In honor of the Australian Open starting this weekend, I wanted to post an old school clip of one of my favorite players, Gabriela Sabatini. A two-time Australian Open Semi-Finalist, Sabatini was a top 10 mainstay, a Grand Slam singles and doubles champion, an Olympic Silver Medalist, and a Tennis Hall of Fame inductee. She retired in 1996 at the age of 26. This clip is from 1985, when she made her very first final at the Family Circle Cup at the 14 years of age. Her opponent was the great Chris Evert. Sabatini lost in straight sets, but what an unforgettable debut.
Some background: That week the tournament had been rained out and there was a horrendous back up. The day of the final, Sabatini had to play Pam Shriver and Magdalena Maleeva back to back. It’s understandable that she wilted in the last set of her third match of the day. Remember this is back in 1985, players had much less say in terms of scheduling and television network demands. It’s hard to conclude that Sabatini wasn’t taken advantage of big time.
Some other observations. You can see the foundation of Sabatini’s all court game. In one particular rally, she pins Evert to the baseline. Evert sends a desperation shot that lands short. Instead of staying back, Sabatini rushes the net and sends a forehand half volley down the line. Even at such a young age, she had the court sense of a veteran and yet her use of topspin was unique in the women’s game. And that one-handed backhand? Wonderful. Guess who Amelie Mauresmo modeled hers after?
However, she was playing against one of the legends of the game. Chris Evert’s clay court stats are better than Bjorn Borg’s and Rafael Nadal. There was no way she was losing that match. She exposed Sabatini’s main weakness, her second serve by either hitting an untouchable return or putting Sabatini on the defensive early on. Good work from one of the game’s best tacticians.
Oh and one more thing I noticed, No screaming.
Those were the days.
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