Chris Evert d. JoAnne Russell - 1978 World Team Tennis
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- čas přidán 22. 11. 2010
- Many of you will remember JoAnne Russell as the tennis commentator in many of Chrissie's mid-80s classic matches on American NBC TV. Well JoAnne was also a top 5 American-ranked singles player and had plenty of game. The serve & volley style was benefited even more on those indoor carpets of World Team Tennis, and because WTT format was only 1 set per match, this could create riveting tension for upsets. Chris wins 7-6 in a thrilling 9-point tiebreaker, and this footage is a good chance to see JoAnne Russell through a not-as-customary lense, as a top tier competitor on the ladies tour. Also of note, Ilie Nastase is the captain for Chrissie's team, and as always, gets in the picture a bit. :)
Charlie Jones & Julie Heldman on commentary. This dvd footage is presented courtesy of chrisevert.net for your enjoyment. - Sport
Even though Chris is playing brilliant tennis in this match, Joanne Russell was a great player and a tough opponent, with a game with plenty of variety, which made her enjoyable to watch.
Thanks for this upload, much appreciated.
maybe it's just me and i'm too 'OLD SCHOOL" BUT i find this match and this era of women's tennis INFINITELY MORE ENJOYABLE AND INTERESTING TO WATCH THEN TODAY'S BASHFEST of everyone playing the same, everyone looking the same, etcetera...
and grunting and fist pumping ,,,
Yes so much more interesting points fully developed, where finesse, precision and court movement were as important as power.
it seemed slower, but less unforced error is more enjoyable.. there could be 15-20 shots before point gained, but it's all quality shot based on textbook...
I have no memory of Russell playing but she is better than I would have imagined. Thanks
Same thought!
Oh I loved watching this. Tennis of my childhood, rallies, offense and defense, net play…. Chrissie was dynamite and Russell in top form here with her hair and glasses giving me major Renee Richards visions.
evert is really hit out on her groundstrokes! love it! really nailing her groundies and with a wood racket which is like styrofoam compared to today's rackets.. i always enjoy watching evert's groundstrokes when she hits them as hard as she can when she is facing a attacking groundstroker and all court player like russell. it seems depending on the opponent, chris raises her groundstroke game and how hard she hits them, sometimes she just plays steady and works the point, other times like in this match because of russell's game she hits them as hard as she can AND uses her mind to work and construct the point!..
wow, HD for such a vintage match. Way to go! Thanks for sharing.
@N0vakDj Just so you know.... WTT competition scored the matches as team score vs team score, where they shake hands as a team at the end. They eliminated the individual reward system of 'I won my singles match' in an attempt to create a team-sport aspect to the events, and so all match results went into the final tally. So they didn't shake hands because the match in a sense, or 'the competition' was not yet complete at the end of this singles set. A little history! :)
Russell also had some extremely close matches with Evert years before in junior tournament competition in Florida.
russell had a good all around game.. i remember reading about the ONLY 3 set match russell ever gave to evert, i believe it was earlier in 1978 when evert was first coming off her 4 month lay-off at the beginning of that year and it was her 1st tournament back, ( i want to say the virginia slims of boston?) and from what i read, russell hit every ball to evert's forehand in the match! let me repeat this, EVERY SINGLE BALL, EVERY SINGLE POINT FOR THE ENTIRE MATCH RUSSELL HIT TO EVERT'S FOREHAND even with obvious openings to her backhand and obvious winners! i guess russell decided to break down the evert forehand... never heard of anyone in pro tennis male or female history who hit every single shot to one player's one stroke.. almost worked too, as evert pulled out the 3 set victory!.. would have loved to have seen this and see the dynamic of this strategy and what the players were thinking and evert's reaction to this!..
Russel had a great serve
This match was played after Martina beat Chris at Wimbledon and before the open where she beat shiver.
The US open? Or the Australian or French Open?
Thanks for sharing. WTT was more enjoyable during that era because the best players played. I have not watched tennis for 15 years. Boring.
As the years went on Evert got into much trimmer shape. She is not fat here but about 10 pounds overweight yet she still played and moved greatly!! Even with wood Chrissie never played pitty pat tennis as some accused her and here is striking the ball with as much power as one could get!!
i miss when tennis was on HBO
@LobOverTheBackhand: I liked her commentary, in general, as well. Her banter with Bud Collins could get pretty amusing at times. I remember well the Family Circle match you speak of in '89. Actually, the next week Mary Carillo was fairly brutal towards Martina as well when Martina lost in straights to Sabatini in the semifinals at Amelia. Martina was at a low-point with her confidence early that year, failing to reach the finals in 3 consecutive tournies she played in.
@johnblacklovesmar I was impressed too. Strong serve and can do damage with the forehand. I liked her in the booth as well.
I'm surprised Joanne Russell didn't score more success in singles.
She has a solid game, unfortunately compared to the lady across the net, very few as consistent as Evert.
But I think with more practice and belief in her own game, Joanne could've been a Top 10 player without a doubt.
Man, the $$$ were enticing but Team Tennis ultimately flopped, meant zilch to tennis history and cost Evert 3 virtually guaranteed French Opens. I expect the teams were hungover half the time. That court is ridiculous, btw. The conditions look insane. But I bet they had a blast. Gotta love the wacky 1970s.
true, the idea of wtt and the contracts and comradery must have seem great at the time, but yet in historical perspective it cost evert 3 french opens, never mind if those 3 wins might have been "tarnished" because the best players were playing wtt too! the fact is evert would have won those 3 french opens no matter who else was in the field... back then, i guess the top players weren't obsessed with titles or their legacy? just think in her 19 year career (1971 to 1989) 20 if you want to count 1970 evert ONLY PLAYED THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN 6 TIMES!..
Chris was super cute at this time. Not sure how old she was in 78.
@kikass2020 It was an indoor carpet - notorious for 'soft spots' that produce bad bounces, especially back then! Not at all the same as a hard court, though that is the general effect of those courts.
Did all of the teams in WTT have courts with such unusual colour combinations?
Pretty much, yeah
@Vapor419 They are playing with wood rackets, which takes a great deal more skill than contemporary rackets... If you can find a wood racket & then play with that w/ your team, it would be interesting to see how hard you hit then!! (Or if you can really keep it in play, as you expect!) :)
exactly a wood racket, even a "graphite" racket evert used towards the end of her career compared to today's rackets are like comparing styrofoam and titanium steel.. not as powerful, much smaller racket head, so the ball had to be in hit in middle of the racket EVERY TIME, heavier, so one couldn't swing thru as easily or as fast, thus not able to generate power and spin, and not to mention the super advancement of string technology as well! i actually think players back then were actually better quote "tennis" players then today's players.. to me, today's players are more like athletes who happen to play tennis if that makes any sense! players back then had to use strategy, variety and the ability to construct a point....
I liked JoAnne's commentary, but she was always biased towards Steffi Graf (she played doubles with Steffi). I believe the last straw for NBC was when Russell completely and utterly dogged Martina Navratilova while calling Martina's match at the Family Circle Cup when Martina lost to Natalia Zvereva. It's been said that JoAnn didn't know she was replaced by Chrissie until Chrissie was in the booth!!.
lol
czcams.com/video/Tb25mE-C77U/video.html
@GoTeam Yes, Evert really sucked when she first started. I will say she's better now.
I wish Chris had not wasted her time with stupid ass world team tennis when she could’ve been racking up grand slam wins
Agree. I think Chris felt like she owed Billie Jean King (World Team Tennis founder), though, for getting the ball rolling for more prize money for the women and eventually even equal prize money at the Grand Slams. But I still don't understand why Billie scheduled WTT events at the exact same time as some Grand Slams.
They don't shake hands at the end. Weird.
Also, it looks like Chris is hitting her forehand in the famous "Lansdorp reverse forehand" method a few times. So odd. She only does it a few times, like around 6:25, but still the earliest I've seen anyone hit it that way.
He was saying that there was a bad bounce. On hard court! Come on!!!!
Carpet
Evert was the first hotties! Yes, I know there may have been before her. But I don't care.
And who is the idiot that made the court look like a rambow!
Andy Warhol xD
Stupidest looking court ever. How the lines are gonna call!
that's what i always wondered?! i mean how are you going to say a ball is in or out and hit the lines or not if their are no lines?..
The most dang ugliess court I ever saw. Why.... I'm just baside my damn seff
Tennis court 4 clowns
That's the ugliest and most annoyingly busy coloured court I've ever seen. Also the lines are so hard to see.
Goes to show how much more fast paced tennis is today. My high school team plays faster tennis than this haha
try playing with 67 inch wood rackets and nylon strings ,,,
Let’s see your high school play with wood racquets and gut strings.