Question:
Which women's rivalry did you enjoy the most?
Mary
17 years ago
I found two rivalries in women's tennis to be a cut above the others:

1. Steffi Graf vs Gabriela Sabatini - Sabatini beat Steffi more than any other player. Gaby could push Steffi to 3 sets, but Steffi usually beat Sabatini in long matches. Sabatini relied on finesse shotmaking, while Steffi's main weapon was her serve.

2. Steffi Graf vs Monica Seles - Steffi and Monica had some terrific encounters. Monica could match Steffi's power shots, but Steffi had the edge on serve. Unlike Sabatini, who could rush the net, Monica could beat Steffi from the baseline.

Please compare these two rivalries, and tell me which you enjoyed the most?. Feel free to add your own thoughts and opinions.
Eleven answers:
17 years ago
Graf vs Seles was a closer matchup being 3-3 in slam finals and 6-4 for Graf in all slams. Plus between the 2, 24 out of 25 slam finals had at least 1 of them from mid '87-'94. The negative is that Seles, as great of a player as she was, had a way of making most matches brutal, inelegant affairs.

Graf vs Sabatini was too 1 sided to be as compelling, but produced great tennis drama and stategy. Sabatini's win over Graf in1990 at the US Open was as popular as an American winning it.

I do need to stress that for all-time rivalries, not just women's tennis, Navratilova-Evert is one of the best. Tremendous contrast in styles on and off the court. They met often and almost all matches were meaningful. 43-37 edge for Navratilova and 1 or the other won every major they entered from 1978-1986 except for 5! It is exceedingly rare in sports when 2 of the all time greats really go at it head to head for such a long period of time.
Emme
17 years ago
Steffi Graf vs Monica Seles. Excellent champs, both played a fantastic game. Gabriela Sabatini is ok, but just a weird fluke that she beat steffi so much. I think Steffi, in the long run, was better than Gabriela. 3 set matches prove who has the best fitness all around, and Steffi had it.



Steffi and Monica were much closer in skill level and that's what made their matches so much more exciting. I just couldn't stand Monica's outfits, that oversized T shirt that seemed like it was falling off with the weird geometric patterns. Of course, I was just a kid when they played, so fashion played a huge role in the games! LOL



If I had a choice to watch any of them today on DVD, it would be Steffi vs Monica.
Dr D
17 years ago
Between those 2 I'd go with the first one - Graf/Sabatini. That's because I liked both those players. I didn't enjoy the Graf/Seles rivalry because Seles used to beat her up and Seles annoyed me with her obnoxious grunting.



Outside of that list, I like Graf vs Navratilova.
mfunke76
17 years ago
I was always a fan of the Graf/Seles rivalry. both had tremendous power and placement, and could beat either one on any given day. Seles seemed to rob Graf of time from the baseline, while Graf's all-court game, and nasty slice backhand was very effective on all surfaces.



possibly the best rivalry of all-time was the Chris Evert/Martina Navratilova rivalry from the 70s and 80s. Great matchup in terms of playing style. Evert was the counterpunching baseliner while Martina was the net rushing serve and volleyer.



also...in terms of trash talking...i really liked the Martina Hingis vs. the Williams Sisters...before Hingis couldnt serve anymore, that is.
Michael N
17 years ago
Martina Navratilova vs. Chris Evert is the best all-time rivalry in the history of tennis, and one of the best of all sports. But between Graf vs. Sabatini or Graf vs. Seles, I would have to go with Graf vs. Seles because of their domination over women's tennis, and their epic grand slam battles. Much like Navratilova vs. Evert, the Graf vs. Seles rivalry involved two of the all-time greats of the sport.
fredy
17 years ago
Graff/Sabatini back in the days just like I enjoy Henin/Mauresmo when they are both healthy and playing well.This year's Eastbourne finals was almost 3 hours long of marvelous tennis from start to finish and with great drama.One of the best grass matches I've seen in years,if you are a tennis purist like me who hates baseline game and enjoys ALL court play these two women in the game can provide like nobody else.

Beautiful and long rallies

net battles

backhand battles

drop shot to drop shot battles

dives

every shot in the book that match had despite the horrible weather that day.



Never liked Seles that much so I always enjoyed a Graff beatdown when it took place.
Ladyhawke
17 years ago
I liked the rivalry between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Chris Evert was a baseline and Martina was a serve and volleyer. Great tennis without modern equipment.



I think that Steffi vs Monica was also good....you never knew who was going to win. Also, Steffi vs Aranxa Sanchez-Vicario proved quite interesting.
17 years ago
i like Steffi Graf vs Monica Seles more..they seem to have a more stiff competition and you could not guess who would win till the last moment.

it's abit like Justine vs the williams at the US open. it's exciting, interesting and it was a well deserved win for the winning player.
tennislover
17 years ago
i would pick that graff Vs Sabantani match up.. Because they had very different styles.... Sabantani was very different from seles.... seles was too simple if u ask me.. she was just just very powerfull ground strokes from the baseline, double fisted tennis, yes it was great it proved results, but it was a one dimensional game.. sabantani had a more crafty game..
17 years ago
Venus vs Serena
SpinUpSide
17 years ago
S Vs M is one of those things we never know.

S won 22 slams, but what if M wasn't stabbed.

It is always the question.


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