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French Open Memories: Steffi Graf 1987-1989

7 May

My first distinct tennis memories are matches between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe in the 1982 Wimbledon men’s championship and the 1984 US Open semifinal.  Both were five set thrillers, but I did not start following tennis regularly until Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 1985.  French Open matches did not make much of an impression on me until 1987.  For that, I must thank Steffi Graf.

1987: Boredom with the Big Two

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova staged a tight three set French Open final in 1986.  At 10 years of age, I was a bit bored by how frequently these two met in big matches.  I recall Steffi Graf pushing Navratiolva hard at the 1986 US Open and thinking this is who I will pull for in women’s tennis.  Graf beat Navratilova 6-3, 6-2 in Miami as she started 1987 off on a tear.  Graf moved to #2 in the rankings pitting Navratilova and Evert against one another in a semifinal rather than a final.  Navratilova beat Evert 6-2, 6-2 to reach the final while reversing two consecutive French Open championship losses to Evert.  Graf beat another new face in Gabriella Sabatini 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.  This set up a match that I hoped would usher in a new queen of women’s tennis and end the dual reigns of Martina and Evert.

Maybe Tiriac had it right – this video feed from the red clay and non-high definition cameras is awful

Half of my wish came true.  Graf won her first Grand Slam title by beating Navratilova 6-4, 4-6, 8-6.  Graf won in large part because of how error prone and nervy Navratilova was in that match.  Graf showed mental fortitude by winning a long third set against a great champion, but this was not a dethroning.  Martina would beat Steffi in straight sets to win both the 1987 Wimbledon and US Open titles.  It was exciting for me as a young fan to see my favorite player win her first major, but I feel a bit silly looking back at my disdain for the excellence that Navratilova and Evert displayed.  Then again I was 10 years old.

1988: Double Bagel

Steffi Graf won the 1988 Australian Open, but beat Evert instead of Navratilova in the final. Graf was ahead on computer points due to playing and winning far more events than her veteran rival, but it was still unclear as to who was the best player on the women’s tour.  Graf owned the #1 ranking and reigned in Melbourne and Paris.  Martina was the titleholder in London and New York.  Navratilova expected to win Paris and said as much.  Instead she was shocked by the former #1 junior player Natalia Zvereva.  The young Russian put off a Graf Navratilova showdown until Wimbledon 1988 by winning 6-3, 7-6. As shocking as the match was, Graf administered a career altering defeat of Zvereva by winning the championship match 6-0, 6-0 in 32 minutes.    Graf now had two legs of the Grand Slam under her belt and the debate about #1 was clearing up to a degree.  Her win over Martina in London one month later cleared up any doubts about who the #1 player in tennis was.

My memories of this final all revolve around how quick the match was.  I was elated to see Steffi win yet another slam.  Zvereva went on to become a highly decorated doubles champion, but this loss seemed to sap the joy out of singles for her for many years.  Zvereva saved two match points in her semifinal win and perhaps a big upset followed by a win and a close loss in the French Open semifinal round would have served her better than being demoralized by Graf who was quite invincible that day.

1989: No One Saw It Coming

Steffi Graf won the Golden Slam in 1988.  She opened 1989 with a convincing defense of her Australian Open title.  Some wondered if she would become bored with tennis due to her dominance.  If Graf was going to be beaten in 1989, people figured it would be her contemporary Gabriella Sabatini via a herculean effort.  This was not to be as Sabatini lost in the round of 16.  Graf played a youngster named Monica Seles in the semifinal round.  I remember in the first set thinking how ridiculous it was that Seles was trying to overpower Graf.  That strategy seemed about as wise as trying to drown the ocean.  Graf won the first set 6-3.  In the second set, the player hitting two-handed backhands and forehands (!) did knock Graf out of her comfort zone and took the set 6-3.  Steffi’s experience pulled her through in the third set with another 6-3 set.  Still, Seles looked like a champion to me.*

Challengers Arise

Graf faced Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the final.  Graf was taller, had more weapons and seemed like a lock.  Sanchez-Vicario kept running balls down.  NBC tape-delayed coverage foreshadowed the upset by saying Graf only makes headlines if she loses.  However in the age before widespread internet acces, I had no idea who won the match.  NBC showed the first set won surprisingly by the Spaniard 7-6.  NBC then did a quick summary of the second set won by Graf 6-3.  In the final set, I watched as Graf sprayed a number of errors against her never-say-die opponent.  I was both dismayed and shocked as Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario pulled one of the upsets of the decade in a 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 win over Steffi Graf.

Attacking the net helped the tireless retriever win the match

This match was not the end for Graf, but Seles attacked Graf’s slice with power.  Sanchez-Vicario made jaunts into the net off of Steffi’s backhand as well as drawing errors from her forehand.  There was now a book with several chapters on how to play against the invincible champion.  Steffi from 1987 through 1989 took me as a fan through a ride of challenging the powers that be, to becoming the lone power in women’s tennis and finally to being dethroned in Paris.  Graf would have to wait until 1993 to win the French Open again.  It was a great ride as a fan.  Steffi also provided a few more French Open memories that I will get to in the coming days.

Tyson losing to Douglas was a lot like Graf losing in this situation

* In early 1990 when everyone was hyping Jennifer Captiati, I kept thinking that Seles was the real story.

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Serena Williams’ Legacy Grows

7 Jul

Serena Williams fought of a game Agnieeszka Radwanska to win her 5th Wimbledon singles title 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Serena’s first two service games of the 3rd set were crucial to determining the winner.  Williams’ serve had abandoned at the close of the 2nd set.  Aga had her teeth in the match.  Serena failed to convert break points at 1-1 in the 3rd set and fell behind 1-2.  Serena responded in the most dominant and intimidating manner that she could by serving 4 consecutive bombs.  The match was never the same after Serena asserted her greatness.

Serena’s Place on the All-Time List

I will go into this more fully at a later date, but I am not going to Jon Wertheim route from a few years ago.  I do not see Serena as the GOAT and her path to achieve that status would be challenging.  Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova both seem to me to be comfortably out in front of Serena for the time being.  Still, I think this victory helps Serena in debates against Monica Seles and Chris Evert.  Seles is the hardest all-time great to rank because her tragic stabbing altered the course of a career that was on a trajectory to challenge almost every record in singles.  I somewhat hesitantly place Serena in front of Seles.  Evert may have more singles slams than Serena, but I think Serena’s doubles excellence places her ahead of Evert.  My top 5 without giving it more thought (future deep thought post forthcoming) would be Graf, Navratilova, Serena Williams, Monica Seles and then Chris Evert.  I realize Graf did not dominate in doubles either, but I think the Golden Slam has to count for something.

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2011 Was a Good Year for the WTA

12 Oct

The Sky is Falling?

Those who follow tennis have often made complaining about the admittedly convoluted leadership structures in professional tennis into an art from.  Beyond that, the ATP Tour has enjoyed a lot of continuity among top contenders since 2004.  This continuity has allowed for  Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to be marketed globally.  The male side of the draw at big events has typically had top talent competing late into tournaments.  To make matters worse, the WTA has not had a consistent final weekend draw such as Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova or Steffi Graf to serve as a counter balance to sometimes one-sided early round matches.  Women’s tennis has been hurt by a rash of injuries, burn-outs and early retirements that have mangled the tour’s one-time clockwork consistency.

2011 Worked Out Well

Kim Clijsters despite a lot of hard luck later in 2011 posted her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.  She defeated Li Na in a competitive final.  Li Na representing a country with a population of over 1 billion did not hurt the WTA or the Australian Open.  Clijsters solidified her status as a historically significant champion.  The French Open witnessed Li Na win her first Grand Slam singles title.   The importance of the Chinese market for tennis cannot be overstated.  Li Na splitting with her coach and posting patchy results since Paris is not going to completely deflate what was a monumental win for tennis.  Francesca Schiavone reaching a second consecutive French Open final also removed concerns about her 2010 title being a fluke.  Petra Kvitova winning Wimbledon added an aggressive-minded contender for future majors.  Once again Kvitova has posted patchy results since winning her first major.  Still, she plays a good game and should/might be a consistent contender in 2012 and beyond.  Maria Sharapova’s Wimbledon runner-up and French Open semifinal resurrected the career of one of tennis’ most recognized players.  The US Open also produced a champion in Sam Stosur from a country with great tennis tradition.  Her title also perhaps adds a consistent contender on the WTA Tour for the next 2-4 years.  Serena Williams’ winning summer run and US Open runner-up finish offered a similar story to Sharapova’s return to the rank of the contenders on tour. Caroline Wozniacki has also continued to be consistent on tour even if she has not yet won a major title.

At the end of the day, two players with great name recognition rebounded while three new Grand Slam champions were crowned that offer something of value to the WTA and ITF women’s events.  Women’s tennis is still looking for a super-consistent player who also wins Grand Slam titles.  The next Graf or Navratilova has not emerged.  Still, Li Na winning the French Open and Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova playing relevant tennis again makes 2011 a good year for the women’s game. Stosur, Kvitova, Wozniacki and Schiavone’s results in 2011 are also pluses going forward.

Work Left to be Done

Some things still need to go well for the women’s game to reclaim some lost territory.

  1. A consistent player committed to a full-time schedule, such as Wozniacki, needs to win several major titles.  Kim Clijsters winning three out of six slams in her comeback proves this is possible.  Novak Djokovic winning seven non-Grand Slam titles in 2011 helped to tie the ATP Tour’s weekly events into the larger Grand Slam picture.  If Serena Williams wins multiple majors while playing fewer than ten total tournaments, the normal portion of the tour seems irrelevant.
  2. Players who break through and win majors need to become consistent forces on tour.  Ana Ivanovic’s disappearing act cannot be the blueprint for Li Na, Petra Kvitova and Sam Stosur.  At least one of those three players needs to be in contention at (nearly) every event she enters in 2011.
  3. The Hindrance Rule may need to be expanded to encompass grunting.  There is clearly a big element of gamesmanship in the grunting and shrieking on tour.  Fans seem to be turned off by it, and without fans these events would turn into highly skilled weekend hacker sessions at a park.  I am not advocating mob rule, but the shrieking is hurting the sport period.
  4. Serena Williams needs to take some ownership of her role as an elder stateswoman on tour.  I did not think her 2011 US Open outburst was all that bad or shocking.  She should have avoided saying, “avoid me” to the umpire, but far, far worse things have been said on court.  Still, the 2009 outburst was so bad that Serena needs to take her remaining years on tour to try to mend some fences that need not have been ruptured.  Serena has absorbed her fair share of unwarranted criticism and bad breaks from officials and that damage need not be mended (We have a challenge system now because of a terrible error in one of her matches.)  Still, the 2009 incident was bad and any ripple effects from that behavior should be addressed.
  5. Victoria Azarenka needs to find a way to round out some corners of her game and win a major in the next two years.  She simply has too much game to be ranked so highly yet have only reached one Grand Slam semifinal.  If Azarenka and Wozniacki start winning majors, women’s tennis would be in a much better place.  They are of the right age to take the weekly tour reigns from the still relevant Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.  If those four players are near the top and Li Na regains her form while Stosur has Australia reinvested in women’s tennis, the WTA would see an upsurge in popularity.

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Review of ‘Unmatched’ ESPN’s 30 for 30

19 Sep

ESPN’s 30 for 30 Takes on Navratilova and Evert

Review of Unmatched Directed and Produced by

Lisa Lax and Nancy Sterm Winters

It was by accident that I got to watch this great sports documentary.  Considering that Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova won 36 combined singles Grand Slam titles and faced one another 80 times, their rivalry merits exploration on numbers alone.  Still, two things struck me while watching the documentary.  First, the public perceptions of each player were often the opposite of reality.  Evert was the strong willed competitor and Navratilova was often the soft-hearted emotional player.  No one ever accused Chris Evert of being soft, but Martina’s muscles and Slavic accent gave Cold War-era US fans the sense that she was tough and unfeeling.  Second, these two champions have true affection for one another.  This is remarkable given the number of losses each player handed to the other.

The Rivalry

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova combined to create the greatest rivalry in tennis and in women’s sports.  Sure Tennessee and UConn NCAA women’s basketball has its moments, but this rivalry propelled women’s sports into the spotlight for over a decade.  Some rivalries such the LA Lakers versus the Boston Celtics may have as much history, but tennis being an individual sport makes a huge difference in considering the magnitude of 80 meetings.  This rivalry is the top head-to-head battle in tennis history (male or female) and one of the top rivalries in the history of sports.

Key Moments

Two key moments stood out to me in the rivalry.  Each of these moments surfaced when Martina and Chris’ relationship soured to a degree.  Chris Evert stopped playing doubles with Martina in the mid 1970′s  after Martina began to win some matches against her.  Chris admitted that this was not the most admirable thing she had ever done.  By the early 1980′s, Martina Navratilova began to work with Nancy Lieberman (a watershed moment in women’s sports worthy of further investigation).  This led to a cooling in their friendship due to Lieberman’s insistence that Evert was the enemy.  Navratilova’s emotions were near the surface throughout her career.  Her increased fitness and killer instinct of Lieberman helped push Navratilova to unquestioned supremacy in women’s tennis before Steffi Graf’s emergence.  These two moments stood out to me because the warm friendship and support that was the norm in their careers was not present for two brief periods of time.

Tennis and the Cold War  

My favorite moment in the documentary was Chris Evert and the US Federation Cup Team traveling to then Czechoslovakia in 1986.   Martina was able to show her teammates her childhood home after being barred for 10 years from such travel.  Navratilova cried during the Czech anthem.  Chris Evert kept an eye on the crowd who embraced Martina and the government officials who initially snubbed her.  By the end of the event, even the government officials cheered Martina’s play.  Chris Evert being the one to notice this and relay this information to her longtime rival was a special aspect of this documentary.

There is More to Say

Unmatched is filmed with great style.  It is told from the perspective of two all-time greats talking to each other more than 20 years after Evert retired.  It was remarkable to hear Chris Evert say that Martina’s best days as a player were better than hers even if she hated to say it.  I could hear that the competitive fires are still present for both women, but the friendship each has for the other is a more powerful factor in each woman’s life than their desire to compete.

I highly recommend Unmatched to both tennis fans and sports fans who may not follow tennis closely.   It tells the story of the most unique rivalry in sports in a unique manner.  

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Sam Stosur and the GOAT Debate (Steffi and Serena)

18 Sep

Graf-esque (esque and fjord need more uses)

Samantha Stosur put together a comprehensive win against the most dominant female player since the Graf-Seles Era.  She did it by hitting big forehands and serves, moving well, being fit, and slicing her backhand.  Sound like anyone else?  Sure Sam can hit a two handed topspin drive, but she sliced the ball a lot to keep it low and take pace off of the ball in a match between arguably the two most powerful players in women’s tennis.  However, her game had a Steffi Graf flavor to it versus Serena Williams in her 6-2, 6-3 victory.

GOAT – Wertheim 15 Months Later

I will make it clear that Jon Wertheim is my favorite current tennis writer and his work on a weekly basis is a great service to tennis fans.  He correctly divides any GOAT debate into two separate but related questions regarding qualitative and quantitative results.  Wertheim admitted that Serena trailed many players in accomplishments, but that Serena was qualitatively the GOAT for women’s tennis.

I think the qualitative argument can be made about any solid number 1 in the men’s game.  One would have to update for advances in off court training, sports medicine, and equipment to allow champions from the past to compete with today’s top players.  Is the same true for Serena Williams?

To Be Blunt – No

Serena Williams is one of the top tier female players of all-time.   However, quantitatively she still trails Graf, Navratilova, Evert and Court.  If doubles gets a serious nod, Serena gains some on Graf and Evert,  but she falls further behind Navratilova, Court and King.  Still, the qualitative argument runs into a problem when one considers how Sam Stosur beat Serena Williams.

If Stosur could defeat Serena with clutch serving, a big forehand, good movement, strong fitness and a slice backhand, couldn’t Steffi Graf in her prime execute that same strategy versus Serena Williams?  It might take Steffi some time to adjust to Serena’s power, but Steffi had Olympic sprinter speed during her prime.  Steffi also developed a strong serve after her 1987 Wimbledon final loss to Navratilova.  Steffi was mentally tougher during her prime than any player Serena currently faces in women’s tennis.  That adds up in my mind to Steffi being able to play a higher level of qualitative tennis than Serena Williams has reached.

Counter Factual Time – An Updated Graf

Even if Steffi Graf without any updating likely played at a level better than Serena, what would Steffi’s game look like if she played now?  If Steffi Graf’s knees and thumb were given today’s advances in surgical techniques and physical therapy, she likely would have maintained her top speed and stamina deeper into her career.  If Steffi had today’s strings, her slice backhand might be used less often as generating topspin would be easier.  Mixing up her backhand spins would make the famous Steffi-slice more effective as a player could not bank on seeing it 95% of the time.  Finally, Steffi’s serve and forehand would benefit from today’s major string advances and modest racket advances.  All in all, Steffi with today’s technology would be a dominating number 1 because of her skill set, her athleticism and her dedication to tennis.  Steffi would not take breaks in her focus and that would allow for her to put up similar numbers to those she put up in the 80′s and 90′s.  This is no slight to Serena who is a legitimate top pantheon champion in tennis history, but Steffi Graf is the GOAT unless doubles gets serious consideration.

Post Script – Stosur Going Forward

I am hesitant to predict big things for Stosur because many first time slam winners in the women’s game look poised to be consistent performers on tour only to fade back into the pack for one reason or another.  However, Stosur is fit and strong.  She is not super young at 27, but aside from Serena, is there a power player who moves or serves as well as Stosur?  Her biggest drawback has been mental toughness.  This is a big IF in my mind, but if Stosur plays with fewer nerves than she did prior to winning a major, she can win several more slams.  I think Stosur is the favorite at next year’s French Open and should be among the favorites at the other three slams in 2012.  Stosur should win at least one slam in 2012 so long as success reduces her nerves while not causing her to lose motivation.

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