Hana Mandlikova battles Martina Navratilova - 1985 Madison Square Garden SF

[mosamosa111]

Yeah, some year ago, tennis players had much more style in playing. Also the top-spin style of Conchita Martinez for example.

[Zeusdattilo]

That was the time I watched all matches on Tv...Martina was great but I have to say I didn't remember how much gifted and classy and talented Hana Mandlikova was...every shot a picture...

[PuteraMeor]

they play slow tennis..boring..i prefer Hingis era..where names like Hingis,Majoli,Novotna,Venus etc

[LondonNil]

Hana was an awesome talent, but Martina 82-86 was pretty much unbeatable. Amazing volleying in this match.

[pablotjob]

madison square garden in NY??? or in Virginia???

[mtshishimbi]

This is really beautiful to behold - great style, athleticism, variety, shotmaking. There isn't a woman on tour today who can play like this.

[tamarexxe]

I'm pretty sure they are both using graphite raquets. Martina is an older generation player for me, but she is still my favourite of all time. But to be fair, she did not become dominant in the women's game until she adopted a graphite raquet in 1982. The players could serve and volley today but choose not to. I don't think its necessarily a bad thing because the men today play better than ever.

[assindiastignani]

@tamarexxe She was indeed one of the first women to switch to a large-head racquet, but within a very short time most of the other women had also. It's immaterial though - she would have dominated with a ping-pong paddle.

[MrTonyInchpractice]

man dik lova

[spacecolt]

BRING BACK WOOD RACKETS!!!! (or atleast restrict to the weight of the very early graphite) so that we can have OUR SPORT back! Too much racket-generated power & racket-generated extension of rallies has created injuries for players that kill rivalries, but worse, made tennis no longer a thinking person's sport. Let's have tennis rely more heavily on thought & strategy than tedious marathon battles of 'who is in shape'...I prefer the better tennis player win not who's in better shape.

[stm6699]

The matches like these were reason I've fallen in love with tennis as a kid growing up in the 80's. I don't see a single player from the current women's tennis elite that can compare in quality and entertainment value to Navratilova, Mandlikova, Evert, Graf, Seles, and a quite few other women from previous tennis generations. WHAT and WHO is to inspire young kids from today's top women players? Thank God for the men's side!

[Dylvente]

I agree. Today it's mainly smashing the ball back and forth from the baselines with rackets that do a lot of the work for you.

[LMNFanNTVadBuff]

Hana, won four slam titles. Aussie (1980, 1987), French Open (1981), US Open (1985), and she had the last laugh, throughout these.

[shottut]

@LMNFanNTVadBuff What ????........

[Legends70XBL]

Even the commentating isn't as boring :P

[Ledwix]

Stylistically, these women are much more fascinating to watch than current 1-dimensional ball bashing WTA players who are afraid of the net. New strokes sure do look prettier, though.

[cuore2000]

I hadn't seen Mandlikova playing before... She was a stunning player!!

[angryniggah]

the 2 prettiest games if not dames in women's tennis history. just gorgeous athletecism and shotmaking by both women. i've often thought of hanna as 1 part leconte 1 part mcenroe and 2 parts sorceress--when she was on. hana almost had too many options. martina was just pure poetry at the net.

oh, check out hana's legs---stunners!

[vidalzinho]

Nos anos 80 e início dos 90 Mandlikova, Navratilova e Cris Evert Lloyd eram soberanas. Era quando se jogava um tênis feminino de qualidade técnica insuperável, sem os winners violentos que vieram depois.

[KingCast65]

She is one of my faves of all time.

And incredible legs :)

[Mackenzie73]

sometimes i see jana novotna in this!........

[thadxxx]

Hana had a good year in `85. Remember she beat both Chris and Martina at the U.SOpen that year. That was a big deal and she came so close against Martina here and other matches.

[thequinnster72]

Unbelieveable! The shotmaking in this match will likely never be seen again. These two were beautiful to watch when they were "on." They were definitely both on this day! One of the first matches featuring Martina in her glasses.

[KingCast65]

@thequinnster72 Great stuff. Love Hana's game.

[maestrodimente]

Utter genius :-)

[Nigelxman]

These two make the current WTA look like a complete joke.

[DIANAROSS4EVER]

@Nigelxman wta in 2000 made this look like a complete joke

[krosero]

Hana was so fast. Caught Martina off guard.

[LobOverTheBackhand]

I remember this match. It is still one of the best I've ever seen. I also remember Hana being very ungracious afterwards saying that Martina wasn't "better", just "luckier". Good times!!

[lovelyjoints]

@LobOverTheBackhand - Hana may have a point in this case that Martina was luckier. Hana was the only player who could beat Martina when Martina was playing her best.

[etsuko624]

this is one of the most beautiful tennis matches! amazing match! i'm fully grateful for having such beautiful Czechoslovak tennis legends such as hana and martina.

[spacecolt]

@etsuko624 Don't forget Ivan Lendl, in the same time period!! It was a real heyday for the czechs!

[Nicklas4500]

Fantastic - thank you!