Tennis
There is currently 1 person viewing this thread.
These 124 comments are related to the topic:
Who is the WTA GOAT
Who is the WTA GOAT
sort by:
Show
per page
Replies: 124
|
By:
serena already has a golden slam
|
|
By:
not calendar though was it
|
|
By:
You may well be right about Graf being GOAT but i think it dubious to say that 1988> was Martina's 'Own Era'
She was 31 in 1988 , and the 3 finals she lost to Graf after that all went to 3 sets , so hardly 'owned' imo |
|
By:
she beat a 34 year old chris evert in 88 for the aussie open who'd won her last slam 2 years earlier
she double bagkled a 17 year old in 88Natasha Zvereva for the french whos never won a lsma t that point she beat a 34 year old navratilova in 88 for wimbledon who only went on to win one more slam she beat a 18 year old Gabriela Sabatini in 88 for the us open and olympic gold - who only ever won 1 slam nobody in their peak years, |
|
By:
31 yo navratilova
 |
|
By:
Athletes do peak at different ages though tbf
Evert and Martina were very good for a very long time, though both past their best in '88 Sabatini was close to her peak in '88 though i'd guess .She'd been around for years by then (as had Graf who was the same age) Recall first match i saw Steffi in was v Jo Durie at Wimbeldon in 1984 |
|
By:
The top players in different eras are the top players because their style of play and physical attributes are better suited to that time. Some players could adapt to different eras and still be a top player while others would not be able to.
|
|
By:
10 grand slams in todays more competitive era where there is far greater strength in depth would be more difficult to achieve than more grand slams in another era.
|
|
By:
my vote btw would go to Graf.
|
|
By:
Sabatini was close to her peak in '88 though i'd guess .She'd been around for years by then (as had Graf who was the same age)
she was 18 only been around on tour 3 years or so and hadnt won a slam so not sure how she was close to her peak, |
|
By:
well the slam she did win was a year or so later from what i recall, and i can't remember her doing much in the 90s so i'd say she was close to her peak in 1988
|
|
By:
I'd say Sabatini was at her peak in 91, when she had the Open under her belt, was competing to be number 1 in the world, and reached the Wimbledon final.
Still couldn't get past Graf. sanchez Vicario was definitely at her peak when she played graf in the wimbledon final. She was a multi slam winner at US open and French and had got to the final of the Aus, but also had watched her spanish rival Martinez win Wimbledon in 94 and was absolutely determined to win in 95 and 96. Still couldn't get past Graf. (both times) |
|
By:
an 18 year old is no t near peak level, she had most of her best results in the 90's that's where she reached the latter part of slams more consistenty
but not to take away from grafss achievemnets - one way or another she won 22 slams and the olympics Graf-s williams only played one big match the indian wells final and a 17 year old beat a 29 year old graf in 3 sets is impressive, not that that's the defining factor but still I just get the feeling that a fully focused s williams with her power and all round game would be better from what i've seen and heard over many matches, williams era is more power based, could graff handle that power.. |
|
By:
I agree with Bhoys point about the modern racket.
Much easier to hit the ball very hard with reasonable accuracy , which gives naturally taller,stronger players an advantage . Try blasting down serves with wooden rackets, most of these beanpole players would hardly get a first serve in. The average height of top tennis players must be 4 inches higher than 30 years ago. |
|
By:
Sabatini was in the semis of the FO when she was 15, and made several further semi finals in the next 3 years.
Fair enough as Journeyman say she was probably at her best 90/91 but it is hardly like there was a dramatic improvement then , just gradual . She was not far off her best in 1988 . |
|
By:
i can only go by records mate as i didint see her play as barely born but going by records it seems her best years were early to mid 90's
really though it's an indefinite answer but fun debate nonetheless |
|
By:
sabatini's best years were definitely around 1990 and 1991. won the us open in 90 and iirc served for it twice in that wimbledon final.
graf really did get out of a lot of losing positions. sabatini and the famous novotna choke too |
|
By:
how many would graf have won is shed been in todays era?
|
|
By:
For all the talk about records the post by journeyman sums up best the case for Graf.
|
|
By:
17 down
6 more to go |
|
By:
you'd have to say serena has been lucky to some extent that she isn't playing in golden era. her main rivals were her sister and justine henin really. not great by any means
how much slams did navratilova and evert take off each other ? |
|
By:
Venus must have made 8 Wimbledon finals by chance
|
|
By:
what was tennis like in 80's? comparing the standards is it as good as now? didnt they have 4 grass slams?
|
|
By:
venus a great grass court player but on other surfaces ? not close to the top 10 of all time
serena was up against no other all time greats |
|
By:
3*
|
|
By:
well when Venus and Henin had Wimbledon and the French on lock for most of the early-mid 2000s they are a pretty big roadblock despite what they were like on the other surfaces
|
|
By:
wasn't Steffi's biggest rival never the same and probably allowed her to rack up a lot more quickly than expected if Seles stuck around
|
|
By:
in between Sele's first and last slam - she misses 17 slams and steffi was 8 of them
|
|
By:
won*
|
|
By:
found this What if column about Graf and Seles interesting,
http://www.tennisfrontier.com/blogs/britbox/monica-seles-stabbing-steffi-grafs-legacy/ |
|
By:
http://www.tennisfrontier.com/blogs/britbox/
monica-seles-stabbing-steffi-grafs-legacy/ |
|
By:
Mats Wilander is another prime example of a player who in 1988 won three majors in a single year. He never won another.
 |
|
By:
He just lost all motivation after becoming World No 1, which he did after his USO win that year.
|
|
By:
henin was the only player who could outrally an in form williams
|
|
By:
1. Navratilova
2. Graf 3. Evert 4. Williams Navratilova the most dominant player of all time, she holds countless numbers of records, many of which will never be broken. My opinion is totally unbiased because I couldn't stand her for years (cos she was always beating Chrissy  ) |
|
By:
margaret court is getting very short shrift here.
certainly to put navratilova and evert in front of her is patently wrong. starting with the raw stats she won more slams than anyone else. then factor in a two year hiatus between 24 and 26 to start a family. then factor in that the second half of her career was juggled with having three kids (not to mention making a grand slam final while pregnant) she was physically dominating and in addition worked hard at her fitness; many consider navratilova to be the modern standard of fitness but court preceded her. you then have to start comparing across eras which is an endless discussion. in the modern era, graf edges it for me. williams relies too much on her being able to bully and is fragile if she's not allowed to dominate. 1= Court/Graf 3= Williams/Navratilova |
|
By:
most natural=mandlikova
pure grit=evert most unique style=greer stevens |
|
By:
I did think about putting Court in there as well, but it's just too long ago and I've never seen her play.
|
|
By:
best slice=turnbull
|
|
By:
Nav had the boxed set slam.
|