Martina Navratilova v Chris Evert Full Match | Australian Open 1985 Final

[@keithlawford-r5e]

great stuff...keep these 80's matches coming. anything from 70's or 90's would be welcome too

[@lisapully9274]

Chris Evert is the reason why i began to watch tennis 😊

[@andyroo9381]

Ditto.

[@zeddeka]

The #1 ranking up for grabs here, which is why Chris looked so disappointed at the end. Strange to think that neither of them would ever win the Australian Open again.

[@KnowTrentTimoy]

Someone by the name of Steffi Graf had A LOT to do with that.

[@zeddeka]

​@@KnowTrentTimoy?? Martina only played three more Australian Opens (none was held in 1986). She lost in 1987 to Mandlikova, 1988 to Evert and 1989 to Sukova. She didn't play again after 1989. Martina never actually played Steffi at the Australian Open. Chris Evert only played one more Australian Open after this, losing to Steffi in 1988.

[@gerardmackay8909]

A very young Sue Barker commentating here (she had retired earlier that year) sounds a little stilted but goodness what a first class broadcaster she went on to become in the UK and is sorely missed.

[@francescaroat2076]

Two really immortal great Champions!❤❤❤

[@jpeyton88]

Sad number 1 ranking decided on worn out grass court. Kudos to Navratilova, though-at that time no baseliner was going to beat her on grass until Graf.

[@Jardin-d8v]

1:16:25 Onscreen it states “Martina Navratilova won Grand Slam 1984”. At the time she had won the grand slam according to ITF rules and received a $1m bonus from the ITF for this feat. It was only later that they backtracked under pressure from conservative figures in US who didn’t like the idea of a Czech born lesbian owning the grand slam. So they rewrote history. But Martina went on to win a record 6 slams in a row, rarer than the calendar slam, so no matter. She is the only player in history, man or woman, to hold all 8 singles and doubles majors at the same time, in 1984. The most dominant player of the pro era.

[@jamil259]

Navratilova .... Just the way she walks 👍

[@damiencampbell8320]

This was not one of the classic encounters these two so often had. Chris was nervous and inhibited all afternoon. Martina went right off in the second set, and the match never reached the usual heights of excellence these two usually had.

[@tonyhoward7004]

Chris only played six Australian Opens in her career…..and made it to the finals every time !

[@notchelseahandle]

People forget that other than Wimbledon and the US Open, the slams (especially AO) didn’t have the same weight back then as they do now. Chris also missed three French Opens in the mid to late 70’s when she was dominant everywhere but especially on clay. If she and Martina knew that their legacies would have been dependent on singles slam totals, they’d have played (and won) more. They’d probably have had 21 instead of 18.

[@DavidMerinoGomez-e5w]

@@notchelseahandle No es descabellado pensarlo, la verdad

[@Jardin-d8v]

@@notchelseahandle True.

[@francescaroat2076]

Thank youuuuu!😊

[@lenwelch2195]

Both women were so nervous- the year end number one was on the line and Chris was hampered by nerves this match. She won the second set out of pride being crushed in the first set. Chris made more way off unforced errors more in this match then perhaps any other ( the 78,especially 79 Wimbledon final the other two poorly played finals). Slam final.Chris would win one more time in the 86 French and 88 AO Sf vs Martina.

[@sharonr.6612]

NO HANDSHAKE CHRISSY😮

[@warriorson7979]

I see the "WTA handshake" is not a new thing...😒😑🙄

[@zeddeka]

The year end #1 ranking was decided by this match (the Australian Open was played in December until 1987). Apparently Chris was devastated by the loss.

[@andyroo9381]

Chris was way off during this match. I think she pulled it together to win the second set, but still off with her game the entire match. She looked angry at the handshake.

[@ArthurVerhulst]

Evert's FH service return seemed better than her BH service return - at least in this match

[@jonathankieranwriter]

Chris was trying to play aggressively from the start of this match, but her footwork was just a little off on this day when she needed to be just a tad more explosive and intense with her movement. Nerves may have robbed her of just a bit of the extra speed and agility she displayed so many other times throughout that year. As a result, her groundies were often uncharacteristically off-balance when she was setting-up for returns, passing shots, and retrievals. Martina played ALL BUSINESS, but just solidly. A tough scenario for Chris, and their wonky handshake was understandable: with the Year-End No. Ranking on the line (which would have been Chris’s EIGHTH ending as Year No. 1) it was a bad day to have a slightly off day. Players like Evert and Navratilova were great because they could BRING their A-games to such high-pressure moments. Still, it was getting late in Chris’s career, at almost 32, and she was two years older than Martina, and the ability to “will one’s self” into day-in, day-out A-game form starts to crack even for the greatest champs.

[@Jardin-d8v]

Why did Evert look like she was sucking lemons in tne third set?

[@iant1040]

Wow I’ve never seen Chris play with such negative body language as she does in the first set. Martina isn’t playing anywhere close to her best but

[@iant1040]

Chris is playing horribly.

[@markuse3472]

Martina had a natural but unfortunate and unfair advantage over every one on the WTA tour, that she was manly.

[@nikosgr9290]

Why oh why are you soo ignorant and petty human being. Martina wasnt manly,not the way you mean it anyway, she was the first woman tennis player that started doing serious work out like weights, basket etc in order to stregthen up and for stamina, Even Evert had started doing that, according to her, in oder to keep up. Nothing unnatural and nothing unfair in woking out harder than others.

[@TheDiana1]

​@nikosgr9290 very well said!!!. Martina transformed women's tennis and she's quite clearly the GOAT!!!.

[@andyroo9381]

I think people were calling it "athletic" back in the day.

[@TheDiana1]

@@andyroo9381 have you seen Serena Williams lmfao 🤣 😂 💀!!!.

[@nikosgr9290]

@@andyroo9381 They still do!!

[@carolinapopovic2129]

💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣💣