Wondering what the Tournament of Champions is, and how we got here? Read more about our 50th Anniversary Celebration and get caught up on all the matches so far.
Graf and Evert, who won 40 major singles titles and spent 637 weeks at No. 1 between them, met 13 times from 1985 to ’89. Evert won the first six, Graf the last seven. That reversal also marked a changing of eras in the women’s game. The German, who was three inches taller than the American, brought a new level of speed and power to the court, especially with the shot that earned her the nickname Fraulein Forehand. “[Graf’s] footwork and the quality of her first serve elevated her,” says Pam Shriver.
Yet Evert wasn’t left behind completely as the ’80s progressed, and as she progressed into her 30s. She switched from her trusty wooden stick to a mid-size graphite, and countered with more power of her own. As late as 1988, when she was 33, Evert would reach the Australian Open final and push Graf to a second-set tiebreaker. The following year, at 34, she took a set from Steffi at a tournament in Boca Raton.
If these two were to meet in their primes, Evert would have had the advantage of consistency, especially from the backhand side; if Graf had a weakness, it was her one-handed slice. “Chris’ accuracy was such that she would never give Steffi a forehand,” Virginia Wade says. “Evert’s tactics were always spot on, too.”
Yet as players, Evert set standards that Graf succeeded in surpassing. Evert won their first six matches; Graf won their last seven. Evert won 18 Slams; Graf won 22. Evert was No. 1 for 260 weeks; Graf was No. 1 for 377. In this one, it’s possible to imagine Evert winning the opening set with her steady play on clay, and Graf turning the tables with her power play on hard and grass.
