WTA Rivalries (old and new)

[Calvy]

First, there was never. "Big three" with Sabatini in it. She was close ranking wise to Monica and Graf due to the ridiculousness of the ranking system at the time and that's the only reason. She only won a si gle slam and made only one other final. Not the making of a "Big 3." Fact it, during Seles reign, it was only a "Big One!" Second, Mandlikova, Shriver we're mental midgets, and though Hana won 4 slams, she was just a tad mentally more efficient than Petra K. Shriver made ONE slam final in her career and that was at 16. Jaeger unfortunately had a an overbearing tennis parent which arguably affected her career leading to burnout. Austin was the only true day to day competing to Martina and Chris, but, due to a recurring back injury, her carwere was shortened. Third, Martina from 1983 through 1984 totally dominated Evert, winning 13 straight times, not much of a rivalry at that point before Evert found parity in their matchups. So, folks who like to criticize the lack of competitiveness from other players against Serena in this era, remember, Martina lost a total of 3 matches from January of 83' til the beginning of 85' yet it's not viewed as a weak era.

 

[sk310]

First, there was never. "Big three" with Sabatini in it. She was close ranking wise to Monica and Graf due to the ridiculousness of the ranking system at the time and that's the only reason. She only won a si gle slam and made only one other final. Not the making of a "Big 3." Fact it, during Seles reign, it was only a "Big One!" Second, Mandlikova, Shriver we're mental midgets, and though Hana won 4 slams, she was just a tad mentally more efficient than Petra K. Shriver made ONE slam final in her career and that was at 16. Jaeger unfortunately had a an overbearing tennis parent which arguably affected her career leading to burnout. Austin was the only true day to day competing to Martina and Chris, but, due to a recurring back injury, her carwere was shortened. Third, Martina from 1983 through 1984 totally dominated Evert, winning 13 straight times, not much of a rivalry at that point before Evert found parity in their matchups. So, folks who like to criticize the lack of competitiveness from other players against Serena in this era, remember, Martina lost a total of 3 matches from January of 83' til the beginning of 85' yet it's not viewed as a weak era.

I TOTTTTALY agree. I'm actually glad we're all now looking back and asking about this claim. For the last 5 or 6 years commentators have said that current players make up a weak field as if it's some kind of accepted knowledge. When you break down statistics the field is actually pretty much equal, in a slam sense, to pretty much every other generation of greats.

 

[Fiero425]

^^How soon we forget Murray was part of a "BIG 4" before he won anything; just like Sabatini! I was there and well know what I said makes sense! There was actually a period where she was losing major finals to Graf, but outside of that in the early 90's, Sabatini did very well taking Steffi out of HC and clay matches alike! Check the record; still have the matches on tape from Miami, SC, and IW!

 

[Calvy]

^^How soon we forget Murray was part of a "BIG 4" before he won anything; just like Sabatini! I was there and well know what I said makes sense! There was actually a period where she was losing major finals to Graf, but outside of that in the early 90's, Sabatini did very well taking Steffi out of HC and clay matches alike! Check the record; still have the matches on tape from Miami, SC, and IW!

You're quite incorrect, Sabatini wasn't losing slam FINALS to Graf, she lost one FINAL as she only made two in her entire career. Granted she dominated Graf for about a year, but, their rivalry overall is a mismatch with Graf winning like 20+ matches and many with sets like 6-1 or 6-0, or 6-2. There was NEVER a big three, sorry. As far as Murray, it wasn't the big four until Murray won the Olympics, and prior to that, he made several slams finals and won he share of matches against the big three, far more than Sabatini did against Seles and Graf. If there was a player close to a big three, it would have been Sanchez Vicario as she made more slam finals and won 4 slams.

 

[Fiero425]

^^How soon we forget Murray was part of a "BIG 4" before he won anything; just like Sabatini! I was there and well know what I said makes sense! There was actually a period where she was losing major finals to Graf, but outside of that in the early 90's, Sabatini did very well taking Steffi out of HC and clay matches alike! Check the record; still have the matches on tape from Miami, SC, and IW!

You're quite incorrect, Sabatini wasn't losing slam FINALS to Graf, she lost one FINAL as she only made two in her entire career. Granted she dominated Graf for about a year, but, their rivalry overall is a mismatch with Graf winning like 20+ matches and many with sets like 6-1 or 6-0, or 6-2. There was NEVER a big three, sorry. As far as Murray, it wasn't the big four until Murray won the Olympics, and prior to that, he made several slams finals and won he share of matches against the big three, far more than Sabatini did against Seles and Graf. If there was a player close to a big three, it would have been Sanchez Vicario as she made more slam finals and won 4 slams.

Whatever! Arantxa just took advantage of Seles being off the tour after the stabbing! She was owned by Monica, but you're probably too young to know or remember! :nono :angel: :dodgy:

 

[Calvy]

^^How soon we forget Murray was part of a "BIG 4" before he won anything; just like Sabatini! I was there and well know what I said makes sense! There was actually a period where she was losing major finals to Graf, but outside of that in the early 90's, Sabatini did very well taking Steffi out of HC and clay matches alike! Check the record; still have the matches on tape from Miami, SC, and IW!

You're quite incorrect, Sabatini wasn't losing slam FINALS to Graf, she lost one FINAL as she only made two in her entire career. Granted she dominated Graf for about a year, but, their rivalry overall is a mismatch with Graf winning like 20+ matches and many with sets like 6-1 or 6-0, or 6-2. There was NEVER a big three, sorry. As far as Murray, it wasn't the big four until Murray won the Olympics, and prior to that, he made several slams finals and won he share of matches against the big three, far more than Sabatini did against Seles and Graf. If there was a player close to a big three, it would have been Sanchez Vicario as she made more slam finals and won 4 slams.

Whatever! Arantxa just took advantage of Seles being off the tour after the stabbing! She was owned by Monica, but you're probably too young to know or remember! :nono :angel: :dodgy:

I know probably more than you do. Seles did own Arantxa, but, she had a good record against Graf, in fact she ascended to number one on Graf's watch, and almost beat her in the Wimby final.

Like Pat Benatar said, Hit Me With Your Best Shot!!

 

[Fiero425]

^^Almost? Yeah, that's the ticket! She 'almost' beat Graf at Wimbledon! Roddick "almost" beat Roger in '09, but he's still only a footnote in the grand scheme of tennis! No one cares except him and his wife! - I hate bringing up Arantxs finding out she's broke! Her incompetent family just blew all her winnings it seems! They mentioned it at the FO when presenting the trophy! :cover :nono :cry :eyepop

 

[Jelenafan]

Sabatini lost two finals to Steffi Graf, the 88 USO (when Steffi completed the GS) and the 91 Wimbledon finals , where she twice (!) served for the match losing 8-6 in the 3rd set. She did best Steffi once at the 1990 USO USO.

Gabby got alot of mileage from being (as some claimed) a marketable dark beauty but she was sort a half full half empty player. Can't knock her with the derogatory "one time wonder" moniker because she was far more consistent than that; I'd put her higher than a Pam Shriver and less than a Sanchez Vicario. She made the SF's of each Major at least 3 times each for a whopping 15 SF's in addition to that 1 Major win, and 2 Major finals. I always thought clay was her best surface, but she never made the FO final, being a semfinalist 5 times. She did win 2 YE WTA champhionships, including a 5 setter.
Quite frankly, overall her career was more complete and impressive than Tracy Austin, for all that Tracy had 2 Majors to Gabby's 1.

 

[Kirijax]

From '90 to '91, the big 3 was definitely Graf, Sabatini and Seles. Graf was starting to lose her dominace, and Sabatini and Seles were hot on her heels. Sabatini came so so close to winning the Wimbledon title in '91, but after that she started to fade. Then Seles took over until the stabbing and we were left with Sanchez and Graf. That '94 USO was a pleasant surprise but somehow I never felt that Sanchez was a real rival or threat to Graf. Women's tennis really lost out when Seles was stabbed.

 

[Calvy]

Sabatini lost two finals to Steffi Graf, the 88 USO (when Steffi completed the GS) and the 91 Wimbledon finals , where she twice (!) served for the match losing 8-6 in the 3rd set. She did best Steffi once at the 1990 USO USO.

Gabby got alot of mileage from being (as some claimed) a marketable dark beauty but she was sort a half full half empty player. Can't knock her with the derogatory "one time wonder" moniker because she was far more consistent than that; I'd put her higher than a Pam Shriver and less than a Sanchez Vicario. She made the SF's of each Major at least 3 times each for a whopping 15 SF's in addition to that 1 Major win, and 2 Major finals. I always thought clay was her best surface, but she never made the FO final, being a semfinalist 5 times. She did win 2 YE WTA champhionships, including a 5 setter.
Quite frankly, overall her career was more complete and impressive than Tracy Austin, for all that Tracy had 2 Majors to Gabby's 1.

Correct, I totally forgot about USO 1988.

But, considering Austin "career ending" back injury, there should be an asterisk next to her name. Austin was right there with Evert and Martina at the height of their careers.

 

[Fiero425]

Sabatini lost two finals to Steffi Graf, the 88 USO (when Steffi completed the GS) and the 91 Wimbledon finals , where she twice (!) served for the match losing 8-6 in the 3rd set. She did best Steffi once at the 1990 USO USO.

Gabby got alot of mileage from being (as some claimed) a marketable dark beauty but she was sort a half full half empty player. Can't knock her with the derogatory "one time wonder" moniker because she was far more consistent than that; I'd put her higher than a Pam Shriver and less than a Sanchez Vicario. She made the SF's of each Major at least 3 times each for a whopping 15 SF's in addition to that 1 Major win, and 2 Major finals. I always thought clay was her best surface, but she never made the FO final, being a semfinalist 5 times. She did win 2 YE WTA champhionships, including a 5 setter.
Quite frankly, overall her career was more complete and impressive than Tracy Austin, for all that Tracy had 2 Majors to Gabby's 1.

Correct, I totally forgot about USO 1988.

But, considering Austin "career ending" back injury, there should be an asterisk next to her name. Austin was right there with Evert and Martina at the height of their careers.

Ya blew it! Nuff said! :cover uzzled :nono :dodgy:

 

[Calvy]

Sabatini lost two finals to Steffi Graf, the 88 USO (when Steffi completed the GS) and the 91 Wimbledon finals , where she twice (!) served for the match losing 8-6 in the 3rd set. She did best Steffi once at the 1990 USO USO.

Gabby got alot of mileage from being (as some claimed) a marketable dark beauty but she was sort a half full half empty player. Can't knock her with the derogatory "one time wonder" moniker because she was far more consistent than that; I'd put her higher than a Pam Shriver and less than a Sanchez Vicario. She made the SF's of each Major at least 3 times each for a whopping 15 SF's in addition to that 1 Major win, and 2 Major finals. I always thought clay was her best surface, but she never made the FO final, being a semfinalist 5 times. She did win 2 YE WTA champhionships, including a 5 setter.
Quite frankly, overall her career was more complete and impressive than Tracy Austin, for all that Tracy had 2 Majors to Gabby's 1.

Correct, I totally forgot about USO 1988.

But, considering Austin "career ending" back injury, there should be an asterisk next to her name. Austin was right there with Evert and Martina at the height of their careers.

Ya blew it! Nuff said! :cover uzzled :nono :dodgy:

Funny, considering all of your claimed tennis knowledge, you didn't catch my mistake!!

Take several seats!!

 

[Fiero425]

Correct, I totally forgot about USO 1988.

But, considering Austin "career ending" back injury, there should be an asterisk next to her name. Austin was right there with Evert and Martina at the height of their careers.

Ya blew it! Nuff said! :cover uzzled :nono :dodgy:

Funny, considering all of your claimed tennis knowledge, you didn't catch my mistake!!

Take several seats!!

Honey, I knew it; just didn't care to correct you! I have to care and you aren't worth it yet! Sorry! - Did you even mention Gabriella making Olympic final losing to Graf as well? Probably not; check your memory and the records before attempting a tete-a-tete with me! She was good enough to be included in the elite top realm of the WTA! Thanks for playing our game! BYE! :cover uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy: :ras:

 

[Calvy]

Ya blew it! Nuff said! :cover uzzled :nono :dodgy:

Funny, considering all of your claimed tennis knowledge, you didn't catch my mistake!!

Take several seats!!

Honey, I knew it; just didn't care to correct you! I have to care and you aren't worth it yet! Sorry! - Did you even mention Gabriella making Olympic final losing to Graf as well? Probably not; check your memory and the records before attempting a tete-a-tete with me! She was good enough to be included in the elite top realm of the WTA! Thanks for playing our game! BYE! :cover uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy: :ras:

Babe, how nice, you went on Wikipedia and did some research. That's really cute.

If you didn't care, you wouldn't respond and you wouldn't have done a check of Sabatini's credentials.

Bring it baby....

 

[the AntiPusher]

You're quite incorrect, Sabatini wasn't losing slam FINALS to Graf, she lost one FINAL as she only made two in her entire career. Granted she dominated Graf for about a year, but, their rivalry overall is a mismatch with Graf winning like 20+ matches and many with sets like 6-1 or 6-0, or 6-2. There was NEVER a big three, sorry. As far as Murray, it wasn't the big four until Murray won the Olympics, and prior to that, he made several slams finals and won he share of matches against the big three, far more than Sabatini did against Seles and Graf. If there was a player close to a big three, it would have been Sanchez Vicario as she made more slam finals and won 4 slams.

Whatever! Arantxa just took advantage of Seles being off the tour after the stabbing! She was owned by Monica, but you're probably too young to know or remember! :nono :angel: :dodgy:

I know probably more than you do. Seles did own Arantxa, but, she had a good record against Graf, in fact she ascended to number one on Graf's watch, and almost beat her in the Wimby final.

Like Pat Benatar said, Hit Me With Your Best Shot!!

Pretty good record vs Graf might be a bit of an understatement. Check out her h2h before she was stabbed by that manic German Graf fan.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Sabatini lost two finals to Steffi Graf, the 88 USO (when Steffi completed the GS) and the 91 Wimbledon finals , where she twice (!) served for the match losing 8-6 in the 3rd set. She did best Steffi once at the 1990 USO USO.

Gabby got alot of mileage from being (as some claimed) a marketable dark beauty but she was sort a half full half empty player. Can't knock her with the derogatory "one time wonder" moniker because she was far more consistent than that; I'd put her higher than a Pam Shriver and less than a Sanchez Vicario. She made the SF's of each Major at least 3 times each for a whopping 15 SF's in addition to that 1 Major win, and 2 Major finals. I always thought clay was her best surface, but she never made the FO final, being a semfinalist 5 times. She did win 2 YE WTA champhionships, including a 5 setter.
Quite frankly, overall her career was more complete and impressive than Tracy Austin, for all that Tracy had 2 Majors to Gabby's 1.

Correct, I totally forgot about USO 1988.

But, considering Austin "career ending" back injury, there should be an asterisk next to her name. Austin was right there with Evert and Martina at the height of their careers.

Tracy was a much better complete. tennis player than Gabby could ever dreamed about being. She was very slight and small but a very precise ball striker and a very cerebral thinker. Gabby won because Steffi had an off USO , maybe it was during the time her crazy father was experiencing his personal issues. I can't recall exactly what was going on at the time.

 

[Jelenafan]

Sabatini lost two finals to Steffi Graf, the 88 USO (when Steffi completed the GS) and the 91 Wimbledon finals , where she twice (!) served for the match losing 8-6 in the 3rd set. She did best Steffi once at the 1990 USO USO.

Gabby got alot of mileage from being (as some claimed) a marketable dark beauty but she was sort a half full half empty player. Can't knock her with the derogatory "one time wonder" moniker because she was far more consistent than that; I'd put her higher than a Pam Shriver and less than a Sanchez Vicario. She made the SF's of each Major at least 3 times each for a whopping 15 SF's in addition to that 1 Major win, and 2 Major finals. I always thought clay was her best surface, but she never made the FO final, being a semfinalist 5 times. She did win 2 YE WTA champhionships, including a 5 setter.
Quite frankly, overall her career was more complete and impressive than Tracy Austin, for all that Tracy had 2 Majors to Gabby's 1.

Correct, I totally forgot about USO 1988.

But, considering Austin "career ending" back injury, there should be an asterisk next to her name. Austin was right there with Evert and Martina at the height of their careers.

Tracy was a much better complete. tennis player than Gabby could ever dreamed about being. She was very slight and small but a very precise ball striker and a very cerebral thinker. Gabby won because Steffi had an off USO , maybe it was during the time her crazy father was experiencing his personal issues. I can't recall exactly what was going on at the time.

Oh I never meant to imply that Gabby was more a competitve threat at her best then Austin was in her briefer time at the top of womens tennis. Tracy could beat Martina N. and Chris on their best surfaces and was so focused at such a young age. However, overall Gabby did have a more complete, impressive body of work carerwise, which makes sense because Tracy was beset by injuries far too quickly.

However I do want to point out that Gabbby was a competitve legit contender as the top player from late 1990 to Wimbledon 1991. AT the USO she beat Steffi for the first time in a Major final and proceeded to beat Steffi 7 out of the next 10 matches aftter that (or 8 out of 11), at one point 5 straight.

A big IF, had she won that titanic Wimbledon finals match when she was soo close to victory, she would have beaten Graf in 2 straight Major finals, but alas it was not meant to be. That was her final last legit gasp to grab the brass ring and she perceptibly faded after that. I dunno, for all her gifts she lacked some inner self confidence it seemed, and in interviews almost receded into the wall. She now claims she was so shy she tanked SF's to avoid talking in interviews after a final! I understand Spanish so I would love to hear her interviews in Spanish, since I just assumed her halting interviews in engliish were due to a language barrier.

So yes, Gabby didn't last long as bonafide top dog threat (never reached another Major final after that Wimbledon) but even in 1992 she made 3 Major SF's and a 1 Qtrfinal.

It was in the WTA YE champs that is probably her most impressive record, she won 2 WTA champs, made 2 other finals, and reached the SF round 3 other times. She certainly had a very pretty backhand, though that follow through made me wince sometimes.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Correct, I totally forgot about USO 1988.

But, considering Austin "career ending" back injury, there should be an asterisk next to her name. Austin was right there with Evert and Martina at the height of their careers.

Tracy was a much better complete. tennis player than Gabby could ever dreamed about being. She was very slight and small but a very precise ball striker and a very cerebral thinker. Gabby won because Steffi had an off USO , maybe it was during the time her crazy father was experiencing his personal issues. I can't recall exactly what was going on at the time.

Oh I never meant to imply that Gabby was more a competitve threat at her best then Austin was in her briefer time at the top of womens tennis. Tracy could beat Martina N. and Chris on their best surfaces and was so focused at such a young age. However, overall Gabby did have a more complete, impressive body of work carerwise, which makes sense because Tracy was beset by injuries far too quickly.

However I do want to point out that Gabbby was a competitve legit contender as the top player from late 1990 to Wimbledon 1991. AT the USO she beat Steffi for the first time in a Major final and proceeded to beat Steffi 7 out of the next 10 matches aftter that (or 8 out of 11), at one point 5 straight.

A big IF, had she won that titanic Wimbledon finals match when she was soo close to victory, she would have beaten Graf in 2 straight Major finals, but alas it was not meant to be. That was her final last legit gasp to grab the brass ring and she perceptibly faded after that. I dunno, for all her gifts she lacked some inner self confidence it seemed, and in interviews almost receded into the wall. She now claims she was so shy she tanked SF's to avoid talking in interviews after a final! I understand Spanish so I would love to hear her interviews in Spanish, since I just assumed her halting interviews in engliish were due to a language barrier.

So yes, Gabby didn't last long as bonafide top dog threat (never reached another Major final after that Wimbledon) but even in 1992 she made 3 Major SF's and a 1 Qtrfinal.

It was in the WTA YE champs that is probably her most impressive record, she won 2 WTA champs, made 2 other finals, and reached the SF round 3 other times. She certainly had a very pretty backhand, though that follow through made me wince sometimes.

JFan.. I really like Gabby's game .. She did the most with the talent that she had. I recall quite a few years ago , I saw her after she retired at an autograph session at the Erickson Miami Open, she was absolutely stunning. Even better than Anna K because she had no make up. Gabby should have been a bigger marketing star as Sharapova is today but I think her "preference" wasn't to be in the limelight.

 

[Calvy]

Whatever! Arantxa just took advantage of Seles being off the tour after the stabbing! She was owned by Monica, but you're probably too young to know or remember! :nono :angel: :dodgy:

I know probably more than you do. Seles did own Arantxa, but, she had a good record against Graf, in fact she ascended to number one on Graf's watch, and almost beat her in the Wimby final.

Like Pat Benatar said, Hit Me With Your Best Shot!!

Pretty good record vs Graf might be a bit of an understatement. Check out her h2h before she was stabbed by that manic German Graf fan.

I was speaking of Sanchez-Vicario, not Seles. Seles is my second favorite player of all-time after Evert. ¥

 

[Jelenafan]

JFan.. I really like Gabby's game .. She did the most with the talent that she had. I recall quite a few years ago , I saw her after she retired at an autograph session at the Erickson Miami Open, she was absolutely stunning. Even better than Anna K because she had no make up. Gabby should have been a bigger marketing star as Sharapova is today but I think her "preference" wasn't to be in the limelight.

She had great hands, I actually loved her vollying at net and she was a gazelle around the court. I just felt that her game was a tad too passive, she didn't seem to have that 6th sense when to be agressive at the critical moments, that most top champhions have.

Completely agree she was physically stunning, and made Kournikova, Ivanovic and Sharapova look like also rans when it came to the whole tennis beauty/marketing package. It just didn't seem to be her thing.