Navratilova/Graf: The Forgotten Rivalry
But what about women's tennis?
Fact is, even with its steadily growing depth in the 2000's, the tour has often been absent a *true* rivalry that has served to lift all WTA boats during the recent era.
Serena/Venus has been a two-decade cultural *happening*, but the all-sisters battle has never been a high-stakes "blood sport," and has recently mostly offered additional opportunities to look on in reverence at quite possibly "the greatest tennis story ever told." Serena/Sharapova had a chance to be something remarkable on so many levels, but Williams never let the Russian up for air -- or win again -- after their historic early meetings went in Sharapova's favor.
Probably the closest we've seen to such a qualifying head-to-head since the turn of the century was the tooth-and-nail series between two very different Belgians. Unfortunately, the entertaining Henin/Clijsters tête-à-tête, though still top-notch, was chopped up and done something of a disservice due to early retirements (multiple ones, actually, from both) that prevented the unique battle from soaring as high as it might have otherwise.
The preceding era in women's tennis, though, was blessed with rivalries whose histories still carry weight.
Everyone knows about the two-headed rivalry that was Navratilova/Evert. The two good friends lifted the WTA tour in an era in which they dominated for a long stretch that began in the 1970's and crossed over into the 1980's, meeting 80 times (including in 14 slam finals) as they combined to hold off/outlast younger contenders such as Tracy Austin and Hana Mandlikova and combined to win 36 majors. So significant was their dual presence in the sport, that an entire book (a great one, too -- if you're looking for some good quarantine reading material about tennis) was written about it.
Graf/Seles, too, still takes up a large part of the conversation when it comes to the "greatest" WTA rivalries of the Open era. Their 15-match series was spread out over a decade from 1989-99, though the great promise of their head-to-head storyline was forever altered by an horrific on-court stabbing that altered the course of the careers of both players. Still, all these years later, the two can carry a long and detailed "What If?" conversation that ponders how different WTA history may have played out save for one brief afternoon in Hamburg.
Ah, but there was another.
Between Navratilova/Evert and Graf/Seles, there was Navratilova/Graf. In many ways, it's the sport's nearly forgotten rivalry.
During the heart of their peak competition, Evert was gone and Seles had not yet arrived. Navratilova was the aging champion fighting to hold onto her throne, while Graf was the teenage phenom pushing to knock her off it. Before Serena Williams arrived on the scene, Martina was the player whose name immediately leapt to mind when a discussion about "the greatest ever" was initiated. A cultural heroine and athletic groundbreaker, Navratilova's training regimen changed how the WTA's best players prepared to compete in the sport. Meanwhile, Graf's huge forehand ushered in the power game that soon overtook the sport. It was Graf's eventual Open era career mark that Williams most recently surpassed in her pursuit of collecting the most slam singles titles ever.
Three decades after the brief period in time in which Navratilova and Graf faced off for the right to "lead" the sport, the fascinating "exchange of power" that took place between the two -- with Wimbledon's lawns providing the most common battleground -- is now rarely talked about, let alone romanticized.
But it should be.
We haven't seen such a drawn-out virtual passing of two "all-timer" ships -- from different generations -- in the night since, at least not on the women's tour. Roger Federer's rise, and Wimbledon win over the player he'd ultimately eclipse -- Pete Sampras, in 2001 -- is probably the closest thing we've witnessed. But it was the only time the two men ever faced off against each other in their careers. Later, Rafael Nadal's chase to catch Federer, and finally defeating him at SW19 in the classic 2008 final, seemed to provide a similar moment. But the result didn't end the battle, as the saga continued... and still does.
Between 1987-89, with a gap of more than a dozen years separating them, Navratilova and Graf faced off in six slams finals, including three straight at Wimbledon as the veteran tried with all her might to defend what was rightly considered her "home" court. Navratilova managed to hold off the young (then West) German for a while, but Graf's eventual climb to the top was about as "inevitable" an occurrence as any in recent memory in the sport's history.
Then, in an odd twist of fate -- well, unless you consider Navratilova's lifetime in the sport, then it's a case of "of course she did" -- the veteran ended up "outlasting" the youngster. By nearly a decade.
Once the dust had settled on both their singles careers, they'd combined to span two decades of multi-generational domination. From 1978-96, either Navratilova or Graf was crowned the women's champ at Wimbledon sixteen times in nineteen years, including twelve straight fortnights between 1982-93. Together, they won 40 major titles over a 21-year span, claimed 274 singles titles, held the #1 ranking for 709 weeks and finished 15 seasons (out of a stretch of 19) atop the rankings.
It's time to remember...
Before Monica, Venus, Serena, Maria, Justine, Kim, or Simona, there was Steffi. Steffi Graf. Like a freight train, the arrival of "her time" could be heard from a long distance away. The rumble was unmistakable, and not even the likes of an aging combo of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert could keep the new phenom at bay forever.
Graf was ranked at #124 as a 13-year old, and climbed into the Top 100 in 1983. In 1984, she was in the Top 25. A season later, at 15, she nearly upset Top 10 seed Jo Durie in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. Later that summer, she won the Olympic tennis demonstration event in Los Angeles. In August '85, she made her Top 10 debut.
Graf was a semifinalist at the U.S. Open in 1985 and '86 and put together a 64-6 match record during the '86 season at just age 17, but had yet to reach a slam final in her career through the opening months of '87. She finally broke through in Paris in June, and went on to author an historical chapter in women's tennis. Let's flip the switch and travel back in time...
As the sun sets on these two weeks of competition at the French Open it is quite obvious that a new era in women's tennis has now begun -- the Graf Era.
Stefanie Maria Graf, the 17-year old West German and the heir apparent to the thrown of Martina Navratilova, showed with her skill and concentration in clutch situations that she may well be the best female tennis player in the world. Graf defeated top-ranked Navratilova in the final, 6-4/4-6/8-6, to win her first grand slam title and become the youngest woman ever to win the French Open singles crown. She turns only 18 next week.
June 6, 1987: Steffi Graf wins her first major singles title when the 17-year-old edges Martina Navratilova 64 46 86 in the French women’s singles final to become the youngest French women’s champion in history. "I never expected to win a Grand Slam this soon," says Graf. pic.twitter.com/4ugxq870Tz
— This Day In Tennis (@ThisDayInTennis) June 6, 2018
Navratilova put up a fight but it was she, not the young Graf, who buckled under the pressure of the tight match. Navratilova double-faulted at match point, while Graf was down 3-5 in the final set in the final and also in the semifinal against Gabriela Sabatini. But in both matches she broke her opponent's serve and went on to win and become the first German woman to win in Paris since Hilde Sperling 1937.
Graf's meteoric rise in '87 now includes streaks of thirty-nine consecutive match wins and seven consecutive tournament championships as she has yet to lose this year. Graf was extremely sincere when she said after the match that she was "sorry" that she had beaten Navratilova because she was such a great champion. Navratilova, the gracious champion that she is and that Graf undoubtedly will be, showed her true colors when, in defeat, she told a somewhat confused Graf what to do next: to hold her trophy up and show it to the crowd because she won it and deserved all the praise and adoration that she was getting.
For the first time in quite a while women's tennis is entering new ground as we have completed two of the four grand slam events this year and neither Navratilova nor Chris Evert have walked away with one of the two singles titles (Hana Mandlikova defeated Navratilova in the Australian Open final). If this trend continues, and in Evert's case it most likely will, Navratilova's six and Evert's thirteen year streaks of winning at least one grand slam singles title a year will both come to an abrupt end. Navratilova, who has fifteen grand slam singles titles to her credit, has not won a tournament in 1987 but played with renewed confidence these past two weeks during which she railroaded Evert 6-2/6-2 in the semifinals as seven-time women's champ Evert held serve only once in the match. But Martina, unlike Chris, has a good chance to continue her streak as she will now prepare to defend her Wimbledon title in London in two weeks. She has won seven Wimbledon singles titles, the last five in succession.
But even if Evert and Navratilova do rally and win a grand slam they can't be expected to continue their superb play for many more years as they both creep into their thirties (Evert is 32, Navratilova 30). They both could probably play competitively for two or three more years if they choose to. Their love for the game could keep them here even longer. But even as Chris and Martina's playing days are entering their twilight, women's tennis is getting better. And when these two great champions do finally decide to leave the game behind they will leave it to a group of women who are ready, willing and able to assume the lead of their sport.
Graf and Sabatini, both 17, are the youngsters who will join their still young counterparts in Mandlikova and Pam Shriver, both 25, in the process of entering a new tennis age when the inevitable retirements do indeed happen.
Even though women's tennis is on course for the future it will still be a sad day in sports when Evert and Navratilova depart. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end.
...it's been so long since the likes of Chris and Martina were active singles threats (or, in Navratilova's case, had barely crossed over to the other side of 30) that it seems like another lifetime to hear them spoken about in the present tense. And, in tennis terms and (for some) others, 1987 WAS indeed a lifetime ago.
It seems almost mind-boggling now that Graf, at just 17, was coming into Paris having not yet lost a match on the season while also still having never played in her maiden slam final.
Of course, we are talking about Graf here. This trip to Paris served as her *official* arrival. She went on to win 21 more majors, with her last coming twelve years after the '87 RG win, also in Paris. She finished that '87 season with a 75-2 mark. Beginning in September 1986, Graf advanced to an amazing twenty-one straight finals until March '88, in the heart of what would be her *greatest* single season.
While the questions about how many slams Graf might have won (certainly a good number fewer) had Monica Seles not been stabbed are interesting ones to ponder, it's just as intriguing an issue to consider how many the German would have claimed if there never was a Seles at all. She could very well have pushed her total to nearly thirty, even as she maneuvered around various off-court issues (illness, injury and problems with the German press that largely grew from her father Peter's own scandals). Though some have occasionally questioned the lack of a *true* competitive rival during much of Serena Williams' career -- she weathered briefs storms vs. the likes of Henin and Sharapova in between "down" stretches of her own before facing a string of challengers from a deep tour field as she has played well into her thirties -- perhaps no player has encountered a more relatively uncluttered path on tour than Graf once she put Navratilova in her rearview mirror in the late eighties, then escaped the ongoing prime of the Seles threat after the Yugoslav's stabbing in the spring of '93.
Graf defended her Roland Garros title in 1988, and went on to claim a "Golden Slam" (all four major, plus Olympic Gold) that season. Starting in 1987, she reached four consecutive RG finals, ultimately won six singles titles there, and went on a streak of thirteen straight slam final appearances beginning with her first title run in Paris. She reached #1 in the rankings for the first time in August '87, staying there for a record 186 consecutive weeks (Seles ended the streak), and was the top-ranked woman for a combined 377 weeks (still the tour benchmark) in her career.
Evert's thirteen-season streak with at least one slam title did end in 1987, and she never won another. Her last came at Roland Garros in 1986, and her final appearance in a slam final was at the 1988 Australian Open. She retired following the 1989 U.S. Open.
Navratilova rebounded to win Wimbledon a month after losing in Paris to Graf, ending the German's then-45 match winning streak. Martina then won the U.S. Open that September, as well. Considered by many at the time to possibly be the best women's tennis player ever, she wasn't going to be passed by without a fight.
...over the years, time-honored grand slam singles finalist archetypes have developed and continued to thrive through nearly every tennis era. The names change, but the circumstances often remain the same.
One is that of an aging all-time great trying to collect yet another major title before the "magic" leaves his or her racket forever, usually while attempting to hold off a budding young superstar seeking a career-defining slam crown to cement their new role as the top player in the game.
In many cases, these battles take place at the All-England Club, with the tournament's unique surface and feel serving as the site of multiple SW19 champion's "final stand" for as long he or she is physically able to make it so. The likes of Roger Federer and Serena Williams, both now approaching age 40 in 2020, have counted (and probably still will, for a couple more seasons) the lawns as likely their best (last?) chance to add to their career major title haul. Especially in the case of Williams (thanks to her still superior serve, while Federer may have already "crossed over to the other side" of the road), as even as her chances of winning seven straight matches at the other three majors shrink to "unlikely" she'll hold onto a flicker of hope that everything will come together for (at least) slam title #24 at Wimbledon.
Navratilova found herself in the same position in the late eighties (and into the early nineties). In 1987, Wimbledon was Martina's "home" ground to continue to defend against the new and growing threat to her legacy that Graf posed. Having lost to the first-time slam winning West German in Paris, Navratilova was still considered the favorite in London. For good reason, as she was the *five* time defending champion at the event.
Navratilova was 30 years old at Wimbledon that July. While things have so significantly changed in tennis that she'd still be considered a "young" player in the 2020 game, she was considered "old" then. She was still #1 in the world, but found herself in the position of having to gamely fight off the "inevitability" of the 18-year old. The West German was the oncoming light at the end of a proverbial train tunnel... she was coming fast, too, and if you valued your life you'd get out of the way while you could. Having won 45 straight matches, Graf would take over the top ranking if she could end Martina's own 40-match All-England Club winning streak to claim her first SW19 crown on the heels of winning her maiden slam championship at Roland Garros a month earlier.
When Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf walked off Centre Court today, the former left as a winner and the latter an uncommon loser. Interestingly, though, it was runner-up Graf who left the court with a quiet confidence. She knows she will win there someday. Meanwhile, Ladies' champ Navratilova exited with uneasiness. She has to be wondering just how much longer she will be able to hold off her younger opponent.
Graf will be #1 possibly as soon as September, once the U.S. Open is over. Navratilova just postponed the inevitable when she defeated Graf 7-5/6-3 in the Wimbledon final for her forty-first straight win at the All-England Club. Still, Navratilova, unlike Chris Evert and other former contenders, is still capable of winning a grand slam event in 1987. That's what sets her apart from most tennis players who play, like her, at the age of 30. If Navratilova would have lost today this probably would have been her last Wimbledon match. But since she didn't, she will most definitely be back for years to come as she closes in on many Wimbledon records. This was her sixth straight singles title, a new modern day record, and it was her eighth career Ladies singles crown, tying her with Helen Wills-Moody's all-time mark. Another record that is surely within her reach: Billie Jean King's record of twenty combined career Wimbledon titles. She now has sixteen.
Graf's loss ended her forty-five match and seven-tournament winning streak. She failed in her first chance to assume the top ranking, but she has something that Navratilova can only dream about -- youth. In the year 2000, Graf will be only four months older than Navratilova is now. That's scary when you think about it. But her time will come. Graf knows it. Martina knows it, too. They just have differing opinions on when they want it to come about.
Graf won the first point of the match with a blazing passing shot, and she played well during the entire match. She would have beaten 99% of the women on the WTA tour. But this was Navratilova and Wimbledon, a champion and a championship that seem to have been made for each other. Graf survived six break points in the 1st set, including three in a row after being down love/40 in the tenth game. But Navratilova finally broke her on the seventh in game #12 and won the set 7-5. Navratilova pumped her fist in a Connors-like way. She was one set away from ending her long drought of title-less tennis.
The 2nd set was on serve through the first seven games until Graf was broken in the eighth. Navratilova went up 5-3 and had the opportunity to serve for the championship. This time she didn't blow her chance, as she had done in the French Open when she was in the same situation. With the score at 40/30, she hit a good serve, and suddenly it was all over when Graf's forehand hit the net and, unlike Navratilova's four net cord winners, fell helplessly back to her side of the court. Navratilova jumped into the air and flashed a number one sign to the Friends Box. She had finally won her first tournament of the season. She then shook the hand of her heiress apparent. Martina had played breathtaking tennis, committing just nine unforced errors and allowing her West German opponent just a single break point chance all day.
Graf will get another chance. She said she wants to play Navratilova again, and she's not afraid to do it. You can be sure of that. Navratilova's record of six straight titles may never be broken, but if it is it's Graf who'll probably be the one to do it. Her first could very well come next year.
When Navratilova and Graf were walking off Centre Court, Graf smiled and asked her, "How many more do you want?" Without skipping a beat, Navratilova replied, "Nine is my lucky number."
...Graf truly WAS a player on the verge of a "hostile takeover" of the WTA tour. She finally replaced Navratilova at #1 six weeks after the Wimbledon final, but lost to her once again in the U.S. Open final later in the summer. No matter. She simply went out in 1988 and won ALL FOUR slams, plus the Olympic Gold in Seoul to complete her "Golden Slam" season.
In some sense, even while the medal allowed her to complete the special, one-of-a-kind campaign, the highlight of her season may well have been her hard-earned win at Wimbledon, as she finally broke through to claim her piece of Navratilova's most celebrated and previously secure base of power.
While she would win once more at the All-England, Centre Court and the lawns were no longer Martina's. They were Steffi's.
As it had been for Martina, SW19 would go on to become Graf's personal playground for most of the next decade. Not only did she successfully repel the Seles push there, but she'd go on to win the event seven times, second only to Navratilova (9) in the Open era. Serena Williams matched Graf's total with her most recent win in London in 2016.
1988 was only the beginning...
Wimbledon's 102nd edition was something of a status report for the world of tennis. The grand tournament showed that all good things must come to an end. But don't fret. After all, every cloud *does* have a silver lining. In 1988, that lining is simply Grafic.
Things can change tremendously in four years in the world of life and tennis.
For instance, in 1984, Olympic Gold medalist Mary Lou Retton's presence *everywhere* was a constant annoyance for some and Mike Tyson was an unknown 18-year old amateur boxer who would lose in the U.S. Olympic trials and fail to qualify for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1988, Retton is finally *less* visible and more bearable; while Tyson is the 22-year old widely-renowned as the "unbeatable" heavyweight champion of the world.
But some things do indeed bring about deja vu.
The Edmonton Oilers won their first Stanley Cup four years ago. The team won their fourth just a few months ago. In the '84 Summer Olympics in L.A. another occurrence would foreshadow an event's outcome in '88. In the tennis exhibition held there, a 15-year old West German girl named Steffi Graf and an 18-year old Swede by the name of Stefan Edberg won the singles crowns. The duo came together as champions once again this weekend in an English village just outside of London. The name of that village? Wimbledon, of course.
The singles champions of Wimbledon in 1988 do not include a tennis celebrity on the men's side, or a sentimental veteran with a record of superiority in the sport's most celebrated tournament. Instead of these things, the crowds at famed Centre Court toasted something that may be even better: the long-awaited arrival of a new era, and possibly a glimpse of the new Wimbledon king and queen.
Steffi Graf's 5-7/6-2/6-1 victory over six-time defending and eight-time overall Wimbledon champ Martina Navratilova snatched away the former winner's final claim to the #1 position in the women's computer rankings. Navratilova will most likely get another chance to break a tie with Helen Wills-Moody for the most singles women's championships (8) if she does indeed return to play the event again (which she *will* do). But it is painfully evident for Martina that she is no longer the queen of Centre Court, a place where she once could do no wrong. The crowd's sour attitude towards Navratilova was idiotic, but not unexpected considering it had warmed to Graf's power game as the tournament wore on.
Let it be known from here on out that the Graf Era officially began on July 2, 1988.
Navratilova, the great champion that she is, did not lash out at the young champion because she had taken from her the thing that she holds most dear in her tennis life. Instead, she led a Centre Court ovation as Graf happily displayed her championship plate for all to see. Navratilova also, reportedly, presented Graf with a golden racket stickpin in the locker room which boxer and friend Sugar Ray Leonard had presented *her* with and which she wore in last year's final. Martina was gracious in her post-match comments as she admitted that she had been "blown out" by Graf and that, "Eight (titles) ain't so bad." It must have been difficult for her. That's why she will always be known as a class act.
Graf, the first German woman to win Wimbledon since Cilly Aussem in 1931, displayed her brilliance after an extremely slow start (losing six games in a row and falling behind 5-7/0-2) to rip off twelve of the final thirteen games while breaking Navratilova's serve an unheard of seven consecutive times. The quiet Graf, hirsute head and all, showed her intense desire for perfection when she said during a rain delay that if she lost the match she would "break" all her rackets. Somehow, you know that she knew that that act wouldn't be necessary.
At the age of 19, Graf is but one step away from immortality. A U.S. Open title in September will make her only the fifth person in tennis history to achieve a true Grand Slam (she won the Australian Open in January, and the French in May) and the first to do it since Margaret Smith-Court in 1970 (when Steffi was a little over one year old). The scary part about this turn of events for other women's tennis players is the fact that Graf is achieving this feat while still improving.
Remarkably, she is still not at her peak athletically but is tearing up all competition nonetheless. With Navratilova and Chris Evert, 31 and 33 respectively, close to retirement there are no true challengers to Graf's new throne. Her doubles partner Gabriela Sabatini, 18, has yet to show the consistency that would make her a real threat (though she has dealt Graf her only two losses in '88) and ever younger players such as Natalia Zvereva, 17, and Arantxa Sanchez, 16, are just that -- too young and unaccomplished.
The 1990's could be a time when the women's game is totally dominated by Graf unless someone steps forward before the sad but inevitable departures of Evert and Navratilova. But someone *will* step forward eventually. Worthy challengers have *always* appeared for tennis' champions and there is no reason to think it will not happen this time around. Steffi's honest show of emotion after her Wimbledon victory will happen again and again without becoming passe because *someone* will make it a true accomplishment for her to continue to win.
Steffi's celebrations will never lose their heartwarming appeal; but some day a younger player will end her reign just as she has Martina's. But, also like Navratilova, she will give the game her all and will leave her impressive mark on its history. Special athletes always do. Billie Jean did. Chrissie did. Martina did.
Steffi will, too.
For now, the call emanating from Graf observers may resemble the ones coming from the camp of Tyson: "Any challengers?" When asked if she was entertaining any thoughts similar to those Tyson had expressed interest in, Graf replied, "I'm not retiring, if that's what you mean." Rejoice, for the new queen has been crowned.
And long live that queen.
...1988 still stands as Graf's standard-bearing season, and quite possibly the most celebrated (and "best?") single season performance in tennis history. Her "Golden Slam" year saw her sweep all four majors *and* also win Olympic Gold. The AO was claimed without dropping a set, with a win over Evert in the final closing things out. After losing twice to Sabatini in the spring, Graf roared to a title at Roland Garros with a love & love win in the final over Zvereva, accomplished in just 34 minutes (broken into two 9 and 23-minute segments due to a rain delay) while losing a *total* of 13 points. It was the shortest and biggest blowout in slam final history (the first double-bagel in a major final since 1911).
After defeating Navratilova in London, Graf completed her Grand Slam with a win over Sabatini in the U.S. Open final, matching the feats of Maureen Connolly (1953) and Margaret Court (1970), but becoming the only player to do so on three different surfaces. In late September, four years after she'd won the demonstration event in Los Angeles, Graf made the Slam a "Golden" one by winning the Olympic competition in Seoul in the sport's medal return to the Games after a 64-year absence, again defeating Sabatini (with whom she'd won her only slam doubles title earlier in the summer at Wimbledon) in the final. Graf also won Bronze in the doubles while partnering Claudia Kohde-Kilsch.
1984 and 1988
Graf failed to win the season-ending Tour Championships, falling to Pam Shriver in the semifinals. She ended 1988 with a 72-3 record, and completed her second of what would be eight #1 seasons between 1987-96 (Seles was #1 in 1991-92, as she briefly became that "challenger" who indeed *did* appear, and the two shared the top spot in '95 after Seles returned from her '93 stabbing). Oddly enough, many of Graf's numbers in 1987 and 1989 were actually *better* than in '88. She won more matches (75 & 86 vs. 72) and had a higher winning percentage (.974 & .977 vs. .960) in *both* those seasons.
Graf won her fifth straight major to begin '89 at the Australian Open, and the possibly of *another* Grand Slam was immediately in play. A loss to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the Roland Garros final after having served for the match in the 3rd set, while dealing with a combination of food poisoning and menstrual cramps, relieved her of the pressure of pursuing a second Grand Slam.
...Graf arrived in London looking to defend her maiden SW19 crown. She mowed through the likes of Seles (4th Rd.), Sanchez (QF) and Evert (SF) to reach another final -- her tenth straight at a major -- without having dropped a set. Waiting for her there, for a third straight year in London, was Navratilova. It was their first meeting since Graf's triumph in the '88 final.
The match was played on the same day as the men's final, a first at the tournament since 1973. The men's final featured a victory by Graf's countryman Boris Becker, who grabbed the last of his three career SW19 crowns. Graf and Becker grew up six miles apart in West Germany, and often hit together as kids.
In the Ladies' final, Graf met 32-year old, eight-time champion Navratilova for the third straight year. It was the first meeting between the world's top two women players since the '88 Wimbledon final in which Graf defeated Navratilova 5-7/6-1/6-2. Since that historic meeting in which Graf affirmed that she was THE star of the women's game, many changes had occurred. Graf went on to achieve the rare Grand Slam at age 19 in a rather easy and mundane manner as she strengthened her already-tight stranglehold on her sport -- a veil of invincibility that did not waver until Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario's victory over her in last month's French Open final.
As a result of the French Open loss, Graf entered this tournament and final with vengeance and redemption on her mind. Graf's drive to re-establish herself (even though this final appearance was her tenth straight in a slam, and that she had only lost seven times in 206 matches over the last three years). Without the pressure of a possible Double Grand Slam, Graf appeared more relaxed all tournament, as she hadn't dropped a set over the course of the fortnight.
For Navratilova, the pressure of the onslaught of Graf made for a trying past year for the former #1 player. She hasn't won a slam event since the U.S. Open in '87 and has concentrated all year on a rematch with the West German. She may have concentrated TOO much, as she often lost to lesser opponents as her thoughts were focused elsewhere on the 20-year old Graf. Navratilova even skipped the French Open and brought in former Wimbledon champ King as an advisor in an attempt to be keyed for Wimbledon and another shot at breaking her tie with Helen Wills-Moody with eight career titles. For Navratilova, this tournament is now the most important of all and the one that she is dying to win just one more time -- for she knows how special that win would be.
At one point in the match, it looked as if Navratilova actually did have a chance to churn one more title out of her body as she dealt Graf her first lost set of the tournament and tied the match at one set apiece. But that glimmer of hope turned out to be just that as, reminiscent of the '88 final, Graf's speed, serve (she missed just four 1st serves in the 3rd set), and rumbling forehand wrestled away the match from the Czechoslovakian-born Texan. The final nails were pounded into the coffin when Navratilova, down 1-3 in the 3rd set, had a break point to get the match back on serve. She had the volley to do the deed on her racket, but pushed the ball past the baseline to blow her final chance to walk away with the championship plate.
Graf's ace on match point was a fitting ending to a tournament in which she proved once again why she is the ruling dictator of women's tennis. The final scoreline of 6-2/6-7(1)/6-1 told the story of Graf's sixth grand slam win in seven finals. But the tears that she held back after the match tell the even greater story of a young woman who is only beginning to take her place amongst the greats of the game.
After the match, Navratilova admitted, "I did everything I could, and I got beat. She served me off the court." Comments of that nature would have been shocking to hear from Navratilova as little as three or four years ago when she herself was unstoppable, but they are now becoming commonplace where Graf is concerned. It appears as if Navratilova's time to win her ninth crown is fading fast and, possibly, may already be history. In fact, Graf may get to the immortal number #9 before Navratilova does. Oh, say about... 1996?
Almost immediately, citizens on both sides of the Berlin Wall scaled the world's most steadfast symbol of the Cold War, without reprisal (and, often, death at the hands of East German security guards) for the first time since its construction had divided the city nearly thirty years earlier. It was a wild, joyful scene as many people danced and literally took sledgehammers to the hated, tangible evidence of Soviet-supported totalitarianism. In October '90, the two Germanys were unified once again for the first time since World War II. The next year, the final act in the overall drama came when the U.S.S.R. itself fell, with Boris Yeltsin rising to power after literally standing tall against the forces of the Kremlin from atop a tank.
On a side note, the political developments ultimately played a large part in the era of tennis that followed, as well. Without the binding restrictions of the state-run sports institutions, the rise the eastern European tennis player -- especially in women's tennis -- was allowed to advance without the limitations of national boundaries, as players could strike out on their own without needing state approval (and some, with the economic growing pains that resulted from the upheaval, used tennis as their best, and sometimes only, way to lift the fortunes of themselves and their families).
It's probably no coincidence that within a generation of the summer '89, the tennis rankings came to be dominated by many players from eastern Europe hailing from places that weren't even official nations twenty-two years ago, or that the Russian tennis revolution in the early 2000's completely changed the landscape of the WTA a little more than a decade after the tennis-loving Yeltsin assumed leadership.
Many of those players, whose careers likely never would have occurred without the political turnover, went on to win slams and rise to the #1 ranking.
Additionally, less than a year before her '90 Wimbledon triumph, Navratilova's former Czechoslovakian homeland had been part of that sweeping change with its own "Velvet Revolution" of '89. After having played in the country for the first time in more than a decade in Fed Cup action in 1986, Martina didn't return again until 2006 in a tournament in which she played doubles with Czech Barbora Strycova. In 2008, Navratilova regained the Czech citizenship she'd forfeited when she defected in 1975 (and subsequently became a U.S. citizen in 1981).
...Graf used her seven-match mastery at Wimbledon as a stepping stole for (another) one of the greatest runs in women's tennis history. She would defeat Navratilova in three sets in the U.S. Open final later that summer, giving her seven titles in eight majors in 1988-89. She won the '90 Australian Open, as well, and put together a 66-match win streak (all in a row following her loss to Sanchez in Paris) that stands behind only Navratilova's 74-match run in '84 on the WTA's all-time list. Graf's next loss came to Monica Seles in Berlin... in May of 1990. During the same period, she put together an 82-match hard court winning streak from 1988-90 that is still the best ever.
I noted in '87 as Navratilova was winning her record sixth straight SW19 title that maybe only Graf might one day be able to break or equal the mark. She almost did, too. From 1988-93, the only year that interrupted what might have been her own six-straight run was 1990, when she lost to Zina Garrison in the semifinals (ending her run of slam final appearances at thirteen). Naturally, Navratilova then proceeded to defeat her U.S. countrywoman (and fellow Texan) in the final for her Wills-Moody record-breaking ninth Wimbledon title.
So, Navratilova *was* dead-on serious -- and accurate -- when she'd told Graf after winning #8 that her "lucky number" was nine. Wimbledon win #9 came in 1990, at age 33 (3 x 3 = 9), made her 99-9 in her career at Wimbledon, concluded with her 29th match in her series against Garrison, and gave her 18 (9 x 2) grand slam singles titles.
#9 in '90
Wimbledon would become Graf's most productive major. As it has been with Navratilova, the tournament served as her "haven" even in troubled times (including during Seles' rise to the top). Beginning with her wins in 1988-89, she was crowned the singles Wimbledon title seven times in nine years. Only Navratilova has more SW19 titles in the Open era, while Serena Williams matched Graf's total of seven wins when she claimed her most recent championship in London in 2016 at age 34. Graf's 91.4% Wimbledon winning percentage (74-7) was her highest at any of the slams.
...following the U.S. final, Graf and Navratilova would never meet in another slam championship match. Though they met five more times between then and 1994, their paths diverged, with the careers of both bearing down on different, and separate, historic feats.
More mentally strong after having worked with BJK for fourteen months, Navratilova claimed her record ninth Wimbledon crown the next season, doing so without dropping a set. She become the oldest women's Open era slam winner at age 33 years and 263 days (though she's now fourth on that list, behind Serena's 2015-17 title runs), and the oldest at Wimbledon since a 35-year old Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers in 1914. Martina then began her chase for title #10. Meawhile, Graf pursued Navratilova and Evert's shared mark (18) for Open era slam singles titles. She won #19 in Paris in 1996, and eventually claimed 22 (surpassed by Williams in '17), coming up two short of Court's all-time mark.
Navratilova saw a slow but inevitable decline as she reached her mid-thirties. In 1991, likely distracted by the palimony suit brought against her by former partner Judy Nelson, she lost to 15-year old phenom Jennifer Capriati in the SF, though she surpassed Evert to become Wimbledon's all-time match leader. Failing to defend her title, she then fell to #5, her lowest ranking since 1976. A year later, she passed Evert for most Wimbledon match wins, but showed her irritation when losing to another teenager in the semis, falling to Monica Seles in three sets while complaining to the umpire about the Yugoslav's mid-point noise (at a time when the London tabloids were using a "grunt-o-meter" to measure Seles decibel level, and set up phone lines -- this was *before* the internet, of course -- for readers to record their best impressions), after never having publicly made much of an issue of it when the Yugolav was winning her first half dozen majors from 1990-92.
Navratilova's complaint (along w/ that of Nathalie Tauziat) led Seles to attempt to play without sound in the final vs. Graf, which caused Monica's usual great concentration, timing and driving, stinging groundstrokes to noticeably lose their park. After another semifinal loss in '93 -- this time to Jana Novotna -- a 37-year old Navratilova reached her last slam singles final (she was the oldest women's finalist in a major until Serena in 2019) at Wimbledon in 1994. The favorite against Conchita Martinez, never consider much of a great grass courter, Navratilova lost in three sets as the Spaniard let loose a barrage of passing shots by the net-rushing nine-time champ.
Graf and Navratilova's biggest non-slam final following the '89 U.S. Open final came at the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships later that year, with the German winning in three sets. Graf won six of the final eight matches in the series. Their only other remaining slam match-up came in the U.S. Open semis in '91, with Navratilova taking a tight 7-6(2)/6-7(6)/6-4 contest as Graf was already knee-deep into her rivalry with Seles (who'd go on to defeat Martina in the final). Starting in '91, Graf and Navratilova met just once a season for the remainder of their simultaneous stretches on tour. Graf won a final in Zurich (3 sets) in '92, followed by back-to-back meetings in Tokyo the next two years that saw Navratilova, at age 36 vs. the 24-year old German, win a three-set semi ('93) before losing their final match-up in the event's final in '94.
Graf's final victory evened the career head-to-head between the two at 9-9, with Martina getting the best of their slam match-ups (5-4) and Steffi winning more finals (8-4 overall, 4-2 slams).
In the early 1990s, while Graf was dealing with the Seles threat on the court, she also had to contend with scandal and privacy issues off it, as well as dealing with various health challenges. Father Peter, already with a history of abusing officials and getting into public fist fights, was embroiled in a scandal in 1990 centering around a story that he'd possibly fathered a child with a Playboy model while still married to Steffi's mother. Graf, who rarely showed her emotions on the court, was uncharacteristically brought to tears during a Wimbledon press conference that year. In 1992, under the constant pressure of press scrutiny in Germany, she was photographed while sunbathing nude in her own backyard. Additionally, Graf injured her thumb skiing in '90, had sinus surgery in '91, a bout with rubella in' 92, as well as a back injury in '94.
But she persevered.
After Seles had won seven of nine major titles in 1990-92 (she only played in eight during the stretch), Graf won half or her eventual 22 slam titles after the stabbing of Seles in Hamburg in spring '93 -- including three of her Wimbledon crowns -- and even followed up her true Grand Slam by pulling off a "Steffi Slam" (though nobody called it that back then) by winning four consecutive non-calendar year majors in 1993-94. Graf won her third straight Wimbledon title in '93, but was overshadowed by runner-up Jana Novotna in the final, as the Czech blew a big lead in the final and famously cried on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent during the post-match ceremony.
In 1992, Graf picked up a Silver medal in singles at the Barcelona Olympics, giving her one of all three colors in her career (as well as the demonstration event win in '84).
By the mid-nineties, Peter no longer traveled with Steffi, and the dark clouds surrounding her off-court life began to lift. Still, starting in 1995, she was accused of tax evasion by German authorities for a period of time during which her father was her financial manager. The case ultimately led to his arrest and a 45-month jail sentence (he served just over two years) and the dropping of the case against Steffi in 1997 when she agreed to pay a $1.3m Deutsche Marks fine to the government and a charity.
Seles finally returned in the summer of '95, and quickly reached the U.S. Open final, where she lost to Graf. Seles went on to win her only-stabbing slam at the '96 Australian Open, which Graf missed after having surgery to remove bone splinters from her foot.
More injuries led to a two and a half year slam title drought for Graf. Foot surgery in '96 caused her to miss the Atlanta Olympics, while '97 reconstructive knee surgery cost her a full year. With Graf sidelined, and Seles never reaching her former peak, Hingis rose to the top of the sport in the late nineties prior to the rise of the "Big Babe Tennis" era, winning five slams from 1997-99 and replacing Graf as #1 in March '97.
Still, Graf staged a successful comeback that saw win her last slam crown at the '99 Roland Garros over Martina Hingis, denying the top-ranked Swiss teen the only major she never claimed. An emotional Hingis famously crossed over onto Graf's side of the court to point out a mark in the terre battue while arguing with the umpire about a line call, and later had to be consoled on the court by her mother/coach Melanie Molitor. In the tournament, Graf became the first player in the Open era to defeat the #1, #2 and #3 ranked players en route to winning a major title. As she'd announced that it would be, it would be her last Roland Garros appearance as a player.
Graf reached her last slam title match a month later at Wimbledon. She recorded her final tour wins at that tournament, falling in the championship match to Lindsay Davenport. It was her first SW19 final loss since the defeat at the hands of Navratilova twelve years earlier (she'd gone 7-0 since). Graf retired due to a hamstring injury in her next match, a month after Wimbledon in Carlsbad, California vs. Amy Frazier.
I had earlier mentioned that in the year 2000 Graf would be just four months younger than Navratilova had been in 1987. As it turned out, Graf's career ended before the 1990's were officially over. She announced her retirement from tennis soon after her exit in Carlsbad, on August 13, two months after having turned 30 and two weeks before the start of that year's U.S. Open. She was ranked #3 in the world at the time.
"I have done everything I wanted to do in tennis," she said. "I feel I have nothing left to accomplish. The weeks following Wimbledon weren't easy for me. I was not having fun anymore. After Wimbledon, for the first time in my career, I didn't feel like going to a tournament. My motivation wasn't what it was in the past." At the first post-Graf U.S. Open, a 17-year old Serena Williams claimed her first slam singles title, and the '00 season saw either her or her sister Venus (or both) reach the Wimbledon final in sixteen of the next twenty seasons (with Serena winning 7 times, and Venus 5).
Graf ended her career with then-record 22 Open era slam titles, and still holds the standard for weeks at #1 on the WTA tour (377) and year-end #1 seasons (8). Her record of 186 consecutive weeks in the top spot was matched, but not exceeded, by Serena Williams in 2016. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004. Novelist Martin Amis described Graf as “something unbelievable on the tennis court. A miracle of speed, balance and intense athleticism. She looks like a skater but she moves like a puck.”
After having dated race car driver Michael Bartels for seven years, Graf met tennis great Andre Agassi after the '99 Roland Garros, and the two began dating soon after. They were married in October 2001, and had two children, Jaden and Jaz. Interestingly, the household contains two of the three individuals (along w/ Serena) in tennis history to have won all four majors, Olympic singles Gold and their tour's season-ending championship.
By the way, Agassi was the "tennis celebrity on the men's side" that I was alluding two in the '88 Wimbledon final wrap-up, as after losing in the 1st Round in '87 he'd made a public display of skipping the event a year later for what he said was his disagreement with having to wear all-white attire on the court (he was in his "Image is Everything" phase at the time, and sporting bright colors and denim shorts on the court). Agassi reached both the RG and US semis that year. He did eventually played Wimbledon again in '91, and won the title in '92 for his first of what would be eight major titles. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
In his autobiography, Agassi detailed the first meeting between his father Mike (with whom he shared an abusive past in their tennis relationship) and Peter Graf, which nearly resulted in a fist fight after they got into an argument about the merits of Steffi's one-handed backhand vs. Andre's two-hander. Graf died in 2013. Mike (born Emmanuel), a former Olympic boxer, is now 89 years old.
Since her retirement, Graf's time on the courts has been mostly limited to stand-alone charity exhibitions (she hasn't played in any of the slam "Legends" competitions), save for a World Team Tennis tie in 2005 (she lost to Elena Likhovtseva, seemingly quashing any lingering hope for a tour comeback). In 2009, she teamed with Agassi, along with Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters (then retired, who subsequently *did* return to the WTA tour and won three additional majors) in a special event at Wimbledon to celebrate the new Centre Court retractable roof, playing in both singles and mixed doubles.
Graf founded the Children for Tomorrow Foundation in 1998 for children traumatized by war and other crises. After years of publicly going by the name "Steffi Graf," after she'd occasionally hinted as much during her career, she confirmed in 2001 that she preferred "Stefanie." Fifteen years later in 2016, the WTA tour began to retroactively list her in all tour records as "Stefanie Graf," nearly two decades after the conclusion of a career during which she was *never* officially referred to as such.
Now 50, Graf has never taken on a coaching role, but has served as something of a confidant for fellow German Angelique Kerber. Kerber has often stated that Graf was her childhood idol, and served as her motivation for pursuing a tennis career. In 2015, Kerber practiced with Graf, who had come to offer her encouragement. The following year, in a season in which she reached three slam finals, winning two, as well as playing in the championship match at both the Olympics and WTA Finals, Kerber credited the belief Graf helped instill in her as one of the reasons she became the first German woman to win a slam since Graf's '99 RG run. She was the first German to be crowned Wimbledon champ since 1996. Kerber finished the season as WTA #1, also a first for a German since Graf last did it twenty years earlier.
While Graf's playing career had ended before the turn of the century, Navratilova's didn't.
Martina finished the 1990 season ranked #3, remained a Top 5 player until '93 and was a Top 10er in '94. She finally retired from singles that season, but continued to play doubles until 1996. After being away from the tour from 1997-99, she returned as a full-time doubles player in '00 at age 43, after having been announced as an inductee into the Tennis Hall of Fame earlier that year. For short periods, usually during grass court season, Navratilova even returned to play some singles at a few events in 2002 and '04-'05. She won a 1st Round match at Wimbledon in '04, becoming the oldest grand slam match winner in WTA history at 47. As it turned out, her 2nd Round loss was her worst at SW19 since her only 1st Round defeat at the AELTC... in 1974, thirty years earlier at age 17.
She's still the tour's all-time leader in singles titles (167), finals (239), total Open era slam crowns (59 combined WS/MD/MX) and wins over #1 (18, one more than Serena). The full breadth of her career, which spanned from 1973 to 2006, saw Navratilova face off against a virtual who's who of *other* all-time greats. She was 5-2 vs. Court, 9-5 vs. King, 43-37 vs. Evert and even 7-10 vs. Seles through the spring of '93 (Graf was 6-4 -- better, but not by *that* much -- against the Yugoslav over the same stretch).
With Graf having personally kept four slam trophies out of Martina's hands in slam finals, one wonder if not for the presence of the German if Serena Williams would be chasing Navratilova's all-time slam total, not Court's. Those four titles would have given Martina 22, with the confidence she'd gained from her continued Steffi-less title runs likely being good for a couple more.
Navratilova also leads in most doubles titles (177), adding 12 to her total in her final go-round on tour (she had no WD slam wins, though she did reach the U.S. Open final with Svetlana Kuznetsova in '03).
In 2003, Navratilova won the Mixed Doubles with Leander Paes to tie Billie Jean King's career Wimbledon title total of twenty (she'd shared a Ladies' Doubles title at SW19 with BJK in '79).
In 2006, seven years after Graf's retirement, Navratilova won her final title in her final career event (her third MX crown since her return), taking the U.S. Open Mixed Doubles with Bob Bryan. Just five weeks shy of her fiftieth birthday, she was the oldest women's slam champion in history. Her final retirement became official after the match, which took place more than eighteen years after she'd won that Wimbledon title in '87 -- which would have literally been a lifetime away for the then-18 year old Graf.
In a Tokyo exhibition event in 2008, Graf and Navratilova met on the court for the first time in fourteen years (and twenty-three since their first meeting). Dubbed "Dream Match 2008," Graf (who'd earlier lost to Japanese vet Kimiko Date) defeated Navratilova 8-7, taking the set via a 10-5 tie-break win.
Not unexpectedly, Navratilova continues to speak her mind, from championing gay rights causes to protesting Margaret Court's name continuing to appear on a stadium on Australian Open grounds even as the all-time slam title leader continues to espouse homophobic rhetoric from the preaching pulpit (Martina and John McEnroe were slapped back by tournament organizers for daring to protest on the grounds), to casually wearing an "Impeach" cap during the '19 Wimbledon in a more (or less?) subtle statement on U.S. politics.
Navratilova became a breast cancer survivor in 2010, and not long afterward appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" in '12 (she was the first contestant eliminated, though). She's appeared many times as her herself in various television series, as well as portraying a recurring character on the Netflix series "The Politician." She married longtime partner Julia Lemigova in 2014, and after offering herself as a potential coach for a current player for years, finally joined Aga Radwanska's team in 2015. The stint only lasted four months. Meanwhile, as she has for decades, Navratilova (mostly with Tennis Channel) is one of the best TV tennis commentators going, especially when she's teamed with good friend Mary Carillo.
Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon's production company, Hello Sunshine, is said to be developing a feature film documentary about Navratilova, headed up by Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, who lists Martina as a childhood hero in her role as a social justice pioneer.
Of course, it's not like Navratilova playing career is ever *truly* over. Even now. She continues to pop up in the slam Legends competitions, including the biggest of the bunch that takes place each year at Wimbledon. Thus far, Navratilova has won the invitational doubles competition five times, most recently in 2019 while partnering Cara Black. Martina was age 62 at the time, the oldest to ever win the competition, and was playing competitively before crowds at the All-England Club in a FIFTH different decade (vs. some players thirty years her junior). The cancellation of the '20 Wimbledon event due to the coronavirus pandemic will prevent her from making it six decades this summer. But there's always 2021 (or whenever).
Just recently, she even took up Roger Federer's online pandemic challenge...
Here is my and only take just now in our garden… pic.twitter.com/iyXlx4AjgK
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) April 8, 2020
*NAVRATILOVA vs. GRAF*
1985 U.S. Open SF (HC) - Navratilova 6–2/6–3
1985 Maybelline Classic F (HC) - Navratilova 6–3/6–1
1986 Va. Slims Chsp SF (CA) - Navratilova 6–2/6–2
1986 German Open F (RC) - Graf 6–2/6–3
1986 U.S. Open SF (HC) - Navratilova 6–1/6–7(3)/7–6(8)
1986 Va. Slims Chsp F (CA) - Navratilova 7–6(6)/6–3/6–2
1987 Miami Open SF (HC) - Graf 6–3/6–2
1987 Roland Garros F (RC) - Graf 6–4/4–6/8–6
1987 Wimbledon F (Gr) - Navratilova 7–5/6–3
1987 U.S. Open F (HC) - Navratilova 7–6(4)/6–1
1988 Wimbledon F (Gr) - Graf 5–7/6–2/6–1
1989 Wimbledon F (Gr) - Graf 6–2/6–7(1)/6–1
1989 U.S. Open F (HC) - Graf 3–6/7–5/6–1
1989 Va. Slims Chsp F (CA) - Graf 6–4/7–5/2–6/6–2
1991 U.S. Open SF (HC) - Navratilova 7–6(2)/6–7(6)/6–4
1992 Zurich Open F (CA) - Graf 2–6/7–5/7–5
1993 Pan Pacific Open SF (CA) - Navratilova 4–6/6–3/6–3
1994 Pan Pacific Open F (CA) - Graf 6–2/6–4
[stats]
Overall: tied 9-9
Slams: Navratilova 5-4
Slam Finals: Graf 4-2
WTA Chsp: Navratilova 2-1
WTA Chsp Finals: tied 1-1
WTA events: Graf 4-2
WTA Finals: Graf 8-4
Hard court: Navratilova 5–2
Clay court: Graf 2–0
Grass court: Graf 2–1
Carpet court: tied 3–3
*CAREER SLAM TITLES - WOMEN*
[all-time]
24...Margaret Court
23...Serena Williams
22...STEFFI GRAF
19...Helen Wills-Moody
18...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
18...Chris Evert
[Open era]
23...Serena Williams
22...STEFFI GRAF
18...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
18...Chris Evert
11...Margaret Court
9...Monica Seles
*WIMBLEDON SINGLES TITLES*
[all-time]
9...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, 1978-90
8...Helen Wills-Moody, 1927-38
7...STEFFI GRAF, 1988-96
7...Dorothea Lambert Chambers, 1903-14
7...Serena Williams, 2002-16
[Open era]
9...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
7...STEFFI GRAF
7...Serena Williams
5...Venus Williams
4...Billie Jean King
*CAREER WIMBLEDON TITLES*
[singles/doubles/mixed]
20...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA [9/7/4]
20...Billie Jean King [6/10/4]
19...Elizabeth Ryan [0/12/7]
*SLAM WINS AFTER 30 - WOMEN*
10...Serena Williams (2012-17, ages 30-35)
3...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA (1987-90, ages 30-33)
3...Margaret Court (1973, ages 30-31)
2...Chris Evert (1985-86, ages 30-31)
2...Billie Jean King (1974-75, ages 30-31)
1...Ann Haydon Jones (1969, age 30)
1...Angelique Kerber (2018, age 30)
1...Li Na (2014, age 31)
1...Flavia Pennetta (2015, age 33)
1...Virginia Wade (1977, age 31)
*WEEKS AT WTA #1*
377...STEFFI GRAF
332...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
319...Serena Williams
260...Chris Evert
209...Martina Hingis
178...Monica Seles
117...Justine Henin
*CAREER WTA TITLES*
167...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
157...Chris Evert
107...STEFFI GRAF
92...Margaret Court
73...Serena Williams
[consecutive seasons w/ a title]
21 - MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, 1974-94
18 - Chris Evert, 1971-88
14 - STEFFI GRAF, 1986-99
13 - Maria Sharapova, 2003-15
*LONG WTA MATCH WIN STREAKS*
74...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, 1984
66...STEFFI GRAF, 1989-90
58...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, 1986-87
57...Margaret Court, 1972-73
55...Chris Evert, 1974
54...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, 1983-84
46...STEFFI GRAF, 1988
45...STEFFI GRAF, 1987
41...Chris Evert, 1975-76
41...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, 1982
*MOST CAREER WTA MATCH WINS*
1442 - MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
1309 - Chris Evert
902 - STEFFI GRAF
*MOST CAREER WINS OVER #1's*
18 - MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
17 - Serena Williams
15 - Venus Williams
15 - Lindsay Davenport
11 - STEFFI GRAF
*MOST TOP 10 SEASONS*
20...MARTINA NAVRATILOVA
19...Chris Evert
16...Serena Williams
13...STEFFI GRAF
13...Monica Seles
13...Venus Williams
*NAVRATLILOVA - WIMBLEDON FINALS*
1978 def. Chris Evert
1979 def. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1982 def. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1983 def. Andrea Jaeger
1984 def. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1985 def. Chris Evert-Lloyd
1986 def. Hana Mandlikova
1987 def. Steffi Graf
1988 lost to Steffi Graf
1989 lost to Steffi Graf
1990 def. Zina Garrison
1994 lost to Conchita Martinez
*GRAF - WIMBLEDON FINALS*
1987 lost to Martina Navratilova
1988 def. Martina Navratilova
1989 def. Martina Navratilova
1991 def. Gabriela Sabatini
1992 def. Monica Seles
1993 def. Jana Novotna
1995 def. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
1996 def. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
1999 lost to Lindsay Davenport
We're talking nicknames, rivals, Slams, and more...
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) April 23, 2020
So how much of it do you know about Steffi Graf? ??https://t.co/pDiPFitAT9
Socially distant pic.twitter.com/a9uEqGXkaH
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) April 21, 2020
“We Will Learn to Be More Grateful For Things” – Angelique Kerber https://t.co/BPKXJ9q8aK pic.twitter.com/NQcuAEIWLn
— EssentiallySports (@sports_ess) April 21, 2020
Venus Williams - The most successful tennis player in Olympic history.#TransformationTuesday@Venuseswilliams pic.twitter.com/ULqDmIx6ss
— Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) April 21, 2020
While in lockdown, @Bandreescu_ continues to use visualization techniques ---> https://t.co/GchTLZ9Wj7 pic.twitter.com/DWTqCLeTmp
— wta (@WTA) April 25, 2020
I agree, and have been saying so since the early 1970s. One voice, women and men together, has long been my vision for tennis.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) April 22, 2020
The WTA on its own was always Plan B.
I’m glad we are on the same page.
Let’s make it happen. #OneVoice
don’t get me wrong, the support is nice, but @BillieJeanKing has been saying this for decades and he just tweets it out... it took a global pandemic...
— Jamie Hampton (@Jamie_Hampton) April 22, 2020
I swear to god if history writes that these men lead the way, I will throw hands.
— Jamie Hampton (@Jamie_Hampton) April 22, 2020
Thought I’d draw a more accurate calendar for 2020 so far.... pic.twitter.com/hWB9W4PIAH
— Chaz Hutton (@chazhutton) April 24, 2020
Lmao I mean stop it ????. I miss ONE DAY, and there’s this. Would be pure comedy if it wasn’t just so so sad and dangerous. ??????? pic.twitter.com/XsG4gcQJQK
— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) April 24, 2020
Please don’t poison yourself because Donald Trump thinks it could be a good idea.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 24, 2020
This is actually the closest to the truth they’ve gotten in the past 24 hours. It’s essentially a nice way of saying he doesn’t understand much of what he hears and doesn’t know much and likes to babble incoherently about it as if he does. https://t.co/iF4qCJixdt
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) April 24, 2020
In more news of animals taking back the streets: Family of wild boars ?? goes on a tour of Marmaris #Turkey.
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) April 24, 2020
Country imposed 4-day lockdown in 30 provinces yesterday: pic.twitter.com/RmPJ27l6pI
A jellyfish is spotted gliding through the canals of Venice, Italy, as decreased boat traffic has made the water more transparent, making it easier to observe marine life—even in the middle of town. https://t.co/9lZTlXY0LD pic.twitter.com/bRHISfVfoO
— ABC News (@ABC) April 21, 2020
Atherton's @cicibellis, who nearly had her career ended by multiple surgeries, is healthy again and hoping the tennis circuit resumes at some point this year.@Bruce_Jenkins1's column: https://t.co/IZ8FVA7DiK
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) April 21, 2020
Stadium parking lots are empty... movie theaters are closed... the companies that make those huge sets/screens for music festivals need contracts... time to bring back the drive-in theater pic.twitter.com/wYO49yNZDX
— Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) April 22, 2020
There is one way to see a movie in public without having to sit near a bunch of strangers. https://t.co/B8H6upwJks
— Baltimore magazine (@Baltimoremag) April 23, 2020
FRANKLIN: Here’s another beautiful story — to help save beloved mom & pop Franklin bookstore Landmark Books, best-selling author @KarenKingsbury asked readers to pre-order her latest through them and pay MORE than they needed to... and they did. ?????? ?? https://t.co/K89vmuMrg9
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) April 22, 2020
Woow good Job !! ?????
— Wina (@wawinaApr) April 17, 2020
(captains_adventure) pic.twitter.com/fXiOgE5Iqx
Just Rollllin’ down memory lane in my rollerblades pic.twitter.com/ACxDa6x5vN
— Martina Hingis (@mhingis) April 23, 2020
Had to post it here too. ?? I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks I’m a genius ?? pic.twitter.com/yuqzfahpws
— Linds (@linds_shelton) April 19, 2020
This is what happens when people have too much free time on their hands. https://t.co/hqeJ4knwCr
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) April 21, 2020
To accommodate Trump’s sudden decision to speak at West Point, cadets will be called back, tested off campus, then isolated for 14 days in rooms with masks. They’ll eat in segregated groups. No decision on whether family members may attend. https://t.co/64YyFn5TaZ
— Trip Gabriel (@tripgabriel) April 25, 2020
This meme says it all. pic.twitter.com/lTgqsoGrbS
— Jon Cooper ???? (@joncoopertweets) April 22, 2020
Dr Fauci said it would be great if Brad Pitt played him on TV. So Brad did. Heartwarming ending too. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/GhtUjk8CQA
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) April 26, 2020
This dog loves his new bone! ?? pic.twitter.com/QJdJWihSNb
— People (@people) April 25, 2020
To the Lovers, the Dreamers, and You... Keep believing. #DisneyMagicMoments pic.twitter.com/zAq2Xda2Ff
— Kermit the Frog (@KermitTheFrog) April 25, 2020
All for now.
posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:38 PM
4 Comments:
At least Gavrilova laughed.
Is there any tennis player that could make a documentary like The Last Dance? It has actually lived up to the hype.
Curious if virtual Madrid will cause people to lose sponsors like iracing did.
Graf/Navratilova felt like a passing of the torch more than a rivalry.
Stat of the Week- 19- The amount of countries that had a participant in at least one slam in 1980.
40 years ago, the tennis world was a different place. One of the reasons that the number was so few, was that we were more than a decade from the Soviet Union breaking up. So no Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, etc. Actually, no USSR, as they had stopped sending players by then. Czezhoslovakia and Yugoslavia were still intact. Some of the other countries were Argentina, South Africa, and Brazil.
One of the surprises might be that one country that didn't have a player in a slam was Spain. Even South Korea did. Germany did, or I should say West Germany. East Germany did not, and that comes as a surprise, as they were a nation that supported women's sports.
So the question needs to be asked, and it isn't a nasty question- Why weren't there any tennis players from East Germany?
In 1980, East Germany sent 124 women to the Summer Olympics. So there should have been tennis players. But it seems that they only put their money, and questionable training methods, towards Olympic sports.
Could there really have been a clean East German tennis player?
As Todd mentioned, West Germany's Steffi Graf won the tennis demonstration in 1984. Had that been an official sport, it is likely that there would have been one before the wall fell.
How can I be so sure? Well, at the 1984 Winter Olympics, a young 18 year old East German in Katarina Witt won her first gold medal. Never suspected of cheating, the only rules she ran afoul of were due to her outfits.
One of the most dazzling skaters of her era, it is likely that tennis could have had their own version.
Quiz Time!
In 1980, which player won the most titles?
A.Evonne Goolagong Cawley
B.Hana Mandlikova
C.Chris Evert Lloyd
D.Tracy Austin
Interlude- Texas Rangers rookie Nick Solak in his backyard. And if you think that his fiance Roxanne McVey doesn't swing well, that's not her sport. She is a former volleyball player at Louisville.
https://twitter.com/Nick_Solak/status/1247967688250609664
I have an agenda. But to get there, you get this. (A)Cawley is not even close. Famous in this year for winning Wimbledon as a mom, this was the only title she won, losing 3 other finals. Along with Wendy Turnbull, they were the only Aussies to win titles.
(B)Mandlikova is wrong, but like Cawley, she won a slam. She won 6 titles, and finished the year ranked 4. In a bygone era, the fact that Mandlikova was from Czechoslovakia meant that only 4 countries had a title winner. I already listed Australia, and USA is obvious. So who was the fourth? Romania with Ruzici and Simionescu.
(C)Evert Lloyd is wrong, though she would be the year end number 1 and won 2 slams. She pulled down 8 titles.
But the big what if-hint, hint, Todd, is (D)Austin. We see this with pitchers that have a great year, but burn out their arm doing it. In hindsight, this year seems insane, even for the time.
Austin came from a tennis family. Did you know that her sister Pam only played one less US Open than Tracy? Pam played it 5 times. Pam also played the French Open twice, only one less than Tracy. Pam was 6 feet tall, while Tracy was 5 ft 5. So a still growing 17 yr old Tracy probably burned herself out.
Why do I think so? She played 21 events. She reached 16 finals. That is more than 1/3 of her career finals(44). She won 12 titles. So how did she finish #2?
It makes sense, as we saw with the other choices, she did not win a slam. But obviously overplayed as she played 21 events while missing TWO slams.
Hmmm... maybe an Agassi documentary?
Well, if anyone is as stupid as Kyle Larson... :/
(Not that I can get myself to even give even a hint of care about a virtual tennis event, honestly.)
Yeah, Navratilova/Graf was kind of both. That's why I brought that aspect into it as much as I did. It pretty much started off as an inevitable passing of the torch story, but Navratilova holding onto to what was hers, for as long as she could for as long as she did, made it a rivalry, too, I think. She did *not* want to give up her spot, but ultimately knew at some point that she'd been passed.
Their series was surely more a combination than any other similar situation since in women's tennis. Hingis assumed #1, but no real ongoing/here-she-comes head-to-head battle was part of it. Same, in a sense, when Serena overtook Venus (but they didn't have the multi-generational thing). And even as younger players have been catching Serena over the last few years, none of that story speaks to any sort of "rivalry," even with someone like Osaka. Petra/Serena (esp. at Wimbledon) might have been interesting, but it never got any sort of footing at all.
I think one of the underappreciated stats that I can think of is Navratilova's 9-9 mark vs. Graf, when you consider a large part of that was when she was in her early-and-going-on-late 30's in a stretch when a teenage and early 20's Graf was in what might have been the best form of her career (1987-89, at least).
Best chance for a NextGen rivalry? Maybe Osaka/Andreescu? Eventually, Gauff vs. either?
Yeah, the Communist sports system was just that, a machine that used the athletes as propaganda tools. The Olympics were the perfect venue to use sports in that fashion, too, as the governments could remain "in control" because of the whole national team do-as-you're-told aspect. As I noted in one of the HoF posts, Moroza's career was ended early because of the USSR's sports policies.
You can still see some of how a big int'l sporting event like the Olympics can help to makeover a sport if it's in the medal competition. Most recently with China, it only really started to produce a lot of tennis stars once the state system began addressing the chances to win medals in the years leading up to the '08 Beijing games (which China had been awarded in '01).
Speaking of Jordan, I guess it's a true test of an all-around athlete when one is able to play a sport that is in no way connected to their own and come out all right. Some raised an eyebrow when he hit around .200 in his baseball interlude, but when you consider he hadn't played since he was a teenager and had very little run-up time before he was playing in the minors, hitting .200 with so little training (and getting the swing mechanics down at six-foot-six) is kind of remarkable.
Quiz: I went with Austin on that one. ;)
* - "Morozova's," of course.
Serena/Vika... there was another "almost" big thing. And what does it say about Azarenka's path that I didn't even *think* about it until now?
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