went on an anti-Chris jag in the late 90’s early 2000’s. She would tell anyone who would listen that Chris didn’t really have any weapons on the court other than her concentration. That is bull-ticky! I don’t care what anyone says, Chris helped usher in the power era. Her two-hander was the definitive groundie until Steffi’s forehand came along. I think part of the problem is also Chrissie herself and how self-deprecating she is about being a mediocre athlete. She continually emphasizes how much better athletes all the other players were. Yeah sure, Martina and Steffi, but they were rare, genetic freaks of nature. Chris was fast, had amazing footwork, and unparalled endurance. On the grittiest surface she excelled. In three set-matches, she had the edge over Martina and I never, ever remember Evert looking tired or running out of gas physically in her 20 year career. Not too shabby for a sub-par athlete, huh? I mean if Chris was a B-athlete, what the hell does that make the duck-footed but always entertaining Pam Shriver or Gabby Sabatini, who sounded and looked exhausted after about four games of her annoying topspinny genuflects.

[@markbrandis5684]

this is tennis, not the boring dull hard-hitters of nowadays!

[@Timop1919]

I can't stand the old style of tennis commentators. They speak lime no one has ever watched the sport before and the females are too sheepish to add anything to the conversation. It is fun to watch the matches but the commentators were awful.

[@HunterBidenCocaineBag]

+Timop1919 Kathy Jordan was HORRIBLE calling this match. Useless.

[@circuitdesign]

Michael Chang had a better lob than Evert. Same era, so the comparison is valid.

[@theexmann]

Chang wasn't from the same era. That was the era after Chris. Chris played most of her career with a wood racquet.

[@lenwelch2195]

circuitdesign no way - Evert hit her lobs deeper in the opponents court. Chang was good but rarely employed it because it rarely worked against Sampras . Evert had the best court sense than anyone - she had to because she didn’t have the power to overwhelm her opponents

[@gedshepherd3106]

Michael who, oh yeah 1 slam wonder, can no way compare him to Evert. Closest challenger to Everts lob was Hingis

[@bobuk161]

The ice maiden at her most ruthless best😊😊I loved her then and still love her now. xx