For years, Hana Mandlikova was tennis’s great enigma — gifted, unpredictable, always threatening but too often undone by her own streaks of inconsistency. At the 1985 U.S. Open, the riddle was solved. In a fortnight of inspired tennis, the 23-year-old Czech delivered on all her promise, stunning the sport by toppling both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova — the top two players in the world — on consecutive days. She became only the second woman in the Open era, after Tracy Austin in 1979, to defeat both No.1 and No.2 in the same Grand Slam event — a breakthrough that turned her long-questioned potential into championship reality at Flushing Meadows.
“I think finally everything just fell in place and I showed I could play,” Mandlikova said.
Finally, the great match that tennis observers knew Mandlikova could play. Finally, the very match that women’s tennis desperately needed.
Mandlikova’s achievement in New York echoed another breakthrough moment in women’s tennis. Six years earlier, at the 1979 U.S. Open, a 16-year-old Tracy Austin had stunned the tennis world by defeating Chris Evert (No.2) in the semifinals and Martina Navratilova (No.1) in the final to claim her first major title. That victory made Austin the youngest Grand Slam champion of the Open era and the first woman ever to beat the world’s top two players in the same Slam. Mandlikova’s triumph in 1985 was the next instance, highlighting the dominance of Evert and Navratilova during that era,
1st round : Hana Mandlikova vs Amanda Brown
Hana Cruises Past Brown
Third seed Hana Mandlikova, twice the losing finalist, began her bid for the U.S. Open Championship today with an easy 6-2, 6-1 victory over Amanda Brown of Britain. Mandlikova, from Czechoslovakia, was successful on 68.8 percent of her first serves and registered three aces in boosting her overall record at the Open to 27-7.
2d round : Hana Mandlikova vs Annabel Croft
Aggressive net play carries Mandlikova into the third round
Hana Mandlikova swept past Britain’s Annabel Croft 6-3, 6-3 in today’s opening second-round match.
Mandlikova, who lost to Chris Evert Lloyd in the 1980 and 1982 finals and got as far as the quarterfinals the past two years, consistently hit deep ground strokes, then rushed the net, chasing Croft all over the stadium court and polishing her off in 55 minutes.
3rd round : Hana Mandlikova vs Sylvia Hanika
Nemesis Tamed at Last
Sylvia Hanika, one of Hana‘s nemesis, stands up to her for this 3rd round match played late at night on the Stadium Court.
The German player’s left handed topspin game always proved being problematic for Mandlikova. Their duels have been very close and Hana leads only 8 wins to 6 in their head-to-head.
Mandlikova, fully focused, struck a high percentage of first serves to defeat Hanika 6-3, 6-4. Though solid throughout, she let chances slip in the second set and might have wrapped it up more comfortably with sharper returns.
4th round : Hana Mandlikova vs Kathy Jordan
Survives Jordan Scare
Mandlikova was already thinking ahead to her second-round confrontation with American Kathy Jordan. Jordan remains the only professional to have beaten her 6–0, 6–0. To be whitewashed in that manner – it happened in Detroit – is so embarrassing, the Czech admitted, that it makes a player feel like throwing the rackets into a cupboard and heading down to the nearest Careers Office to see what jobs might be on offer. In her post-match press conference back then, Jordan supposedly remarked that it was boring to play Mandlikova because she always did the same things on court and never smiled. Mandlikova does not smile often, she concedes, though if anything funny happens during a match she will be the first to laugh. Still, she insists, she is there for business reasons. She refutes the notion that her tennis is repetitious or dull, pointing out that she plays a high-risk game compared to the majority of players on the circuit. Jordan, incidentally, is one of the few who can appear edgy on court because of her temperamental nature. But that was not the case in New York. On Court 16, a show court set far from the Stadium and Grandstand, Mandlikova expected a tough match from Jordan, and the American did not disappoint. The surface was particularly fast, not her favourite for reasons she cannot fully explain. When Jordan levelled the contest at one set all,
Mandlikova discovered her game in the decider, began to play the way she knows she can, and moved into the quarterfinals with a 7–5, 3–6, 6–1 victory.
Quarterfinal : Hana Mandlikova vs Helena Sukova
Czech Duel Goes to Hana
Hana Mandlikova reached the U.S. Open semifinals by defeating fellow Czech Helena Sukova 7-6 (7-4), 7-5. The first set went to a tiebreak without a single service break, but the second was far more turbulent, with seven breaks in total. Sukova led 5-4, but Mandlikova, the No.3 seed, swept the last three games to seal victory in 1 hour 25 minutes.
“I knew I had to make a big effort in the final game,” Mandlikova said.
“Not that I don’t try all the time, but sometimes you have to give a little more.”
It was one of Mandlikova’s most disciplined performances. She struck 30 winners against only 13 unforced errors, showing the flair she is known for but with unusual consistency.
“I know what I’m doing more than when I was younger, three or four years ago,” said the 23-year-old. “Mentally, I’m a little bit tougher. It’s experience, growing up. As you’re getting older, you’re getting wiser.”
Mandlikova, twice a losing finalist in New York, had dropped just one set in five matches and now prepared for a semifinal showdown with Chris Evert Lloyd
Semifinal : Hana Mandlikova vs Chris Evert-Lloyd
Hana Shocks Evert
Hana Mandlikova playing smartly and not folding under the pressure as she often has defeated Evert 4-6 6-2 6-3 to advance to today’s final against Martina Navratilova
“She played very well and served extremely well” said Evert who held an 18-3 advantage in their lifetime series and had won 13 of the last 14 matches.
“She hit a lot of great lunging volleys and she just was really on”.
“And I had a lot of opportunities, especially in the second set. And in the third set, having love-40 on her serve in the second game. Little things like that”
Evert also dropped serve at 2-3 in a game that went to deuce 10 times. Down 2-5 Evert staved off three match points to hold serve, but she couldn’t break Mandlikova who wrapped up the match at deuce with an ace and service winner.
“I played very good tactically” said Mandlikova a 23-years-old whom many say has the shots and athleticism to be the No 1 player.
“I didn’t rush the net after every single ball I stayed back until the second or third shot and came in I knew where she would go”
Evert felt her serve “wasn’t up to par”. Though her first-serve percentage was 75 compared with Mandlikova’s 49, she double faulted five times (often on crucial points) while Mandlikova double faulted three times.
“Maybe I was a little bit nervous” said Evert “That the serve is the first thing that goes with my game when I’m nervous”
“I think we both tended to be a bit nervous. I think she reacted better to the pressure than I did. Maybe I got a little tentative on the pressure points and maybe she was a little more eager and therefore she could play her game a little more.”
Mandlikova says she has trained harder this year than any time in her career. She feels it’s paying off now but Evert doesn’t think she’s playing well enough to beat Navratilova.
“Our match was pretty close today and I didn’t play 70 percent of what I can play” Evert said. “She really is going to have to play better and cut down on the errors”.
Navratilova clearly was looking forward to meeting Evert in the final, spending most of her press conference talking about challenging her for the No 1 ranking.
Asked about the possibility of playing Mandlikova she said “She is not going in 20 different directions and has her goals set I think it will be a close match”
Final : Hana Mandlikova vs Martina Navratilova
Mandlikova’s Dream Title
Mandlikova stunned the second-seeded Navratilova, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, one day after she had eliminated top seed Chris Evert Lloyd.
“To beat two champions in the same tournament is a dream,” said Mandlikova
Mandlikova took the first-set tiebreaker, 7-3, then wrapped up the hard-won victory by capturing the final-set tiebreaker, 7-2.
Plagued throughout her career by inconsistency, Mandlikova was a model of consistency as she displayed every aspect of her exciting game during this two-week tournament, the third of the four Grand Slam events.
Mandlikova streaked to a 5-0 lead to begin the match, then saw Navratilova battle back to pull even 5-5.
In the second set, the defending champion went to work, dropping only the second game, which Mandlikova held after the two twice went to deuce.
The third set saw the two players holding their serve till Hana Mandlikova broke Martina on the 8th game to lead 5-3, serving for the Championships.
But Martina tightened her game and when she took the break back, lots thought that it was over for Hana, that her momentum had passed away.
But Hana Mandlikova decided to fight till the end, like in the first set.
In the 11th game of the third set a marathon that saw the two battle to deuce nine times Mandlikova fought back from love-40 and staved off five other break points to hold service.
Navratilova held at – 30 to force the tiebreaker.
“I was playing well,” Navratilova said. “I felt consistency would win over flair, but it didn’t. When she got ahead she was hitting for the fences. She was hitting winners all over the place.”
