In world tennis, Stefan Edberg believed, "I think it goes in cycles. The Australians were on top in the 1960s. America was No. 1 in the 1970s and now (1987) the Europeans are doing well." Of his game, Stefan said, "I've always liked to hit the ball hard and come to the net. If I stay back and hit from the baseline all the time, I lose my concentration." Steffi Graf had said, "I didn't want to just get the ball in play and hope that (my opponent) is going to miss it. This is not the way I think to play."
In 1986, Helena Sukova defeated Chris Evert for the first time at the U.S. Open championships. She remembered, "You know, I was leading 5-4 and then I didn’t look at the scoreboard. And I thought, 'I’m serving for the match?' But I didn’t realize I was serving for the match because I was afraid to look at the scoreboard and to find out I’m really serving for it." On reflection, Chris acknowledged, "I think it was inevitable that one day she would beat me. She’s beaten everybody in the world but she never came through against me. I took her seriously but she never had beaten me and unless you have lost to a player, you may not have that extra 5% fear."
Playing MaliVai Washington, Michael Chang mentioned, "We’re not players who can really serve you off the court or blow you off the court. It’s more or less a chess match. I tried not to take it into the 5th set because I knew he was not going to get tired." Of playing at the U.S. Open, Conchita Martinez observed, "The city is really difficult to concentrate in. Like on the changeovers, and when the players are ready to serve, everybody is still moving, a lot of people, and speaking loud. It's quite difficult to concentrate."
In 1994, Steffi won her 15th Grand Slam championship and the 2nd Grand Slam of her career, "The way I am playing now is a step forward to the time in 1988, the competition has got stronger. In 1988, I was more limited, and I can say that this time it’s more difficult to me than 6 years back. It’s very special to win a Grand Slam and any time to win 4 Grand Slams in a row is incredible but winning it in a (calendar) year that’s even harder…"
In 1986, Helena Sukova defeated Chris Evert for the first time at the U.S. Open championships. She remembered, "You know, I was leading 5-4 and then I didn’t look at the scoreboard. And I thought, 'I’m serving for the match?' But I didn’t realize I was serving for the match because I was afraid to look at the scoreboard and to find out I’m really serving for it." On reflection, Chris acknowledged, "I think it was inevitable that one day she would beat me. She’s beaten everybody in the world but she never came through against me. I took her seriously but she never had beaten me and unless you have lost to a player, you may not have that extra 5% fear."
Playing MaliVai Washington, Michael Chang mentioned, "We’re not players who can really serve you off the court or blow you off the court. It’s more or less a chess match. I tried not to take it into the 5th set because I knew he was not going to get tired." Of playing at the U.S. Open, Conchita Martinez observed, "The city is really difficult to concentrate in. Like on the changeovers, and when the players are ready to serve, everybody is still moving, a lot of people, and speaking loud. It's quite difficult to concentrate."
In 1994, Steffi won her 15th Grand Slam championship and the 2nd Grand Slam of her career, "The way I am playing now is a step forward to the time in 1988, the competition has got stronger. In 1988, I was more limited, and I can say that this time it’s more difficult to me than 6 years back. It’s very special to win a Grand Slam and any time to win 4 Grand Slams in a row is incredible but winning it in a (calendar) year that’s even harder…"
