Credit to Martina for getting herself together in the early 1980s at last, and using her talent to the full. She was devastating in this match. But credit to Chris also for hanging in there, and coming back to win the French the next year. The rivalry between them made each of them better.
This match is a great example of how weather conditions can affect a match. It was hot and that makes the ball fly through the air quicker. On clay, it also makes the court dry out and play faster. The conditions really boosted Martina's attacking game.
Best match I have ever seen Martina play (which is saying a lot) in a Grand Slam final ... and perhaps the greatest I have ever seen ANY player play in a Grand Slam final. Thanks for posting this video for us to enjoy!
@@kloatlanta That was a great one, as well. But Martina was damn near perfect in everything she did, and she clobbered Chrissie on her favorite surface. Everything she did was gold. I still have it on tape, and look forward to watching it whenever I can.
Since I love both ladies, it's nice to see Martina with a great Grand Slam singles victory (albeit in a lackluster match in their unparalleled rivalry), surprisingly rare on UA-cam. The game where Martina goes up 4-0 in the 2nd set may be one of the best she has ever played in her career, including 2 drop-shot winners (against a drop-shot queen like Evert) and a powerful overhead from the baseline after Chris had gotten a lob over her head. Amazing! Martina undoubtedly deserved to win on this day.
+ Martin Pascoe - Hey Martin. Hope all is well. Drop shots are definitely not the "lowest type of shot in tennis" if they lead to victory. One does what one has to do to win. Martina actually complained that Chris had hit so many drop volleys during their 1986 Roland Garros championship round encounter. Martina dismissed them as "clay court volleys", thus demeaning the shot. But it helped Chrissie to win, and I'm sure that she wasn't embarrassed about hitting them..
such a treat to watch both these fantastic ladies play...i dont know why but after watching this watch, Çhris has gained my highest respect...she has never ever grudged Martina for her victories....and yes, I am a Martina fan....
Thanks for this great upload. Its the best picture quality I've ever seem for this match. Great to see the speeches too. Martina never played better and Chris did not play bad at all. I can see why the experts were blown away by it, such a historic day too. The most striking thing about the play is the complete command of all the shots e.g. so many topsin backhands. As Rex Bellamy of the Times reported " The variety of expertise on view was breathtaking".
Thanks so much for posting and the quality is excellent! I don't think I've ever seen Martina play better. It's not like Chrissie had a bad match, Martina just played impeccably. I've never seen her hit so many winning drop shots. Amazing!
Beautiful display of clay court tennis from Martina, especially her movement. Hana won a lot of points from Chris at the French in 1981 and 1983 with the drop shot. Martina took a page from that book and won a lot of points from Chris both here and at Amelia Island. Chris looked lovely here in her blue. And there was some extra punch with the graphite racquet. But her lack of confidence showed. I really believe at Wimbledon she felt like she had nothing to lose and she relaxed and got back to playing her more disciplined game. In Paris, Martina played so well she was going to win no matter what.
There's an interesting story about Chris's blue outfit here. As the match wore on, it started to show the sweat patches, and in an odd looking pattern. Chris, as always concerned about her appearance, decided afterwards that it was a very bad look (especially since she had been hammered in this match) and never wore anything other than a white top again in a major match.
I think this match was the beginning of a new era for chris. After this match she really pulled her socks up and never lost to martina like this again. At Wimbledon, a month later she really took it to martina coming into the net alot more and she carried on doing it. Sge also started really hitting the alot harder.
I deem that 1987 loss in Paris one of the worst in Chris' rivalry with Martina. As the legendary Bud Collins said, Chrissie just had no "verve" in that match. She seemed very disinterested, I guess you could say.
The perfect tennis execution by Martina - good serves, good volleys, topspin fh and bh, mixed with slice, incredible overheads, finding the lines and corners, and very few errors. It's remarkable how calm Chris looked despite the way she was losing and at the end of the match. What class!
I often wonder how Martina at her peak like this would have done against Monica Seles during her peak years. They had some amazing matches as it was, but it would have been great to have had them both at their absolute best at the same time.
So, this was Martina's fourth Grand Slam title in a row and she won two more after that. She won the last three in 1983 and the first three in 1984. Yet they do not count as "the" Grand Slam. We all know why.
The first half of 1984 Martina was virtually unbeatable and this match is a great example. Chris overhauled her training and diet regimen after 1983 and came on tour in 1984 a changed player. But still wasn't enough to beat Martina, who was so far ahead. Evert had her chances a few months later at the U.S. Open against Navratilova as most fans know. At least she was closing the gap. Most tennis fans don't give Navratilova enough credit, 1982-84 were her glory years on the tour before the arrival of Graf and a resurrected Evert.
@@annoyingchannel8812 No they where not. Steffi was athletic with power, and that's why she began to dominate Evert and Navratilova. Who where in their early 30's when she was just 17. Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati added to the power game. The 2 greatest single players of all time in the open era are Serena followed by Graf. That's not even up for debate. Why don't you compare this match to the Graf vs Seles @rolandgarros final, and see how the game had advanced so quickly in a short period of time. Seles and Graf where hitting the ball much harder than Navratilova and Evert where here.
That evert class, down 5-0 40-15 ( 2 match points) Chris refused to be bageled . Wins 4 straight points , the last one the best shot of the year. She was sending a message” you have me here but by God I’m not retiring . I’m going to give it my all before I retire ! She said later after her retirement , that when she beat Martina after the 85 French , she jumped in the air thinking “ thank God , I can play a few more years! “ she loved tennis that much but she didn’t want to hang around forever and get embarrassed by Martina. That joy lasted for years after and the 86 French win proved the 85 win was not a fluke!
I wish she had stayed after 1989. Graf went into a slump in 1990 and lost dominance of the womens game, so that would have left the door wide open for Evert and other contenders. Navratilova was no longer dominant either of course, and Seles was not yet dominant which would only begin in 1991, so it is very possible she could have won 1 of the slams in 1990.
Was Chris going to work at a diner restaurant after the match? Gosh 80's fashion, got me again! Jokes aside, amazing match between two legends! Thanks for the upload
Chris's outfit was more than leaves to be desired. The shirt looks so unfeminine and the color is too blue. Ellesse sponsored her and couldn't outfit her with a top and skirt that was attractive?! The 80s during the tennis era leaned more towards finesse than power as is the case today.
Martina at the full peak of her powers. Heavy, sliding serves, dominating the forecourt with her forehand and even toying with Evert by using sharp backhand angles and drop shots.
Martina looks pretty scary in this match... extremely solid, Chris has great difficulties in finding the way to score points. And as usual, Martina can attack the net pretty much at every moment, but here she is more error-free than usual. I think that the very evident confidence she shows in her topspin backhand (which was quite a recent novelty, she began to really develop this shot at the end of 1981 season), played a good role in this match. The one-handed topspin backhand has always been a shot which, if well played, created troubles to Chris, who was prone to hit short shots against players who were able to hit it with full swing and good consistency, probably because this shot usually has an higher, heavier bounce... and this was likely even more worrisome against the lefty Martina, who mostly played crosscourt her topspin backhand, vs Chris' forehand, her less remarkable side. A little bit less controlled forehands by Chris, often elicited by heavy deep topspins coming from Martina's backhand, were easily leading to aggressive attacks by Martina.
@@tobiasisback4605 I actually think that the inclusion of a certain percentage of topspin shots in Martina's rally backhands, was even a factor in her dominance over Chris. It took away some confidence from the American champion, creating more uncertainty into her mind, and it also had the "collateral effect" of a vast improvement of Martina's success percentage in backhand passing shots (attacking Martina on her backhand had always been a very good tactical variation for Chris before, but when Martina developed the ability of playing powerful flat backhand passing shots, it had suddenly became much less so).
There's an interesting story about Chris's blue outfit here. As the match wore on, it started to show the sweat patches, and in an odd looking pattern. Chris, as always concerned about her appearance, decided afterwards that it was a very bad look (especially since she had been hammered in this match) and never wore anything other than a white top again in a major match.
Interesting at the end that the interviewers congratulate Martina on winning the grand slam. There was a lot of controversy in 1984 as the ITF said they would pay a $1 million dollar bonus to anyone who won 4 consecutive grand slams and made noises that it would be classed as a proper grand slam (and not just a non calendar one). They later backtracked on that. Martina said in later years "First they told me it was a grand slam, then they said it wasn't. I won 6 in a row, so let somebody try and beat that."
Exactly. Everyone goes on about the calendar slam but 6 in a row is more rare and difficult. In 1982 the ITF defined a grand slam as holding all 4 slams in a year, which is what Martina achieved and they duly ratified it, only later to backtrack under pressure from US conservatives. Martina not only won a record 6 singles slams in a row but simultaneously 8 doubles slams in a row. Nobody before or since has been the holder of all singles and doubles slams at once, that is total and unparalleled domination of the game.
I think Chris was still getting used to the new graphite racket here. Some of her shots were flying way long, which is unusual for Chris. I think it took her some time to adjust to the extra power from the new technology, and especially to learn how to control that enhanced power when on the run.
The temperature may have also had something to do with it too. When it's hot, the balls tend to fly faster and are harder to control. It may well have helped Martina's fast court game a lot.
1:09:49 The reporter comes up to Martina and says “I am very happy to be the first reporter in the world to congratulate you on winning the Grand Slam.” What's little known nowadays is that the ITF and slam governing bodies agreed in 1982 that the definition of the Grand Slam was being holder of all 4 slam titles at the same time within a 12 month period. Martina achieved that here and was duly paid a $1m bonus from the ITF and ratified as Grand Slam winner. They later rowed back from this and reversed the decision under pressure from conservative (mainly US) authorities who weren’t happy that a Czech born lesbian should take this crown. It didn’t matter too much as Martina went on to win 2 more slams after this to achieve 6 slams in a row, which is objectively rarer and more difficult than the calendar slam. Graf at her peak managed only 5 in a row.
This must have been a tough loss for Chris since it was on her best service. But kudus to her for not pulling a Borg. She kept going and improved her game. She’d get it back in 85 and 86.
i feel very nostalgic since this tournament was my first experience with tennis during some very hot June afternoons in the very far (but for me like yesterday) 1984.
I like it - watching this video you have to keep score yourself. There's no omnipresent scorecard showing you the set/game count or the current score in the game being played. It makes you pay closer attention, just like the players.
You can see here at times how the game would evolve within just a few years. Some of Martina's serves are really short, but she could get away with with with Chris because Chris waited for the ball to get to her. She didn't move in to take the ball early. Perhaps the best illustration of the change was the way Jennifer Capriati played Martina at Wimbledon 1991 - stepping right in and hammering Martina's serve.
Imagine telling Martina after this match: you will never win this tournament again, but you will reach 3 more finals here, losing in 3 sets every time.
@@cush6827 what does that have to do with the original comment? Watching how well she played here is like watching Chris play great on grass like in eastborne 79 or Australian 82. Watching this it Is hard to believe this was Martinas last French win - it’s said as a compliment and I’m happy Chris has French record of 7 and Martina at Wimbledon with 9 wins . Martina is finest grass court player of All time and Chris the finest clay court player of all time . Both ladies can stake claim to being the best at what they are known for . Overall Serena is best when all surfaces are considered. See how.Chris leaves the platform when Martina wins . Next two years Chris wins and Martina stays on the platform and Chris feels awkward holding the trophy with Martina standing there . At Wimbledon the runner up moves off the center court so Martina didn’t allow Chris her due when she won 85,86
American vs. Czech in women's final, followed by American vs. Czech in men's final! Both of those americans happened to be top players from their country just like czech being top players fro mtheir country! LOL That kind of coincidence will never repeat again...
Chris needed to really hit the ball harder to impose herself in her points, here she just pushes the ball , at Wimbledon she makes better contact and by the US Open she is hitting through the ball with topspin keeping Martina back . When looking at this match it’s almost impossible to think Evert would beat her in the next two finals , at 30 Chris overhauled her game to beat Martina - incredible.
Chris was still getting used to her new graphite racket . She sprayed many serve returns long , not short. She was in better shape than 83 open but the nuances of feel with her racket skills were not yet learned. She hit the all crisply but hit two unforced errors each game , she didn’t yet have feel with her racket.
She was forced to change something to handle her rivals on all surfaces so sacrificed at least one or two slams to adjust. But martina still can have a match on her racquet in peak form
This is Evert's 1st Major using a graphite racket! She waited way too long to change over. The game almost passed her by. Only her superior talent (in my opinion) allowed her to close the gap again.
starting from 1985 to their last match in 1988, the head to head was 12-7 martina's favor. however, one has to look more closely at this record... what i mean is, from 85 to 88, the won and loss for both players basically was based on what surface... evert won the clay and hard court matches, while martina won the grass, indoor and fast hard court matches.. the slower the surface the more evert won, the faster the surface martina won... of these last 19 matches between the two, they played on more surfaces that favored martina then vice versa... so looking at the head to head of their last years, the "score" does NOT tell the whole story, thus evert HAD closed the gap...one could also make a argument that the final head to head 43-37 over 16 years is pretty much dead even... as well as the most matches between the two were on indoor carpet, martina's favorite surface perhaps even more then grass..
surfaces don't favor one player over another? styles of play don't favor one over another based on a surface? that's a "unique" way of looking at things to say the very least..... so i guess evert should have become a serve and volleyer on grass you know because surface and style of play doesn't matter, she should have adapted her game right? martina and someone like sampras should have won everything including everything on clay by NEVER EVER going to the net.. uh huh... as far as "making things up"? as i stated before the last matches they played from 85 to 88 on who would win,WAS pretty much based on the surface.. evert was 4-1 vs martina on clay, martina was 4-0 over evert on grass, indoors it was 5-0 martina over evert indoor carpet and on hard court (perhaps the most neutral of surfaces) it was evert 3-2 over martina.. hence as i said the slower the surface evert usually won, the faster the surface martina usually won, even in this break down, 9 of the 19 matches were played on surfaces that favored martina (indoors and grass)... 1 surface, 5 matches, that favored evert (clay) and 1 surface, 5 matches that was more or less neutral (hard court).. anyway, what's next nadal's brand of playing doesn't favor him on red clay? guess he can't be considered a all time great then if he has only won wimbledon 2 times and has lost early at wimbledon for the past few years in a row since he isn't very good at 'adapting" his game to the grass surface?!.. yes, the all time greats CAN AND DO adapt their games, but the idea that their inherent style of play can adapt equally to all surfaces, can be changed dramatically based on a surface, AND that a surface doesn't favor one player over another's style of play is far fetched...
interesting in that because i don't agree with you that 1) you feel that YOUR OPINION is fact and 2) you resort to name calling? a racket is a inanimate object too, would a wood racket not be at a disadvantage against a racket of today's technology as well as today's strings?.. yes, martina did play better on the surfaces they played MOST on! you answered both your opinion favorably as well as mine.. and chris played better on the surface of clay, and yet surfaces according to you has nothing to do with anything?...never heard of anyone suggesting that surfaces doesn't matter besides you..."if surfaces didn't matter then why would they need to adapt their games??"
sure both players are playing on the SAME surface at the same time, but to say a grass court doesn't favor a serve and volleyer or aggressive player over a baseliner or clay vice versa is i don't know what the word is.. as far as the two different rackets analogy? then i guess a case can be made for evert losing those 13 straight matches in a row to martina when martina was playing with graphite and evert still with wood...once again, i've never heard from anyone that a surface DOES NOT favor one player and/or style over another except from you...it sounds like you want to have it both ways? surface DOES matter, but at the same time IT DOES NOT favor one player or one style over another?.... also from 85 to 88, evert had the slim 3-2 edge on hard courts, so it wasn't just clay, their last matches in those years, they played more on martina's favorite surfaces indoor and grass then on evert's favorite surface clay and the neutral surface of hard court evert had the edge albeit slightly.. and cases have been made in the 80 matches they played against each other, that the majority were played on those surfaces that favored martina that being indoors, . oops i forgot no surface favors another player over another... in my mind, that reasoning would ONLY work on the "conditions" i.e. sun, wind, etcetera... however a case could be made even FOR THAT in that, a player whose has more concise and better technique strokewise usually is the one that can handle extreme conditions better then another... the steady player is usually better off then the aggressive go for broke style player in the wind for example...
hmm, by that then if they played MOSTLY on clay and evert won most of those matches she's the better player then? once again, i've NEVER EVER heard of any knowledgeable tennis fan, critic, historian, player, ex-player ever suggest that surface has NOTHING to do with a style or a player or the outcomes, that a surface does NOT favor one player over another.. you don't seem to grasp that your OPINION is just that....styles on a surface DOES favor a player over another's style on same surface.... the idea that a player doesn't have to adapt their style (and sometimes can't) based on a particular surface or that they DON'T HAVE to adapt their style is simply not true.. on one hand, you say surface doesn't determine styles or outcome but at the same time you say a player has to adapt to it? why would they need to adapt to it if surface doesn't matter in style and outcome.. you seem to want to have it "both ways"?..you have your opinion and i'll keep mine, i dare say my opinion is the majority though... from one amateur tennis historian/critic to another...i think i've said all i can or need to say... all the best...
Martina is such a champion , it appears yes she enjoyed this win but I don’t sense a true joy - just a great day at the office. When she loses , she acts like her life is in the toilet. Tennis seems to be a love / hate thing for her. I also sense that because people loved Chris, she thought the crowd was not for her . I don’t think Martina realized how loved she was by the crowd . I certainly think she gets it now.I hope so.
the court must have been playing very very fast, the way martina's serve was working and her serving and volleying regularly on the supposed slowest surface in the world and where the greatest returner in the women's game was helpless and befuddled...
I think the temperature helped Martina a lot too. When it's hot, the balls fly through the air quicker. The clay courts also dry out and the ball comes through quicker.
seems like evert made the mistake of hitting hard and flat and true, which didn't bother martina due to her much improved groundstrokes and of course her stronger fitter self.. evert soon learned to play martina was to loop with topspin her forehand keeping martina pinned to the baseline, as well as making it harder for martina to slice her backhand as a approach shot and take speed off her backhand some of the time and to keep it deep deep, and other tactics, including topspin lobs to keep martina "honest". in this match, she didn't hit one?!.
When Martina is serve and volleying regularly on a CLAY court, then you know her confidence is high. Unfortunately Chris playing well is still not enough to quell Martina's net game. Of course we know Chris turned the tables against Martina for the two following straight French finals, but Martina's game was nowhere as perfect as it is here
what was the HUGE difference from this match in 84 and the next 2 matches in 85 and 86 that evert won over martina? yes, martina played out of her mind in this match in 84, but to win so easily over evert and then a year later and the year after that to lose to evert in 3 sets each match,, what was the difference? martina never equaled this play again? chris played THAT much better in 85 and 86? i guess i'm wondering if tactics were different, stroke production and so on in the difference between a easy 84 martina win and a 85 and 86 evert win?....
i think i remember evert being more aggressive in the 86 final after she lost the 1st set,, but not so much in 85? as far as hitting the ball harder in 85 and 86 then here in 84, i thought it was more evert on purpose looping with more topspin her backhand and ESPECIALLY her forehand on purpose deep to keep martina pinned to the baseline, also it looks like martina herself became less aggressive in 85 and 86, then here in 84... i was surprised in watching this 84 match, just how aggressive and especially powerful martina's serve was even on slow red clay... some surmise that after 1984 martina was never again all time at her best including when she had to get glasses thereafter?
Also the weather was different. Final 1984 was hot and dry with no wind. 1985 was very windy. 1986 was windy as well. Chris handles the wind much better than Navi.
I feel Chris was hitting the ball harder here than in the '85 final. She was mixing up here game quite a bit more in '85 and '86. Here it's almost like Chris felt she would try to outhit Martina which Nav just ate up the pace. Probably the best overall match I've seen Martina play. Did I count Chris winning only 2 points in the 6 games she lost in the second set?
Chris was still in the midst of that horrible 13 match losing streak in 1984. This match was won by Martina before they ever started the match. It would be March of 1985(9 months later!!) before Chris finally conquered those mental demons.
This has to be the lowest pt in Chrissie's career for if Martina can beat her handily on clay, it looks pretty hopeless. All the more credit for Chrissie to roar back right nxt yr and defeated Martina for the French crown.
Martina was very disrespectful to Chris. She didnt have to beat her that way! Someone in Martina's camp might have spread a rumor that Chris was talking bad about her because Martina was playing like"fuck this friendship today!
Credit to Martina for getting herself together in the early 1980s at last, and using her talent to the full. She was devastating in this match. But credit to Chris also for hanging in there, and coming back to win the French the next year. The rivalry between them made each of them better.
Chris won the year after that too. It was kinda like Ali/Frazier at the French for these two from 84-86.
This match is a great example of how weather conditions can affect a match. It was hot and that makes the ball fly through the air quicker. On clay, it also makes the court dry out and play faster. The conditions really boosted Martina's attacking game.
The two best players ever, each one perfect in her own style.
Amazing handshake and chat at the end, two ladies.
Best match I have ever seen Martina play (which is saying a lot) in a Grand Slam final ... and perhaps the greatest I have ever seen ANY player play in a Grand Slam final. Thanks for posting this video for us to enjoy!
Patrickc9330 confidence
Verbal Volley McEnroe 84 Wimbledon final was damn near perfect
@@kloatlanta That was a great one, as well. But Martina was damn near perfect in everything she did, and she clobbered Chrissie on her favorite surface. Everything she did was gold. I still have it on tape, and look forward to watching it whenever I can.
the scoreline does not reflect the incredibly high quality of the match. One of the most enjoyable of their rivalry!
Since I love both ladies, it's nice to see Martina with a great Grand Slam singles victory (albeit in a lackluster match in their unparalleled rivalry), surprisingly rare on UA-cam. The game where Martina goes up 4-0 in the 2nd set may be one of the best she has ever played in her career, including 2 drop-shot winners (against a drop-shot queen like Evert) and a powerful overhead from the baseline after Chris had gotten a lob over her head. Amazing! Martina undoubtedly deserved to win on this day.
+ Martin Pascoe - Hey Martin. Hope all is well. Drop shots are definitely not the "lowest type of shot in tennis" if they lead to victory. One does what one has to do to win. Martina actually complained that Chris had hit so many drop volleys during their 1986 Roland Garros championship round encounter. Martina dismissed them as "clay court volleys", thus demeaning the shot. But it helped Chrissie to win, and I'm sure that she wasn't embarrassed about hitting them..
such a treat to watch both these fantastic ladies play...i dont know why but after watching this watch, Çhris has gained my highest respect...she has never ever grudged Martina for her victories....and yes, I am a Martina fan....
Thanks for this great upload. Its the best picture quality I've ever seem for this match.
Great to see the speeches too.
Martina never played better and Chris did not play bad at all.
I can see why the experts were blown away by it, such a historic day too.
The most striking thing about the play is the complete command of all the shots e.g. so many topsin backhands. As Rex Bellamy of the Times reported " The variety of expertise on view was breathtaking".
Thanks so much for posting and the quality is excellent! I don't think I've ever seen Martina play better. It's not like Chrissie had a bad match, Martina just played impeccably. I've never seen her hit so many winning drop shots. Amazing!
the ONLY forehand drop shot i ever saw from her, amazing.
No one was beating Martina that day. She was just too good.
Such a dominant performance that day.
Beautiful match. Martina’s game is sublime
excellent quality upload. Thank you so much for this classic!
Martina playing Serve-Volley points on a Clay Court.....fabulous! ;O)
Beautiful display of clay court tennis from Martina, especially her movement. Hana won a lot of points from Chris at the French in 1981 and 1983 with the drop shot. Martina took a page from that book and won a lot of points from Chris both here and at Amelia Island. Chris looked lovely here in her blue. And there was some extra punch with the graphite racquet. But her lack of confidence showed. I really believe at Wimbledon she felt like she had nothing to lose and she relaxed and got back to playing her more disciplined game. In Paris, Martina played so well she was going to win no matter what.
There's an interesting story about Chris's blue outfit here. As the match wore on, it started to show the sweat patches, and in an odd looking pattern. Chris, as always concerned about her appearance, decided afterwards that it was a very bad look (especially since she had been hammered in this match) and never wore anything other than a white top again in a major match.
I think this match was the beginning of a new era for chris. After this match she really pulled her socks up and never lost to martina like this again. At Wimbledon, a month later she really took it to martina coming into the net alot more and she carried on doing it. Sge also started really hitting the alot harder.
I deem that 1987 loss in Paris one of the worst in Chris' rivalry with Martina. As the legendary Bud Collins said, Chrissie just had no "verve" in that match. She seemed very disinterested, I guess you could say.
Chris also lost to Martina 6-2 6-3 in 1988 Chicago slims.
@@carlochapelle9331 Actually it was 6/2,6/2.
The perfect tennis execution by Martina - good serves, good volleys, topspin fh and bh, mixed with slice, incredible overheads, finding the lines and corners, and very few errors. It's remarkable how calm Chris looked despite the way she was losing and at the end of the match. What class!
I often wonder how Martina at her peak like this would have done against Monica Seles during her peak years. They had some amazing matches as it was, but it would have been great to have had them both at their absolute best at the same time.
Interesting concept....
I think this Martina would win, because of volley.....
However i think Seles is next then Graf
So, this was Martina's fourth Grand Slam title in a row and she won two more after that. She won the last three in 1983 and the first three in 1984. Yet they do not count as "the" Grand Slam. We all know why.
The first half of 1984 Martina was virtually unbeatable and this match is a great example. Chris overhauled her training and diet regimen after 1983 and came on tour in 1984 a changed player. But still wasn't enough to beat Martina, who was so far ahead. Evert had her chances a few months later at the U.S. Open against Navratilova as most fans know. At least she was closing the gap. Most tennis fans don't give Navratilova enough credit, 1982-84 were her glory years on the tour before the arrival of Graf and a resurrected Evert.
Thank God Graf came along in 87, to challenge the dominance of these 2, and also raise the game.
@@annoyingchannel8812 No they where not. Steffi was athletic with power, and that's why she began to dominate Evert and Navratilova. Who where in their early 30's when she was just 17. Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati added to the power game. The 2 greatest single players of all time in the open era are Serena followed by Graf. That's not even up for debate. Why don't you compare this match to the Graf vs Seles @rolandgarros final, and see how the game had advanced so quickly in a short period of time. Seles and Graf where hitting the ball much harder than Navratilova and Evert where here.
@@MrBjorn6 Williams better than Graf and Navratilova? Puleeeze!!
That evert class, down 5-0 40-15 ( 2 match points) Chris refused to be bageled . Wins 4 straight points , the last one the best shot of the year. She was sending a message” you have me here but by God I’m not retiring . I’m going to give it my all before I retire ! She said later after her retirement , that when she beat Martina after the 85 French , she jumped in the air thinking “ thank God , I can play a few more years! “ she loved tennis that much but she didn’t want to hang around forever and get embarrassed by Martina. That joy lasted for years after and the 86 French win proved the 85 win was not a fluke!
I wish she had stayed after 1989. Graf went into a slump in 1990 and lost dominance of the womens game, so that would have left the door wide open for Evert and other contenders. Navratilova was no longer dominant either of course, and Seles was not yet dominant which would only begin in 1991, so it is very possible she could have won 1 of the slams in 1990.
don't see tennis of this varied quality anymore, shame! Martina was the greatest I think.
Was Chris going to work at a diner restaurant after the match? Gosh 80's fashion, got me again! Jokes aside, amazing match between two legends! Thanks for the upload
That shirt just looks like it's heavy and hot. Ugh...
Chris's outfit was more than leaves to be desired. The shirt looks so unfeminine and the color is too blue. Ellesse sponsored her and couldn't outfit her with a top and skirt that was attractive?! The 80s during the tennis era leaned more towards finesse than power as is the case today.
Petr Slivinski the outfit is fine but it shows your opponent how much your sweating which is a disadvantage , she never wore dark hues again .
Thanks for posting entire match. Martina playing great and those drop shots and this her worst surface. Great point at 1:08:00
Martina at the full peak of her powers. Heavy, sliding serves, dominating the forecourt with her forehand and even toying with Evert by using sharp backhand angles and drop shots.
Martina looks pretty scary in this match... extremely solid, Chris has great difficulties in finding the way to score points. And as usual, Martina can attack the net pretty much at every moment, but here she is more error-free than usual. I think that the very evident confidence she shows in her topspin backhand (which was quite a recent novelty, she began to really develop this shot at the end of 1981 season), played a good role in this match. The one-handed topspin backhand has always been a shot which, if well played, created troubles to Chris, who was prone to hit short shots against players who were able to hit it with full swing and good consistency, probably because this shot usually has an higher, heavier bounce... and this was likely even more worrisome against the lefty Martina, who mostly played crosscourt her topspin backhand, vs Chris' forehand, her less remarkable side. A little bit less controlled forehands by Chris, often elicited by heavy deep topspins coming from Martina's backhand, were easily leading to aggressive attacks by Martina.
Good analysis. I felt Martina didn’t use her topspin backhand as much or as effectively in the 1985/6 finals as here.
@@tobiasisback4605 I actually think that the inclusion of a certain percentage of topspin shots in Martina's rally backhands, was even a factor in her dominance over Chris. It took away some confidence from the American champion, creating more uncertainty into her mind, and it also had the "collateral effect" of a vast improvement of Martina's success percentage in backhand passing shots (attacking Martina on her backhand had always been a very good tactical variation for Chris before, but when Martina developed the ability of playing powerful flat backhand passing shots, it had suddenly became much less so).
@@pierdomenicosommati443 I think that's totally correct 👍
There's an interesting story about Chris's blue outfit here. As the match wore on, it started to show the sweat patches, and in an odd looking pattern. Chris, as always concerned about her appearance, decided afterwards that it was a very bad look (especially since she had been hammered in this match) and never wore anything other than a white top again in a major match.
Interesting at the end that the interviewers congratulate Martina on winning the grand slam. There was a lot of controversy in 1984 as the ITF said they would pay a $1 million dollar bonus to anyone who won 4 consecutive grand slams and made noises that it would be classed as a proper grand slam (and not just a non calendar one). They later backtracked on that. Martina said in later years "First they told me it was a grand slam, then they said it wasn't. I won 6 in a row, so let somebody try and beat that."
Exactly. Everyone goes on about the calendar slam but 6 in a row is more rare and difficult. In 1982 the ITF defined a grand slam as holding all 4 slams in a year, which is what Martina achieved and they duly ratified it, only later to backtrack under pressure from US conservatives. Martina not only won a record 6 singles slams in a row but simultaneously 8 doubles slams in a row. Nobody before or since has been the holder of all singles and doubles slams at once, that is total and unparalleled domination of the game.
Martina's best match play ever. Evert really didn't play poorly; she was just outplayed.
I think Chris was still getting used to the new graphite racket here. Some of her shots were flying way long, which is unusual for Chris. I think it took her some time to adjust to the extra power from the new technology, and especially to learn how to control that enhanced power when on the run.
The temperature may have also had something to do with it too. When it's hot, the balls tend to fly faster and are harder to control. It may well have helped Martina's fast court game a lot.
1:09:49 The reporter comes up to Martina and says “I am very happy to be the first reporter in the world to congratulate you on winning the Grand Slam.” What's little known nowadays is that the ITF and slam governing bodies agreed in 1982 that the definition of the Grand Slam was being holder of all 4 slam titles at the same time within a 12 month period. Martina achieved that here and was duly paid a $1m bonus from the ITF and ratified as Grand Slam winner. They later rowed back from this and reversed the decision under pressure from conservative (mainly US) authorities who weren’t happy that a Czech born lesbian should take this crown. It didn’t matter too much as Martina went on to win 2 more slams after this to achieve 6 slams in a row, which is objectively rarer and more difficult than the calendar slam. Graf at her peak managed only 5 in a row.
This must have been a tough loss for Chris since it was on her best service. But kudus to her for not pulling a Borg. She kept going and improved her game. She’d get it back in 85 and 86.
i feel very nostalgic since this tournament was my first experience with tennis during some very hot June afternoons in the very far (but for me like yesterday) 1984.
I like it - watching this video you have to keep score yourself. There's no omnipresent scorecard showing you the set/game count or the current score in the game being played. It makes you pay closer attention, just like the players.
You can see here at times how the game would evolve within just a few years. Some of Martina's serves are really short, but she could get away with with with Chris because Chris waited for the ball to get to her. She didn't move in to take the ball early. Perhaps the best illustration of the change was the way Jennifer Capriati played Martina at Wimbledon 1991 - stepping right in and hammering Martina's serve.
Martina in the zone...
Chris is hitting Short , allowing Martina to dictate every ball
Imagine telling Martina after this match: you will never win this tournament again, but you will reach 3 more finals here, losing in 3 sets every time.
Why you should never trust comments on UA-cam. Martina won the first set in the finals the next year and then dropped the next two to Everett. Tool.
@@michaelconfoy2862 you are correct. Nothing in my comment was inaccurate.
Well, 5 more Wimbledons will make it bearable.
@@cush6827 what does that have to do with the original comment? Watching how well she played here is like watching Chris play great on grass like in eastborne 79 or Australian 82. Watching this it Is hard to believe this was Martinas last French win - it’s said as a compliment and I’m happy Chris has French record of 7 and Martina at Wimbledon with 9 wins . Martina is finest grass court player of All time and Chris the finest clay court player of all time . Both ladies can stake claim to being the best at what they are known for . Overall Serena is best when all surfaces are considered. See how.Chris leaves the platform when Martina wins . Next two years Chris wins and Martina stays on the platform and Chris feels awkward holding the trophy with Martina standing there . At Wimbledon the runner up moves off the center court so Martina didn’t allow Chris her due when she won 85,86
Chris is hitting the ball harder in this match than she did in finals of 85 and 86...
It's more like the conditions allowed for the ball to move through the air faster
American vs. Czech in women's final, followed by American vs. Czech in men's final! Both of those americans happened to be top players from their country just like czech being top players fro mtheir country! LOL That kind of coincidence will never repeat again...
10 years after I graduated high school,I thought they were 10 years older than me. They were my age .
Chris has some serious sideburns! What's up with that?
Chris needed to really hit the ball harder to impose herself in her points, here she just pushes the ball , at Wimbledon she makes better contact and by the US Open she is hitting through the ball with topspin keeping Martina back . When looking at this match it’s almost impossible to think Evert would beat her in the next two finals , at 30 Chris overhauled her game to beat Martina - incredible.
Chris was still getting used to her new graphite racket . She sprayed many serve returns long , not short. She was in better shape than 83 open but the nuances of feel with her racket skills were not yet learned. She hit the all crisply but hit two unforced errors each game , she didn’t yet have feel with her racket.
She was forced to change something to handle her rivals on all surfaces so sacrificed at least one or two slams to adjust. But martina still can have a match on her racquet in peak form
This is Evert's 1st Major using a graphite racket! She waited way too long to change over. The game almost passed her by. Only her superior talent (in my opinion) allowed her to close the gap again.
starting from 1985 to their last match in 1988, the head to head was 12-7 martina's favor. however, one has to look more closely at this record... what i mean is, from 85 to 88, the won and loss for both players basically was based on what surface... evert won the clay and hard court matches, while martina won the grass, indoor and fast hard court matches.. the slower the surface the more evert won, the faster the surface martina won... of these last 19 matches between the two, they played on more surfaces that favored martina then vice versa... so looking at the head to head of their last years, the "score" does NOT tell the whole story, thus evert HAD closed the gap...one could also make a argument that the final head to head 43-37 over 16 years is pretty much dead even... as well as the most matches between the two were on indoor carpet, martina's favorite surface perhaps even more then grass..
surfaces don't favor one player over another? styles of play don't favor one over another based on a surface? that's a "unique" way of looking at things to say the very least..... so i guess evert should have become a serve and volleyer on grass you know because surface and style of play doesn't matter, she should have adapted her game right? martina and someone like sampras should have won everything including everything on clay by NEVER EVER going to the net.. uh huh... as far as "making things up"? as i stated before the last matches they played from 85 to 88 on who would win,WAS pretty much based on the surface.. evert was 4-1 vs martina on clay, martina was 4-0 over evert on grass, indoors it was 5-0 martina over evert indoor carpet and on hard court (perhaps the most neutral of surfaces) it was evert 3-2 over martina.. hence as i said the slower the surface evert usually won, the faster the surface martina usually won, even in this break down, 9 of the 19 matches were played on surfaces that favored martina (indoors and grass)... 1 surface, 5 matches, that favored evert (clay) and 1 surface, 5 matches that was more or less neutral (hard court).. anyway, what's next nadal's brand of playing doesn't favor him on red clay? guess he can't be considered a all time great then if he has only won wimbledon 2 times and has lost early at wimbledon for the past few years in a row since he isn't very good at 'adapting" his game to the grass surface?!.. yes, the all time greats CAN AND DO adapt their games, but the idea that their inherent style of play can adapt equally to all surfaces, can be changed dramatically based on a surface, AND that a surface doesn't favor one player over another's style of play is far fetched...
interesting in that because i don't agree with you that 1) you feel that YOUR OPINION is fact and 2) you resort to name calling? a racket is a inanimate object too, would a wood racket not be at a disadvantage against a racket of today's technology as well as today's strings?.. yes, martina did play better on the surfaces they played MOST on! you answered both your opinion favorably as well as mine.. and chris played better on the surface of clay, and yet surfaces according to you has nothing to do with anything?...never heard of anyone suggesting that surfaces doesn't matter besides you..."if surfaces didn't matter then why would they need to adapt their games??"
sure both players are playing on the SAME surface at the same time, but to say a grass court doesn't favor a serve and volleyer or aggressive player over a baseliner or clay vice versa is i don't know what the word is.. as far as the two different rackets analogy? then i guess a case can be made for evert losing those 13 straight matches in a row to martina when martina was playing with graphite and evert still with wood...once again, i've never heard from anyone that a surface DOES NOT favor one player and/or style over another except from you...it sounds like you want to have it both ways? surface DOES matter, but at the same time IT DOES NOT favor one player or one style over another?.... also from 85 to 88, evert had the slim 3-2 edge on hard courts, so it wasn't just clay, their last matches in those years, they played more on martina's favorite surfaces indoor and grass then on evert's favorite surface clay and the neutral surface of hard court evert had the edge albeit slightly.. and cases have been made in the 80 matches they played against each other, that the majority were played on those surfaces that favored martina that being indoors, . oops i forgot no surface favors another player over another... in my mind, that reasoning would ONLY work on the "conditions" i.e. sun, wind, etcetera... however a case could be made even FOR THAT in that, a player whose has more concise and better technique strokewise usually is the one that can handle extreme conditions better then another... the steady player is usually better off then the aggressive go for broke style player in the wind for example...
hmm, by that then if they played MOSTLY on clay and evert won most of those matches she's the better player then? once again, i've NEVER EVER heard of any knowledgeable tennis fan, critic, historian, player, ex-player ever suggest that surface has NOTHING to do with a style or a player or the outcomes, that a surface does NOT favor one player over another.. you don't seem to grasp that your OPINION is just that....styles on a surface DOES favor a player over another's style on same surface.... the idea that a player doesn't have to adapt their style (and sometimes can't) based on a particular surface or that they DON'T HAVE to adapt their style is simply not true.. on one hand, you say surface doesn't determine styles or outcome but at the same time you say a player has to adapt to it? why would they need to adapt to it if surface doesn't matter in style and outcome.. you seem to want to have it "both ways"?..you have your opinion and i'll keep mine, i dare say my opinion is the majority though... from one amateur tennis historian/critic to another...i think i've said all i can or need to say... all the best...
Martina is such a champion , it appears yes she enjoyed this win but I don’t sense a true joy - just a great day at the office. When she loses , she acts like her life is in the toilet. Tennis seems to be a love / hate thing for her. I also sense that because people loved Chris, she thought the crowd was not for her . I don’t think Martina realized how loved she was by the crowd . I certainly think she gets it now.I hope so.
Martina perfect & Chris couldn't keep up.
What a display ....
That Martina would have beaten anyone.
Never watched that one before....
Chris was playing like she didn’t believe. Always odd to see her like this. Contrast to 1985 where she played with fierce determination.
the court must have been playing very very fast, the way martina's serve was working and her serving and volleying regularly on the supposed slowest surface in the world and where the greatest returner in the women's game was helpless and befuddled...
I think the temperature helped Martina a lot too. When it's hot, the balls fly through the air quicker. The clay courts also dry out and the ball comes through quicker.
T H correct!!!! The hotter the weather the faster and dryer the court will be!
❤❤❤
those were the days...
seems like evert made the mistake of hitting hard and flat and true, which didn't bother martina due to her much improved groundstrokes and of course her stronger fitter self.. evert soon learned to play martina was to loop with topspin her forehand keeping martina pinned to the baseline, as well as making it harder for martina to slice her backhand as a approach shot and take speed off her backhand some of the time and to keep it deep deep, and other tactics, including topspin lobs to keep martina "honest". in this match, she didn't hit one?!.
Ива Майоле Чемпион!!!!!!!!👍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥😃
When Martina is serve and volleying regularly on a CLAY court, then you know her confidence is high.
Unfortunately Chris playing well is still not enough to quell Martina's net game.
Of course we know Chris turned the tables against Martina for the two following straight French finals, but Martina's game was nowhere as perfect as it is here
Chris was 0 for 16 on her service points in the 2nd set…wild
what was the HUGE difference from this match in 84 and the next 2 matches in 85 and 86 that evert won over martina? yes, martina played out of her mind in this match in 84, but to win so easily over evert and then a year later and the year after that to lose to evert in 3 sets each match,, what was the difference? martina never equaled this play again? chris played THAT much better in 85 and 86? i guess i'm wondering if tactics were different, stroke production and so on in the difference between a easy 84 martina win and a 85 and 86 evert win?....
tom schmitz Hi Chris was much more agressive. Hitting the ball harder and coming into the net alot more
i think i remember evert being more aggressive in the 86 final after she lost the 1st set,, but not so much in 85? as far as hitting the ball harder in 85 and 86 then here in 84, i thought it was more evert on purpose looping with more topspin her backhand and ESPECIALLY her forehand on purpose deep to keep martina pinned to the baseline, also it looks like martina herself became less aggressive in 85 and 86, then here in 84... i was surprised in watching this 84 match, just how aggressive and especially powerful martina's serve was even on slow red clay... some surmise that after 1984 martina was never again all time at her best including when she had to get glasses thereafter?
Also the weather was different. Final 1984 was hot and dry with no wind. 1985 was very windy. 1986 was windy as well. Chris handles the wind much better than Navi.
I feel Chris was hitting the ball harder here than in the '85 final. She was mixing up here game quite a bit more in '85 and '86. Here it's almost like Chris felt she would try to outhit Martina which Nav just ate up the pace. Probably the best overall match I've seen Martina play. Did I count Chris winning only 2 points in the 6 games she lost in the second set?
Chris was still in the midst of that horrible 13 match losing streak in 1984. This match was won by Martina before they ever started the match. It would be March of 1985(9 months later!!) before Chris finally conquered those mental demons.
Watch out, ladies...a young German girl is coming
The comments are so "old-style" ^^
Every time I see Martina with that blond bowl cut, I can't help but think of Uncle Fester's wig in Addams Family Values.
This has to be the lowest pt in Chrissie's career for if Martina can beat her handily on clay, it looks pretty hopeless. All the more credit for Chrissie to roar back right nxt yr and defeated Martina for the French crown.
芝の女王が、赤土の女王に勝った😊 ナブラチロワの絶頂期😊👍✨
Navratilova a complètement écrasé Evert pendant 1982-1984....13 victoires d'affilée .....
I can't believe how back then they leted stupid journalists to bother players straight away after the game
Martina was very disrespectful to Chris. She didnt have to beat her that way!
Someone in Martina's camp might have spread a rumor that Chris was talking bad about her because Martina was playing like"fuck this friendship today!
Evert not aggressive enough like Graf or Seles. A serve/ volleyer should never win on clay.
Tell that to noah
@@martinhudecek8886 Fun fact is that Noah was much weaker than MacEnroe, Edberg or Stich, who all failed after him.
@@nuwandalton he was but home crowd advantage is important
Is it true that Martina Navratilova was born as a boy?
No, it isn't.
Martina was very fast & strong not very feminine
Is muscle the stereotypical feminine trait