Chris Evert - wood racquet in 1988?

[johnny ballgame]

Tennis Channel replayed Chrissy vs Martina 1988 Aus Open final yesterday. I was pretty surprised to see Evert still using a wood racquet as late as '88. Hadn't most players quit using wood by then? When exactly did Chrissy switch?

She was wearing converse shoes, by the way. And looking quite hot I might add.

 

[racquet_jedi]

I thought it said '82...

 

[johnny ballgame]

I thought it said '82...

the info description on my comcast says 1988... but that CAN'T be right. Can it? Chrissy was retired by then?

 

[drakulie]

If memory serves, Evert started playing with the PS85 in 83.

 

[SempreSami]

Must be '82, she played Graff in the '88 final.

 

[Foraserve]

Yeah, I think it was '82 and the wood racquet was cool. Wonder how heavy it was?

 

[johnny ballgame]

If memory serves, Evert started playing with the PS85 in 83.

Probably right, my comcast is wrong saying that it was the '88 final.

You could help Chrissy with her serve Drak... she keeps falling to the left.

 

[RiosTheGenius]

she played with Babolat Pure Storm, strung with luxilon big banger on mains and hybrid across.

 

[vandre]

i think you're channel guide dealie is messed up (like mine is). the channel guide says 88 but i just saw a network graphic that said 82.

btw, i think navratolova is one of the biggest hypocrites ever to have lived. here she is griping about racquet technology and there she is playing in 82 with a graphite racquet while chrissie still using the wood. so i guess she just has a problem with racquet technology if someone else has it or if it doesn't help her game. i'm so glad she's retired!!!!:evil:

 

[leonidas1982]

Probably right, my comcast is wrong saying that it was the '88 final.

You could help Chrissy with her serve Drak... she keeps falling to the left.

mine said '88, as well. But it was '82

 

[vsbabolat]

The Australian Open Final that was just on the Tennis Channel with Evert and Navratilova was the Ausrtalian Open 1982. Back then the Australian Open was played in December and was the last Gran Slam of the Year. In the 1982 Australian Open Final Chris Evert used the Wilson Chris Evert Pro Staff and Martina Navratilova used the Yonex R-7.

 

[Moose Malloy]

the info description on my comcast says 1988... but that CAN'T be right

according to Comcast, the '84 US Open final was on yesterday(it wasn't, it was the '82 AO final again)

and they say the '81 US Open final(which was Martina vs Austin) will be on Friday. But I'm sure it will be the '82 AO final again.

I can kinda understand misstakenly saying they were showing the '88 AO SF instead of '82, but saying they are showing US Open matches? Strange.

 

[VGP]

That racket was the Chris Evert Pro Staff which was short-lived (after the Chris Evert Autograph) since the other posters were right since she started using the graphite frames (SV PS85) not too long after that match.....

 

[Moose Malloy]

since the other posters were right since she started using the graphite frames (SV PS85) not too long after that match.....

She only switched to graphite after being thrashed by Martina in the '83 USO final.

 

[CEvertFan]

She only switched to graphite after being thrashed by Martina in the '83 USO final.

Exactly right Moose. She switched to the graphite racket near the end of '83 and slowly got better and more confident with it throughout '84 and nearly beat Martina in the '84 US Open before finally breaking the 13 match losing streak in the beginning of '85 at the Virginia Slims of Florida tournament 6-2, 6-4 which was played at Key Biscayne where the Lipton eventually moved to.

 

[suwanee4712]

Supposedly Chris used a metal racquet in either 1982 or 1983 racquet against Pam Shriver in an exhibition. She lost to Pam for the first time with it and never used the racquet again. So even though she hung on to her trusty wood until after the 1983 US Open, she knew she had to make a change to keep up, and was doing something about it.

Changing racquets didn't seem to be a big deal for most pros who regularly sign short term racquet contracts, then hop on to the next best deal. But for Chris change didn't come so easily. Which makes what she did post 1983 all the more impressive.

 

[obanaghan]

Was very glad to see this match finally thanks to someone posting it on Youtube.

One thing I noticed was that Martina looked the best I have ever seen her. She had the right amount of fat in her face and did not have the "veins" on her arm. She looked fit which is what an athlete should look like. Just 2 1/2 years later in June 1985 she had leaned down too much and looked creepy.

The ball was hard to see and the match is split into eight segments but I was surprised to see how much MN stayed back. She was not all the net. Maybe that is part of why she lost. I never knew Chris had two breaks in the first set and broke for the set. She dropped the second quickly but was up 5-1 and serving for the match in the third. It was not as close as the score led me to believe.

Both women were very gracious and I don't think I have ever had such a good impression of a defeated Martina.

The game was much slower. Part of it could be the film. I also noticed that MN was using a technologically advanced racquet. I am sure she would have had similar results in 1982-1983 with a wood racquet but think it unlikely that she would have won the same 5 Slams she did. Might Chris have dropped her in a Wimbledon final if she had used a woodie instead of a Yonex? We'll never know.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

I saw her play(on TV) on the super saturday at the US Open in 1984 using a Pro-Staff(sampras).

 

[CEvertFan]

Was very glad to see this match finally thanks to someone posting it on Youtube.

One thing I noticed was that Martina looked the best I have ever seen her. She had the right amount of fat in her face and did not have the "veins" on her arm. She looked fit which is what an athlete should look like. Just 2 1/2 years later in June 1985 she had leaned down too much and looked creepy.

The ball was hard to see and the match is split into eight segments but I was surprised to see how much MN stayed back. She was not all the net. Maybe that is part of why she lost. I never knew Chris had two breaks in the first set and broke for the set. She dropped the second quickly but was up 5-1 and serving for the match in the third. It was not as close as the score led me to believe.

Both women were very gracious and I don't think I have ever had such a good impression of a defeated Martina.

The game was much slower. Part of it could be the film. I also noticed that MN was using a technologically advanced racquet. I am sure she would have had similar results in 1982-1983 with a wood racquet but think it unlikely that she would have won the same 5 Slams she did. Might Chris have dropped her in a Wimbledon final if she had used a woodie instead of a Yonex? We'll never know.

Chris had some of the very best passing shots ever in the women's game and she always hit with great depth off the ground and also had one of the very best lobs ever as well. Those things combined made it more difficult for Martina to approach the net and /or be successful once she got there. As Martina got much more fit after 1982, she was able to impose herself at the net much more effectively than previously and Evert paid the price of that with the 13 match losing streak from '83 to the beginning of '85.

Most people forget that Evert owned Navratilova during the 70s and very early 80s (at one point the head to head was 20-3 in Chris' favor) until Martina beefed up her fitness to an unprecedented degree and finally took over the women's game.