Classic USO

[RJD11]

Cable channel CBSSD is showing classic USO matches

all nite. Serena vs Vika 2012 on now.

 

[tented]

Cable channel CBSSD is showing classic USO matches

all nite. Serena vs Vika 2012 on now.

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[colleen66]

Cable channel CBSSD is showing classic USO matches

all nite. Serena vs Vika 2012 on now.

Good looking out!!:clap

 

[RJD11]

Just finished watching 1978 USO with Chris Evert vs Pam Shriver

I was amazed at the play of Shriver. She made it to the final

not dropping a set and by beating No 1 seed M. Navratalova

In the final She gave Chrissie everything she could ask for 7 - 5 6 - 4

Shriver had a very good 1st serve and was great at the net.

Only some brilliant shots by Chris and a few key errors by Pam

kept her from winning the USO. The most amazing thing was that

Pam was only 16 yrs old. She looked like a little child out there.

But she showed the poise, and carried herself, like a veteran.

I know Pam was a great doubles champion but I can't see why, with

the way she played, didn't she make a bigger impact in singles.

I was very impressed with the way she fought and her level of

play. A new found respect for Miss Shriver.

 

[kskate2]

Pam was known for being a headcase back then. The way Clijsters and Mauresmo were early on. They were able to overcome their weakness and turned it into a positive. Even though Pam played w/ a mental giant (Martina), she could never get over the hump herself.

 

[RJD11]

Pam was known for being a headcase back then. The way Clijsters and Mauresmo were early on. They were able to overcome their weakness and turned it into a positive. Even though Pam played w/ a mental giant (Martina), she could never get over the hump herself.

Kskate: In what way was she a headcase?

During the match she made some great shots

to save break points and some bad errors at critical

times. I chalked those up to her being 16 yrs old.

Was she a choker?

 

[Fiero425]

Pam was known for being a headcase back then. The way Clijsters and Mauresmo were early on. They were able to overcome their weakness and turned it into a positive. Even though Pam played w/ a mental giant (Martina), she could never get over the hump herself.

Kskate: In what way was she a headcase?

During the match she made some great shots

to save break points and some bad errors at critical

times. I chalked those up to her being 16 yrs old.

Was she a choker?

Pam was still limited by her lack of groundstroking prowess! She was playing out of her mind at the USO that year to beat Navratilova and make the final a contest in '78 against Evert! It was also the 1st year at Flushing Meadows where the HC's were a bit fast! Like Paul Annacone, they had to win most if not all of their points at the net by forcing errors out of the opponent! Pam got up to #3, but was never in a position to go higher due to her inability to get by other top players at majors time and time again! Both Martina and Chris personally stopped her, but she's fooling herself when I hear they were the only players to keep her out of other major semi's and finals! That Prince racket did her no favors from the backcourt, forcing her to impart backspin on all her shots, rarely if ever going over the ball! Players like Hana Mandlikova could embarrass her with a small portion of her talent! Tracy Austin was her chief rival at the same age and level of play! Guess who won 2 USO's between the 2? I never thought of her being a headcase, but I do remember her telling Martina she would be attending a wedding and couldn't play the FO in '86! Something happened and she was free and actually thought Martina would drop Andrea Temesvári at the last minute (btw they won it)! I thought that a bit ego driven, but I guess that could have been symptomatic with something else! :angel:

 

[RJD11]

Pam was known for being a headcase back then. The way Clijsters and Mauresmo were early on. They were able to overcome their weakness and turned it into a positive. Even though Pam played w/ a mental giant (Martina), she could never get over the hump herself.

Kskate: In what way was she a headcase?

During the match she made some great shots

to save break points and some bad errors at critical

times. I chalked those up to her being 16 yrs old.

Was she a choker?

Pam was still limited by her lack of groundstroking prowess! She was playing out of her mind at the USO that year to beat Navratilova and make the final a contest in '78 against Evert! It was also the 1st year at Flushing Meadows where the HC's were a bit fast! Like Paul Annacone, they had to win most if not all of their points at the net by forcing errors out of the opponent! Pam got up to #3, but was never in a position to go higher due to her inability to get by other top players at majors time and time again! Both Martina and Chris personally stopped her, but she's fooling herself when I hear they were the only players to keep her out of other major semi's and finals! That Prince racket did her no favors from the backcourt, forcing her to impart backspin on all her shots, rarely if ever going over the ball! Players like Hana Mandlikova could embarrass her with a small portion of her talent! Tracy Austin was her chief rival at the same age and level of play! Guess who won 2 USO's between the 2? I never thought of her being a headcase, but I do remember her telling Martina she would be attending a wedding and couldn't play the FO in '86! Something happened and she was free and actually thought Martina would drop Andrea Temesvári at the last minute (btw they won it)! I thought that a bit ego driven, but I guess that could have been symptomatic with something else! :angel:

Thanks for that assessment Fiero.

 

[Fiero425]

Pam was known for being a headcase back then. The way Clijsters and Mauresmo were early on. They were able to overcome their weakness and turned it into a positive. Even though Pam played w/ a mental giant (Martina), she could never get over the hump herself.

Kskate: In what way was she a headcase?

During the match she made some great shots

to save break points and some bad errors at critical

times. I chalked those up to her being 16 yrs old.

Was she a choker?

Pam was still limited by her lack of groundstroking prowess! She was playing out of her mind at the USO that year to beat Navratilova and make the final a contest in '78 against Evert! It was also the 1st year at Flushing Meadows where the HC's were a bit fast! Like Paul Annacone, they had to win most if not all of their points at the net by forcing errors out of the opponent! Pam got up to #3, but was never in a position to go higher due to her inability to get by other top players at majors time and time again! Both Martina and Chris personally stopped her, but she's fooling herself when I hear they were the only players to keep her out of other major semi's and finals! That Prince racket did her no favors from the backcourt, forcing her to impart backspin on all her shots, rarely if ever going over the ball! Players like Hana Mandlikova could embarrass her with a small portion of her talent! Tracy Austin was her chief rival at the same age and level of play! Guess who won 2 USO's between the 2? I never thought of her being a headcase, but I do remember her telling Martina she would be attending a wedding and couldn't play the FO in '86! Something happened and she was free and actually thought Martina would drop Andrea Temesvári at the last minute (btw they won it)! I thought that a bit ego driven, but I guess that could have been symptomatic with something else! :angel:

Thanks for that assessment Fiero.

Unfortunately I'm still cringing over the results of that tourney to this day! This had been the 2nd change of surfaces in the last 4 years and they had to move The Open to begin with because Forest Hills wasn't safe enough anymore! I have a faint memory of a stray bullet coming into the venue which prompted the quick exodus to Flushing! It was amazing it opened on time, but as many of the players said from day one, "a bomb should hit the place!" It's just never been as much a favorite major complex; esp. in comparison to the FO and AO compounds! It was all concrete, few if any trees had taken root! It was hot, had fast irregular speed to the courts, and planes flew overhead every couple minutes! It was just no fun before Dinkins was Mayor and had them shut down that approaching air strip!

As to the results, being on court most of the time myself, (playing and teaching) I missed a lot of the matchs including BJK with a stiff neck trying to play in gale force winds against Evert! That occurred on thursday while Martina and Pam were held up until friday; 2 tie-breaks! On the men's side Borg had injured his thumb and he couldn't hold his racket securely, losing it several times after serving to Connors in the final! Once or twice the serve went in, but all Bjorn could do was walk over and pick up his racket as Jimmy got the return back easily with no reply! That was Borg's best chance to win on the HC! Don't get me thinking about his loss in '76 final on clay! That just shouldn't have happened; even against Connors! I suppose he was lucky to get there with matches going the limit at times; incl. saving match points against Fillol in the 2nd round, and going 5 sets to defeat Gottfried and Orantes in succession! Sorry for digressing so much! My memory always goes back to significant times and matches back then!

 

[kskate2]

Pam was known for being a headcase back then. The way Clijsters and Mauresmo were early on. They were able to overcome their weakness and turned it into a positive. Even though Pam played w/ a mental giant (Martina), she could never get over the hump herself.

Kskate: In what way was she a headcase?

During the match she made some great shots

to save break points and some bad errors at critical

times. I chalked those up to her being 16 yrs old.

Was she a choker?

Yes, she was a bit of a choker. Fiero did a great job of summarizing her physical weaknesses, but when the rubber met the road against the top players she had a hard time closing the deal. It's unfortunate. I would have liked to see her get at least one singles slam especially at the Open.

 

[Fiero425]

Pam was known for being a headcase back then. The way Clijsters and Mauresmo were early on. They were able to overcome their weakness and turned it into a positive. Even though Pam played w/ a mental giant (Martina), she could never get over the hump herself.

Kskate: In what way was she a headcase?

During the match she made some great shots

to save break points and some bad errors at critical

times. I chalked those up to her being 16 yrs old.

Was she a choker?

Yes, she was a bit of a choker. Fiero did a great job of summarizing her physical weaknesses, but when the rubber met the road against the top players she had a hard time closing the deal. It's unfortunate. I would have liked to see her get at least one singles slam especially at the Open.

The violin and harp will have to remain in the cupboard! She had her chances and was fortunate enough to partner up with Martina for 20+ doubles titles! Navratilova implied once that she put up with some of Pam's baggage, but they stayed together for years! They faced off though at the USO, maybe '89 with Matina partnering with Hana Mandlikova while Shriver played with Mary Jo Fernandez! Needless to say Navrailova prevailed with Mandlikova!

 

[RJD11]

Pam was known for being a headcase back then. The way Clijsters and Mauresmo were early on. They were able to overcome their weakness and turned it into a positive. Even though Pam played w/ a mental giant (Martina), she could never get over the hump herself.

Kskate: In what way was she a headcase?

During the match she made some great shots

to save break points and some bad errors at critical

times. I chalked those up to her being 16 yrs old.

Was she a choker?

Yes, she was a bit of a choker. Fiero did a great job of summarizing her physical weaknesses, but when the rubber met the road against the top players she had a hard time closing the deal. It's unfortunate. I would have liked to see her get at least one singles slam especially at the Open.

The violin and harp will have to remain in the cupboard! She had her chances and was fortunate enough to partner up with Martina for 20+ doubles titles! Navratilova implied once that she put up with some of Pam's baggage, but they stayed together for years! They faced off though at the USO, maybe '89 with Matina partnering with Hana Mandlikova while Shriver played with Mary Jo Fernandez! Needless to say Navrailova prevailed with Mandlikova!

Thanks Kskate

During the match they flashed across the screen something

about her teaming up with Zina Garrison for a title.

 

[Fiero425]

Kskate: In what way was she a headcase?

During the match she made some great shots

to save break points and some bad errors at critical

times. I chalked those up to her being 16 yrs old.

Was she a choker?

Yes, she was a bit of a choker. Fiero did a great job of summarizing her physical weaknesses, but when the rubber met the road against the top players she had a hard time closing the deal. It's unfortunate. I would have liked to see her get at least one singles slam especially at the Open.

The violin and harp will have to remain in the cupboard! She had her chances and was fortunate enough to partner up with Martina for 20+ doubles titles! Navratilova implied once that she put up with some of Pam's baggage, but they stayed together for years! They faced off though at the USO, maybe '89 with Matina partnering with Hana Mandlikova while Shriver played with Mary Jo Fernandez! Needless to say Navrailova prevailed with Mandlikova!

Thanks Kskate

During the match they flashed across the screen something

about her teaming up with Zina Garrison for a title.

I didn't see it, but that was Olympic Gold w/ Pam in Seoul at '88 Games! Zina also picked up a bronze in singles IIRC! Martina was permitted to play Fed Cup for 2 countries and win, but Olympic rule is you can only play for new nation if you never played for the old one! The only way it would be permissable is if the US marched in and took over Czechoslovakia before '88 Olympics!