Wimbledon SF 1982: Evert defeats King (HIGHLIGHTS)

I was lucky enough to see this match on TV on the day it was played. I was doing an internship in the Governor's office, and my boss kindly allowed me and his assistant press secretary -- both of us were tennis fanatics -- to watch it at work. In fact, our boss, the governor's press secretary at the time, watched with us. Now, after having rewatched the match tonight, I can understand why. It was great tennis.

The Old Lady played a phenomenal tennis match. She threw everything at Chris -- spins, pace, drop shots and lobs and those incredible volleys. BJK was 38, and she used every bit of guile and craftiness in her repertoire to give Chris fits. You could see why BJK was one of the best grass court players in the business.

The first set was extremely close. Chris always seemed on the verge of breaking away, but BJK kept plugging away, picking off volleys and making the big plays on key points. Chris finally won the first set tie-breaker (7-4,I think).

Chris jumped to a 2-1 lead in the second with a break, but BJK came roaring back. The games were close, but BJK won the big points and, finally, the last five games to take the set 6-2. I'm not checking the record books and someone with a better memory than me may correct this. But I'm fairly certain this was the first set BJK had taken from Chris since their 1975 Wimbledon semifinal, which King won in three sets.

The second set loss kicked Chris into a higher gear. She had played a good match up to that point, but King had played inspired. At the start of the third set, Chris seemed to realize she did not want to lose this match. She began moving a bit more quickly, chasing down a few more balls and putting more zip on her strokes. She jumped to a 2-0 lead before BJK broke for 2-1. Chris broke back immediately, then held for 4-1. BJK held for 4-2, then Chris went up 5-2. With BJK serving, Chris reached match point. BJK served to her backhand, and Chris missed barely down the line on the return. At that point, the skies opened up, and it began raining. I did not remember the match being interrupted by rain, but then, I'm sure I was watching it on tape delay, so they probably squeezed the entire rain delay into a commercial. I'm not sure how long it was, but when they returned, Chris immediately got a second match point. Again, BJK served to her backhand, but Chris missed again by just an inch going crosscourt. Chris again went to match point, but after a short rally, she slugged a nervous backhand passing shot way long. Finally, BJK held to make it 5-3.

Serving for the match, Chris got to her fourth match point at 40-15. This time, BJK knocked off a forehand volley. Finally, on the fifth match point, Chris put a lob over BJK that landed just on the line. In fact, King was not entirely certain it was in (wishful thinking, which she seemed to realize as she shook Chris' hand right away).

I have to say it was truly a dramatic match -- the best I personally ever saw of the five or six matches I've actually seen between them. Chris had to be feeling the tension of the moment. She was the defending champion and the world's number one; BJK was really the "old lady" by this time with nothing to lose. As usual, I was amazed by Evert's "calm" reaction to the situation.

Both wore silver cross necklaces, and they really demonstrated a lot of respect for each other. Chris never seemed fazed by BJK's deliberate pace of play and intensity. At one point, Chris pointed BJK to the correct side of the court to begin their next point.

And to be completely sexist, I have to say that Chris never looked better! Through most of the match, she played in a white sleeveless top and skirt. After the rain delay, she came out wearing a white short sleeved shirt and skirt. It was my favorite Chris Evert outfit, and she was stunning. Twenty-plus years after the fact, I still remember what a crush I had on her!

I'd be interested to hear what others have to say about this match or others between BJK and Chris. When you think about it, Chris had some really amazing rivalries through the course of her career. Nothing beats her matches with Martina, but when you throw in King, Court, Goolagong, Austin, maybe even Mandlikova, Graf and Jaeger, there was a lot of drama with a lot of different players. It's also interesting to see how the game has evolved. In many ways, I do love the pace of the game today, and there is some great tennis being played today. But I loved the cat and mouse, chess-like approach of yesteryear. There was a delicious art to grass court tennis back then, that you simply don't get with today's bashing play.