Hana Mandlikova battles Martina Navratilova - 1985 Madison Square Garden SF

[@thequinnster72]

Unbelieveable! The shotmaking in this match will likely never be seen again. These two were beautiful to watch when they were "on." They were definitely both on this day! One of the first matches featuring Martina in her glasses.

[@whitestar655]

Glorious to watch, even after all this time! :-)

[@MA-yh2ko]

This match up was always tense due to their backgrounds. Martina was staring at the right handed version of herself down to the hair and headband like she wore in the late 70s. That Hana was beyond talented.

[@Hammerton32]

@timothy chung yes, they did.

[@mbblover]

sooo much more entertaining and fun to watch then today's bashfest!.. i would rather watch this match any day of the week, then today's matches..

[@KingCast65]

mbblover AYup.

[@Zeusdattilo]

That was the time I watched all matches on Tv...Martina was great but I have to say I didn't remember how much gifted and classy and talented Hana Mandlikova was...every shot a picture...

[@jordanaus75]

Mandlikova is poetry in motion. Think they should have arrested the evolution of the racket around 88 or 89. That would have allowed the different playing styles to still exsist.

[@Belgarath777]

I remember watching this live like it was yesterday. I really thought Hana was going to win it, but Martina just played solid when the chips were down and Hana couldn't close the deal. Hana hit some of the most amazing shots I ever saw at that time

[@Kevinsf]

Love Mandlikova's backhand and serve.

[@michaellane3017]

3 amazing and divine players featured from this video---Navratilova, Mandlikova, and Evert-I love them all :)

[@Zeusdattilo]

I couldn't agree more. I used to watch and love what once was TENNIS...and when players as Hana Mandlikova were poetry in motion...

[@Dylvente]

I agree. Today it's mainly smashing the ball back and forth from the baselines with rackets that do a lot of the work for you.

[@恒男高山]

i just read the article then! just now i enjoyed the video❤ thanx, technology!

[@fabricehaubois2442]

Remarkable, both of them

[@shihlin1]

Incredible match! I've seen this match on the Tennis channel and it could've gone either way. Martina's belief in herself and athleticism won out in the end. Hana's "magic" kinda faded when each set got tight. But Hana got the last laugh at the Open later in the year when she beat Martina in the final (winning two tiebreak sets in a 3 set match). Hana finally believed in herself in that match. Too bad Hana had very few of these great matches when her "magic" and her belief both existed.

[@jdfagen]

Liked watching these two display their tremendous skill. Always felt Hana should have won more titles....Little too inconsistent.

[@milesmontemore5060]

Ginger Rogers, of all people, said that Hana Mandlikova had the most beautiful legs she ever saw!

[@MA-yh2ko]

Miles Montemore She did. I think I remember a description like she takes munchkin steps but just always seems to be there, now her decision making shot was another story. She was just so languid with her stroke production, it looked sometimes like she wasn't trying.

[@ropa2142]

Indeed....and one player who many times was able to neutralise Hana’s natural talent and flair was Chris Evert with her calm focused discipline and consistency.

[@shihlin1]

Any footage of Hana dancing ?

[@Guphil]

I cant even remember the last time i heard the words appraoch shot.

[@thangvuong9196]

Hana is a very interesting player, for me she was probably the most naturally talented player of her generation, if she wasn't mentally fragile she had the talent to be #1. When she was at her best she is the female version of Federer.

[@qzrnuiqntp]

Yes, she reminds me Martina Hingis, who is for me the logical "female Federer", despite her short career.

[@borgtennis]

Loved her for her sheer potential too, but the head game!! She needed a special trainer but it was a beauty to see her on the court.

[@LordStanley94]

I believe she was the most talented woman player ever.

[@robs5855]

Not Federer maybe Henin.

[@vincenthannah6556]

When Hana was on she could really challenge and even defeat Martina and Chrissie. Her problem was that she was off a whole lot more than she was on. The type of player that could lose to anybody and also beat the greatest depending on what mood she was in.

[@anthonymos185]

She's the past equivalent of Kvitova, although Kvitova is a tad more consistent

[@borgtennis]

Very true, very true. Wished I had seen her win more often!!

[@LordStanley94]

@@anthonymos185 Two completely different players. Respectfully disagree.

[@Hammerton32]

@@LordStanley94 agreed. very different players and circumstances.

[@NOTHEOTHERGUY]

I remember this match. It is still one of the best I've ever seen. I also remember Hana being very ungracious afterwards saying that Martina wasn't "better", just "luckier". Good times!!

[@chrisnoneyabiz4072]

Why can't you find the entire match anywhere??? This was one of the best matches ever

[@mtshishimbi]

This is really beautiful to behold - great style, athleticism, variety, shotmaking. There isn't a woman on tour today who can play like this.

[@KingCast65]

She is one of my faves of all time. And incredible legs :)

[@shihlin1]

At 5-3 in the first set, Hana‘s brilliant play let nerves creep in and she couldn't close out. Same happened in the second set. Give Martina credit never giving up. But Hana got revenge 6 months later beating Navratilova to win the U.S. Open.

[@neilmodino9284]

Navratilova's serve is also a weapon. Her slice serve pulls you outside and that's where Navratilova volley become dangerous

[@Swgaboy2003]

This match has everything. Hana and Martina gave the crowd their moneys worth. Does anyone have complete 1984 Amelia Island SF?

[@MrYonexguy63]

nbc only broadcast part of the match. I had it on beta. 3rd set action featuring hanas meltdown after an atrocious outcall while being up a break.

[@spacecolt]

BRING BACK WOOD RACKETS!!!! (or atleast restrict to the weight of the very early graphite) so that we can have OUR SPORT back! Too much racket-generated power & racket-generated extension of rallies has created injuries for players that kill rivalries, but worse, made tennis no longer a thinking person's sport. Let's have tennis rely more heavily on thought & strategy than tedious marathon battles of 'who is in shape'...I prefer the better tennis player win not who's in better shape.

[@misina211]

Are you sure this is the 1985 year-end championships? Hana still has longer hair and her trademark bandana in this video, which would make this the 1984 year-end championship, or perhaps you meant the indoor season championship held in March 1985, formerely known as the Avon Championships. Hana had cut her hair shorter and stopped wearing the bandana by mid 1985.

[@snifferdogx]

It was 85; I remember watching this match live.

[@mikeater8714]

snifferdogx you remember wrong. it was 1984.

[@snifferdogx]

Nope, '85. I watched it live, and Martina didn't start wearing glasses until '85. Sorry bud.

[@MrYonexguy63]

its the march 1985 championships at the garden

[@kayanoreeves1949]

Hana won the US Open in late 1985 with shorter hair, no bandana, and a trademark yellow Reebok outfit. This was pretty much her look after that. She would not have grown her hair back this much before the end of 1985. This match was sometime before the 1985 US Open, not the end of the year 1985.

[@fong03]

None of those players except Federer and Henin had to play against the kind of spin and conditions we see today. Most of the reason Rafa dominates Roger on clay is b/c he attacks his BH w spin. In today's game, it makes more sense to have a two handed BH. If I were coaching a young player, I would teach the two hander and a one-handed slice. Martina and Johnny Mac have said the same. I wish it weren't the case, but I also wish the game allowed for the tennis in this match to still be played.

[@Hammerton32]

AGREED!

[@timothee3331]

Slow motion aces, slice passing shots, low returns, and backhand smah off a backhand lob volley off a volley ! Are you kiddin' me ?

[@preciousjey]

Hana looks like Jan Hooks during the interview.

[@pablotjob]

madison square garden in NY??? or in Virginia???

[@nordna]

I wonder how many people realize that in this match, Martina was already 29 years old, beforeGraf ever came into her own. Graf would have still been 17 years old at this time.

[@trchc189]

This match was played in March 1985, so Graf would've still only been 15 years old as she turned 16 on June 14.

[@robertportelli279]

Geez this Navratilova Hanna mandlikova was always an intense battle of the Czechs.

[@KingCast65]

Sharply-angled running one-handed sliced backhand winners, yah I see so much of that in today's game. Not.

[@fundhund62]

Christopher King By and large, tennis has made a huge reverse development since the racket revolution of the 1980's. Players were no longer forced to master all aspects of the game and become complete players in order to win, so most of them didn't. There are a few exceptions (Federer), but on the whole today's level of play is pretty sad to watch.

[@KingCast65]

Oh I see... today's game is just oh-so-much better. Bash bash bash grunt grunt grunt heavy grooved strokes and an occasional touch play and swinging volley and almost everyone's game looks the same at 30 paces, nigga' PLEASE.

[@tomschmitz1336]

i do believe that martina's play DID dim after 1984.. while the others also "caught up"....

[@CarloChapelle]

Nope. Martina didn’t know at the time her eyesight was getting bad. After getting prescription glasses she went on and continued her dominance ending 1985 and 1986 as number one. And though she’d lose the number one ranking to Graf by the end of 1987 Martina still won Wimbledon and US Open that year and was runner up at the Australian and French.

[@CarloChapelle]

timothy chung I think it was in 1985 that she shared the number 1 with Chris. Right after Chris won the French Chris became number 1. They were actually co-seeded as number 1 at the 1985 Wimbledon. It was the Australian Open at the end of the year that would decide the year end number 1. Martina best Chris in that Australian final and thus, ended 1985 as number 1. It was during the fall of 1986 that Martina was starting to feel burnout (though she didn’t realize at first that she was experiencing burnout). She wanted to find out what tournaments she could skip in 1987 and still be number 1. The beginning of 1987 was indicative of her burnout - she lost like 7 or more finals in a row. Her first title was Wimbledon 1987 while her second one was the US Open of 1987. She was still number 1 after that triumphant US Open. But because of Graf’s many titles and great results in the slams of that year, she was not that much farther from number 1. Martina needed to win the year end Virginia Slims tournament in New York and beat Graf to end 1987 as number 1. But she couldn’t overcome the task that she lost to Sabatini in the first round. And from that point onwards, Martina didn’t reach the number 1 ranking anymore. Graf became number 1 for good until the Spring of 1991 when Seles became number 1. Martina had knee surgery in the fall of 1990 thereby skipping the Fall indoor circuit.

[@krosero]

Hana was so fast. Caught Martina off guard.

[@franciscodeoliveira7935]

Woo woohoo voo oooh ohohoo she! I love these comments. This match had to be fantastic!

[@coffee24seven]

Its all personal taste, usually dictated by what you grew up watching. Because of modern technology, technique, sports medicine, ect., the game is now faster and more athletic. Playing "touch" tennis doesn't work very well in today's game, especially on the men's side.

[@KingCast65]

Yah and you know you can't really hope to hit that sort of backhand cross court return winner like that against today's pace.

[@FlabbyTitmuss]

Christopher King I see your point, and certainly it's not possible versus Serena or Pliskova's serves, for example. But a lot of the ladies today still have pretty underwhelming serves, so more creative play should be possible. Particularly given the improvement in racquets etc. I'm just not sure the talent is there in today's game frankly.

[@stef1074]

Women's tennis at the top was at that time so entertaining with Navratilova, Evert-Lloyd, Mandlikova, Shriver, Sabatini, Graf, Sukova, etc. Different techniques mixing top-spin, flat or sliced shots. Servers-volleyers, baseliners, you could find everything. A touch of class and a touch of glamour sometimes with Manuela Maleeva, Chris Evert, Gabi, Steffi, Carling Bassett and the gorgeous Andrea Temesvari. Women's tennis now is BORING. It's all about screaming and hitting as hard as I can. No fun at all !

[@KingCast65]

flo cle I largely agree. Similar with the men.... progress.... uggghhh....

[@showmebear]

+flo cle Agree with everything you've said. This was the golden age of women's tennis for sure. Great variety in the top players, unlike today. Now days I might tune in for a GS final, but other than that, not really that interesting to watch the Big Babe tennis of today.

[@tamarexxe]

I'm pretty sure they are both using graphite raquets. Martina is an older generation player for me, but she is still my favourite of all time. But to be fair, she did not become dominant in the women's game until she adopted a graphite raquet in 1982. The players could serve and volley today but choose not to. I don't think its necessarily a bad thing because the men today play better than ever.

[@guyinsf]

Everyone was able to switch to the graphite racket back then, not just Martina. What made her dominant was her training and raw talent.

[@mosamosa111]

Yeah, some year ago, tennis players had much more style in playing. Also the top-spin style of Conchita Martinez for example.

[@genericgeorge]

Hana wasnt real popular amongst other players on the tour because of this attitude either

[@ongoldenponds]

Hana deserved at lease a set here

[@alexdaniel8954]

This video shows Hana winning all the points....and Martina wins the match..

[@zeddeka]

Eh? Did you actually bother to watch the video? It shows Martina winning plenty of points, including 7 consecutive points from 04:25

[@KingCast65]

@thequinnster72 Great stuff. Love Hana's game.

[@Nigelxman]

You haven't been watching tennis for very long, have you?

[@Denis-hm5ob]

Mandlikova was very talented !

[@spacecolt]

@etsuko624 Don't forget Ivan Lendl, in the same time period!! It was a real heyday for the czechs!

[@Nigelxman]

These two make the current WTA look like a complete joke.

[@mikeater8714]

1984 not 1985.

[@kevincassidy7385]

She didn't get the glasses until 1985. She had a win streak with her new spectacles until she lost the French Open in June 1985.

[@Mackenzie73]

sometimes i see jana novotna in this!........

[@maestrodimente]

Utter genius :-)

[@stevie69ful]

I believe they teach & use the 2 hand backhand too much. Too Many young players are coming up learning a 2 hand backhand over a 1 hand backhand way too much. And alot of today's players are 1 dimensional because of it. U would think with the success of Laver, Court, King, Navratilova, McEnroe, Lendl, Becker, Edberg, Graf, Sampras, Henin & of course Federer, there would be More young players coming up wanting 2 emulate them & their 1 hand backhand style & they have so much more versatility.

[@TIZNYC]

HANA!!!

[@robertportelli279]

Hannas deminer was similar to steffi.

[@shottut]

@LMNFanNTVadBuff What ????........

[@JMLCK78]

@Nigelxman wta in 2000 made this look like a complete joke

[@mikebatlinh6650]

Hana was the better player! Martina was a sore loser.

[@johnkarls160]

Hanna should have kicked that lesbian's ass...lol

[@carlochapelle9331]

Hana is a lesbian too in case you didn’t know.

[@victordykes-fakolujo2075]

Some good technical play but all done at a sedate pace.

[@guyinsf]

+Victor Dykes - Fakolujo These 2 hit as hard as any woman could in 1985. You wouldn't say what you did if it's 1985 now.

[@PuteraMeor]

they play slow tennis..boring..i prefer Hingis era..where names like Hingis,Majoli,Novotna,Venus etc