Martina Navratilova Chats with Jim Clash, Calls Henin Best

[demc67]

Martina's not anti Williams- she played doubles with Serena.....yes- most of Martina's slams are on grass- but so are Margaret Court's (11 Aus, 3 Wim and 5 US- it wass played on grass thru 75 =19 of her 24 on grass) as well as most of Rod Laver's 10/12...Martina made 6 French finals- losing 4- 3 to Chris- probably the greatest ever on clay and 1 to Steffi 8-6 in the 3rd....

[JOHNE65]

Are people forgeting about margaret court who holds the record of most grandslams who at her peak got married and left the tour for nearly 2 years her 23 slams would be a lot more if she didn't take that time out because she was winning on average 3 slams a year..Martina has 12 slams on grass 6 off grass that doesn't sound like the greatest all rounder to me.

[kljMN2]

Of course this woman will call Henin 'the best' (highly amusing)... she's so anti-Williamses it's ridiculous. Serena's won more Slams, Serena's won two this year alone, Serena is by and far the best. Henin had a good chance to perhaps be that player, but she chose to take like 18 months of break from the tour, and frankly it's hurt her a little bit... especially at the French this year. Don't get wrong, Henin will most likely win a Slam title next year, but Serena is #1.

[Nicklas4500]

How so? Chris lost against Martina in singles more times than she won: 37-43. Chris also came off worse in grand slam h2h: 8-14.

[dattexas]

On the flip side, Martina beat Chris on clay just three times in 20 years.

[Nicklas4500]

It's true Chris had the most dominant record on clay and led 11-3 in h2h against Martina on that surface. However, in their 8 matches on clay in the 1980s, they played a total of 163 games, at the end of which Martina trailed Chris by just 3 games... so not a wipeout by any means. On grass Chris beat Martina just 5 times in all, trailing 5-10 in their h2h. On hard courts, Chris led Martina 15-11. But on carpet, Martina had a huge 19-6 advantage over Chris...

[Nicklas4500]

Overall, in their h2h, Martina led 43-37, including 14-8 in majors and 10-4 in slam finals, which is pretty conclusive. This isn't to downgrade Evert, who's one of the very greatest ever imo, but she did come off worse against Martina in their h2h duels.

[dattexas]

I don't disagree with you, in terms of the overall record. But, I've read (although I'm not sure) that Martina avoided playing Chris on clay for a time in their careers, and Chris didn't have that luxury, as most of the tournaments were on faster courts. My only point:

[dattexas]

Chris was a superior clay court player - it's not just that she had the better record. Chris was better on clay. At best, Martina pulled even (almost) with Chris on clay. A factor in their record is that the clay court season is shorter, and Martina was a superior fast court player than Chris toward the end of their careers.

[Nicklas4500]

I certainly agree with you that Chris was the better clay court player. The surface suited her game perfectly just as faster courts favoured Martina's serve and volley game. But I think it's a myth that Martina avoided Chris on clay: she played the Italian, French, German and US Opens (in early 70s) on clay, as well as St Petersberg, Amelia Island, Hilton Head and Houston - i.e. many more tournaments than she played on her best surface, grass.

[Nicklas4500]

In total, Martina and Chris played each other 13 times on clay and 15 times on grass - so that doesn't look like deliberate avoidance by Martina.

You say that Martina was a superior fast court player "towards the end of their careers". Their h2h stats indicate that she was the better player on all surfaces bar clay from 1979 onwards. Grass: 10-3; Hard: 9-5; Carpet: 18-2 in Martina's favour. Chris led 5-3 in matches on clay from '79-'87.

[dattexas]

I agree with everything you say, but I still think that 13 times on clay is not comparable to 15 times on grass. If Martina had deliberately gone after Chris on clay, the number should be more like 30. I think Martina is the best all around female player in history (Steffi 2, Chris 3), but I have to give Chris the edge (very slight) on clay. I do appreciate that you can discuss without getting nasty. It's a rare quality these days, my friend.

[malwint]

Navratilova has always been classless.  She is not clearly the best. Many would say Graf is.

[pearpeas]

Genetics my ass--more like testosterone. Graf is definitely one of the best--but The Williams sisters took the game to the next level. Power, intensity, talent, and personality! WTA needs to step up to the plate and give credit where it is due.

[AceGuitarR7]

the williams sisters are just big hitters. henin had style power finesse. williams sisters are great but so damn boring. henin had an amazing backhand and was interesting too watch.. i cant stand the womans game now, theyre all the same. same techinque all smashing it as hard as they can from the baseline, no style.

[pearpeas]

hmmm I agree with you especially with Justine's backhand--dayum its like watching a ballerina. That said, I think the W. Sisters do have finesse, they are big and powerful so its often overlooked.........lets face it, they guy who plays the security guard has to be Black..and maybe ...lol

[jackhurst85]

martina is the greatest player of all time.

king, however, has called henin, graf, navratilova and williams the best! make up your mind billie! lol!

[HeartBreakKid1987]

Graf is the Best...

[jackhurst85]

one of. i think it actually is really hard to judge.

[susceotible]

well. i guess billy jean king once said that serena is one of the greatest tennis player in the world sometimes in 02-03.

[trent8002003]

Martina is so wise. She said genetics first when asked why she was so gd for so long. Basically, she was saying : be realistic. Not everyone can be Martina 2. In fact, almost everyone CANNOT be Martina 2. First you have to be be born with it. Then the deal is negotiable. Otherwise, find another calling.

[skoomers]

she rocks

[1tennisace]

me 2 love her all my life and i always will xxx

[buick204]

god shes awesome and i think one of the most beautyful women in the world, love ya babe