A Long-Awaited Semifinal: Graf Versus Navratilova

Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, who have apparently needed something like a summons to arrange a court date, will finally play a match against each other.

In the U.S. Open quarterfinals Wednesday, Graf won a mismatch against Conchita Martinez, 6-1, 6-3, and Navratilova squeezed past Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 6-7 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

As a result, the top-seeded Graf faces the sixth-seeded Navratilova in Friday’s semifinals, which will be their first meeting in nearly two years. The last time they played was in November of 1989 at the Virginia Slims Championships.

Graf has beaten Navratilova four consecutive times. The last time Navratilova won was in the 1987 U.S. Open final.

Monica Seles, seeded second, will play Jennifer Capriati, seeded seventh, in the other semifinal Friday.

Graf required only 55 minutes to oust Martinez, who searched to find something that went right, but failed.

“I don’t like to play at 11 (a.m.),” Martinez said. “I play at 11 in this year’s Open and I think this is unfair. She is used to that. I am not used to it. There is a lot of movement in this court and it’s difficult to concentrate.

“I couldn’t play with the wind, it’s difficult the first match in the center court, and you know, she didn’t give me a chance to win.”

In contrast, Navratilova offered Sanchez Vicario numerous chances to win.

Serving for 6-5 in the second set, Sanchez Vicario lost her serve when she stood four feet from the net and clanked an overhead off the frame of her racket and into the stands.

Then, serving for the set, Navratilova lost her serve and forced a tiebreaker.

Navratilova twice went up a service break in the third set but gave it back both times before finally closing it out in 2 hours 12 minutes. There were five service breaks in eight games in the set.

“I have time to think that I have a lot of chances to win this match, but I didn’t take it,” Sanchez Vicario said. “So I have a lot of possibilities, but I couldn’t finish it.”