Australian Open Tennis Championships : Evert Beats Navratilova in Straight Sets, Meets Graf in Final

Chris Evert defeated rival Martina Navratilova, and top-seeded Steffi Graf routed fellow West German Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Thursday to advance to the women’s final of the Australian Open.

Graf lost the first two games at love but rallied to beat eighth-seeded Kohde-Kilsch, 6-2, 6-3, in 45 minutes.

Evert, playing from the baseline with pinpoint accuracy, downed Navratilova, 6-2, 7-5, to earn her first berth in a Grand Slam final since the 1986 French Open.

It will be Evert’s sixth appearance in the Australian Open final. She won in 1982 and 1984.

Graf’s victory put her in a Grand Slam final for the fourth time in her career. She is 4-6 against Evert but has won their last four meetings.

In her semifinal, Evert took a 3-0 lead and won the first set in 32 minutes, defusing Navratilova’s serve with a succession of return winners. She also benefited from 39 unforced errors by Navratilova, who was trying to win a Grand Slam event for the third time in a row.

“I was under no pressure at all; Martina had all the pressure on her,” Evert said.

“I’ve played pretty mediocre until the last two matches of the tournament, and then in this match, I played great.

“I’m always relaxed when I play Martina. She was No. 1 for so long. It is no crime to lose to her.”

Navratilova said Evert “played a really great match and didn’t let up. I played pretty well except for my volleying, which I think must have gone south.”

Graf’s victory extended her winning streak to 20 matches. Her last loss was to Navratilova in the U.S. Open final.

Graf extended her record against Kohde-Kilsch to 5-2.

Graf reeled off six games in a row in the first set, exploiting the lack of mobility and poor volleying of Kohde-Kilsch, who was plagued by a pulled tendon in her right foot.