Nice exchange between Chris Evert and Steffi Graf

[Warriorroger]

Nice to see that these two great players could share a joke during a Grandslam Final, made these two pokerplayers more human: 5:23

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCS2RV0BngE&feature=recentu

 

[BTURNER]

You got here before I did! You-tube partisans on both sides have been posting a lot of their rivalry. Per Evert, this was the 'wierdest slam final' she ever played. I was intrigued during part one to hear Evonne Goolagong doing the commentary but evidently she had a tooth problem and had to retire leaving Sue Barker as the female play by play woman. I had not heard Evonne do commentary before.

 

[hoodjem]

Nice to see that these two great players could share a joke during a Grandslam Final, made these two pokerplayers more human: 5:23

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCS2RV0BngE&feature=recentu

I noticed something interesting, which may provide an answer to a nagging question.

When Steffi hits a topspin backhand the ball hardly reaches the service line on the opposite side of the court, when she slices the ball on her backhand the ball is much more penetrating and goes much deeper.

 

[BTURNER]

But that is not consistent, Hood. In other matches she does get it deeper, But Evert has said it almost always went crosscourt. In their three setter that I saw, Evert did well vs that topspin shot and fed off the pace and rarely erred returning it. Evert appeared frustrated by that constant slice.

 

[Don't Let It Bounce]

Nice to see that these two great players could share a joke during a Grandslam Final, made these two pokerplayers more human: 5:23

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCS2RV0BngE&feature=recentu

Hmmm... I was not a fan of Evert back in the day; I always thought she deliberately cultivated the Chrissy America image to the point of insincerity. I'm now coming to believe I was probably wrong about her.

Did you notice how little "stuff" each player was carrying when they left the court for the rain delay? Everything fit in the crook of an arm. By comparison, players these days look like they're moving in.

(Hi. I'm Steffi Graf, and this is my Bag Check... uh... some racquets... I'm Steffi Graf, and this has been my Bag Check.)

 

[BTURNER]

Hmmm... I was not a fan of Evert back in the day; I always thought she deliberately cultivated the Chrissy America image to the point of insincerity. I'm now coming to believe I was probably wrong about her.

Did you notice how little "stuff" each player was carrying when they left the court for the rain delay? Everything fit in the crook of an arm. By comparison, players these days look like they're moving in.

(Hi. I'm Steffi Graf, and this is my Bag Check... uh... some racquets... I'm Steffi Graf, and this has been my Bag Check.)

I have no doubt that she did deliberately cultivate that image, but I don't think there was anything insincere about it. It was consistent with how she was raised ( her natural habit) , and she felt it was good for tennis ( she was not only a public figure but a president of the WTA, as well as herself and her capacity to market her name.

 

[hoodjem]

In their three setter that I saw, Evert did well vs that topspin shot and fed off the pace and rarely erred returning it. Evert appeared frustrated by that constant slice.

This is true.

In my own tennis I hate it when my hitting partner hits "floaters" all the time. I'd much rather go up against a good topspin, hard-hit drive.

 

[LDVTennis]

Did you notice how little "stuff" each player was carrying when they left the court for the rain delay? Everything fit in the crook of an arm. By comparison, players these days look like they're moving in.

(Hi. I'm Steffi Graf, and this is my Bag Check... uh... some racquets... I'm Steffi Graf, and this has been my Bag Check.)

Not just that.

She hardly ever changed racquets during a match. She did not sort through the balls before serving. She would often pick up the ball she just served for a fault and serve with the same ball again. At the beginning of her career, she took two balls before a first serve, served with one, and held the second throughout the point.

Steffi has to be one of the most no nonsense players ever to grace a court.

 

[LDVTennis]

This is true.

In my own tennis I hate it when my hitting partner hits "floaters" all the time. I'd much rather go up against a good topspin, hard-hit drive.

Steffi's slice drives were not the "floaty" type. She hit a more aggressive, drive slice very much like Ken Rosewall, hers was a half-block, half-slice, with a very low trajectory over the net.

 

[Joe Pike]

This is true.

In my own tennis I hate it when my hitting partner hits "floaters" all the time. I'd much rather go up against a good topspin, hard-hit drive.

Steffi's slice backhands were hit harder than you buddies' "hard-hit drives", son ...

 

[BTURNER]

Steffi's slice drives were not the "floaty" type. She hit a more aggressive, drive slice very much like Ken Rosewall, hers was a half-block, half-slice, with a very low trajectory over the net.

You are right. It certainly was not a floaty slice. It had plenty of pace and bit well but I don't think the nature of the shot alone was a problem for Evert. It was the tactic behind it. Evert faced every imaginable slice long before Graf with fine success. She got it from court, king, Goolagong, Wade, Casals, Navratilova, Mandlikova, Sabatini, But all those players either were net rushers or varied it more often with topspin. Graf just kept doing it over and over again, moving it around until she got a chance to hit that forehand. Evert never got a target, never got any topspin or shots in her comfort zone, to feed off of and and had to keep her replies in basically a 3 foot radius in length or width to avoid error, a short ball or that forehand. Its also worth noting that the same slice did not trouble Evert one iota until Graf got to her full height, and power and some confidence that she could out steady her.

 

[SusanDK]

At the beginning of her career, she took two balls before a first serve, served with one, and held the second throughout the point.

I remember that. I always thought that was so cool to watch. She played incredibly fast, which I also enjoyed, no wasted time between points whatsoever.

 

[BTURNER]

Chris used to take two balls and drop one if the serve went in because she had the two hander and did not have that little ball holder Sanchez got. Folks convince her quickly enough to just take one ball from the ball boy at a time.

 

[CEvertFan]

Nice to see that someone posted the entire match on youtube instead of just highlights. It still amazes me at how long the rallies were - a very physically demanding match for both women. Anyone who says that Evert didn't hit hard (for the time) just needs to watch this match.

Evert got off to a good start (she was known as a slow starter for much of her career) and it's a shame the rain came when it did. I don't think she would have beaten Steffi but the 1st set would have been much tighter if not for the rain - Evert never liked playing indoors (which is what this match became once they closed the roof) plus the long rain delay didn't benefit the 33 y.o. Evert at all.

You can see that Evert still hadn't quite completely figured out how to play against Steffi, something you finally see in their 3 set match in Florida in '89.

Also it was nice to see Graf going for some topspin backhands during baseline rallies, something she stopped doing as she got older.

 

[CEvertFan]

Hmmm... I was not a fan of Evert back in the day; I always thought she deliberately cultivated the Chrissy America image to the point of insincerity. I'm now coming to believe I was probably wrong about her.

Did you notice how little "stuff" each player was carrying when they left the court for the rain delay? Everything fit in the crook of an arm. By comparison, players these days look like they're moving in.

(Hi. I'm Steffi Graf, and this is my Bag Check... uh... some racquets... I'm Steffi Graf, and this has been my Bag Check.)

LOLOL at the bag check reference. Too funny! But so true...