US Open 1973 Final Margaret Court Vs Evonne Goolagong - Third Set (Read the description)

[@brucewringe2355]

Margaret Court was a magnificent player who never argued with or tried to bully lines people or officials. She took some tough losses in a dignified and professional way unlike some others of her and future generations.

[@BTURNER1961]

I can see what made Margaret so great. Everything is so rock solid. Her serve, her return, her groundies, her volleys her overhead. Considering the conditions, she made very few errors. Evonne was feeling the pressure to come up with something special all match long.

[@shihlin1]

Goolagong was ahead in the first set and her infamous "walkabout" habits reappeared at the worst times. This was a winnable match for her, but nerves and bad concentration once again reared their ugly heads in her game

[@zeddeka]

She was also exceptionally physically strong. One of the first players who really started to train.

[@brentclements6700]

Martina has said in her biography that she patterned her game and style of play after Margaret. It makes sense, same incredible athletic ability and raw physical power. The bombs Margaret is sending across the net makes me wonder what her power would be like with modern technology.

[@rajusaha855]

Only Navratilova in 80's & Graf in late 80's & 90's matched Margaret Court domination post second world war. The likes of Maureen Connolly & Monica Seles (although she failed to win Wimbledon) dominant for few years & later suffered due to unfortunate circumstances. BJK & Evert had longer career but didn't have insane peak like Court. And Serena outside of slam was inconsistent although in slams she had her peak as great as Court, Graf & Martina.

[@rajusaha855]

In 2020 during Court's 50th anniversary of her winning calender slam in 1970, Australian media allowed her to judge the greatest player she ever saw or played against. She put Steffi Graf as #1 without any hesitation ahead of Serena. Surprisingly she put BJK at #3 ahead of Martina at #4 & Evert at #5.

[@johnrenehan7406]

That order seems perfectly ok for my money

[@rajusaha855]

@@johnrenehan7406 yeah not bad but in no world BJK should be ahead of Martina or Chris.

[@gerardmackay8909]

@@rajusaha855 Chris Evert, in her excellent series on women’s number ones, said Monica Seles was the most naturally talented of all of them. No one can know how her tennis career would have panned out if the stabbing hadn’t happened, but it’s as certain as you can get that Graf wouldn’t be sitting on 22 slams in retirement. I agree entirely BJK should never rank higher than Navratilova or Evert on anyone’s list. King’s greatness is as much for her work off the court as well as on it. A truly inspirational woman.

[@rajusaha855]

@gerardmackay8909 Steffi also suffered from the slump in 1990 due to her father's extramarital affair & then tax scandal. Before that Graf was simply invincible on every surface.

[@gerardmackay8909]

@@rajusaha855 yes at that level personal issues can make all the differences in form and I take nothing away from Graf’s phenomenal legacy. It’s just so sad that we were deprived of a potential rivalry that could have matched Evert/Navratilova in its closeness and longevity. Seles would have dominated the French and Graf would still have been queen of Wimbledon (certainly before the courts were slowed in 1998) but they would have been evenly matched at the US and Australian and the games would have been epic.

[@gerardmac7619]

Well That's just Great " I watched the whole 19:16 Only to get Cut Off at Match Point. You Don't have to be Dead to be Stiff ....

[@TENNISPROHISTORY]

@gerardmac7619 Read the title!!!

[@shihlin1]

Goolagong was ahead in the first set and her infamous "walkabout" habits reappeared at the worst times. This was a winnable match for her, but nerves and bad concentration once again reared their ugly heads in her game

[@johnrenehan7406]

Evone has a fantastic bachand slice - beautiful to watch Courts wasnt to shabby also

[@shihlin1]

In case people are wondering why Billie Jean wasn't in the finals that year, BJ got into a heated argument w Julie Heldman in the third round and defaulted, blaming the weather. But tennis experts at the time knew BJ was really focused on her upcoming "Battle of the Sexes" match against Bobby Riggs, which was only a few weeks away. Her mind was elsewhere and definitely not at the U.S. Open

[@robertlafferty3532]

According to the book "A Long Way, Baby" she was also sick.

[@stephenstephen1505]

No matchpoint! What a pity. Thanks

[@TENNISPROHISTORY]

@stephenstephen1505 read the description.

[@romcallis]

Can’t tell if it’s grass or clay

[@fanofmany71]

Court was built like a... You have to wonder. Too bad she likes to exclude people these days. Evonne on the other hand was and is such the GREAT ROLE MODEL.

[@rboltt]

She lifted weights as a teenager.

[@johndickson9542]

No, Court is not a deviate.

[@zeddeka]

​@@johndickson9542a what? Please speak English.

[@leonboois5414]

Lord, American commentators are so tedious: stating the obvious, repeating info ad nauseam or mentioning trivialities! Bud Collins, Jack Kramer (here) and Mary Carillo are among the chief suspects.

[@dannye8525]

Bud Collins was a wonderful tennis writer. His articles appeared in the Melbourne Age for nearly 2 decades and were much loved.