[HcMkOKiz]

During Steffi Graf's reign at the top of womens' tennis, two players in particular found Steffi blocking their way towards Grand Slam greatness: Gabriela Sabatini & Jana Novotna. In your opinion, how many Slam Titles would they have won had it not been for Steffi?. Whatever your answer, Sabatini and Jana most certainly would not have gone done as "One Slam Wonders". Here is how they fared against Steffi in Grand Slam matches:

Sabatini vs. Steffi: They met in 12 Grand Slam matches, with Sabatini winning just once: 1990 US Open Final. As for their other Slam head-to-head meetings, Steffi played Sabatini in 6 semifinals, 3 quarterfinals, & 2 Finals. At the 1988 US Open Final, Steffi outlasted Sabatini in 3 sets. In the 1991 Wimbledon Final, Steffi whipped Sabatini again in 3 sets.


Jana vs. Steffi: They would face each other in 11 Grand Slam matches, with Jana beating Steffi one time: 1991 Australian Open Quarterfinal. In their other Slam head-to-head matches, Jana played Steffi in the round of 32, twice in the round of 16, 3 quarterfinals, 3 semifinals, & 1 final. Of course, everyone recalls Jana's famous(or infamous) loss to Steffi in the 1993 Wimbledon Final, a match Jana had won, before letting it slip away.


In my opinion, Sabatini could have easily won 7 or 8 Grand Slam Titles, had Steffi not been in her way. As for Jana, I feel she could have won 5, maybe 6 Slam Titles were it not for Steffi. But how do you see it?.

Tell me how many Grand Slam Titles Jana and Sabatini could have collected, without Steffi standing in their way?. And please explain your answers?.

[infelconi]

If there was no Graf, Seles would have never been stabbed. She would have benefited most out of anyone, me thinks.

[KLhdfskja]

Aren't you the same guy that started the BIGGEST CHOKER thread?
I think Gabi and Jana would have found other ways (and other players) to lose GS finals against. I agree that they would have won a couple of more, but I don't agree with your numbers. Gabi's serving woes piled up as she got older. And Jana's head was a mysterious thing. A couple of Slams for each, at most.
Weird fact: of the 11 victories Sabatini has over Graf, 10 were in the U.S. East Coast. Go figure.

[yxn2dC07]

Aren't you the guy that loves Sabatini?

[HcMkOKiz]

Aren't you the same guy that started the BIGGEST CHOKER thread?
I think Gabi and Jana would have found other ways (and other players) to lose GS finals against. I agree that they would have won a couple of more, but I don't agree with your numbers. Gabi's serving woes piled up as she got older. And Jana's head was a mysterious thing. A couple of Slams for each, at most.
Weird fact: of the 11 victories Sabatini has over Graf, 10 were in the U.S. East Coast. Go figure.

Yes, I did start the choker thread. Choking issues aside for Jana Novotna and Sabatini, I have to respectfully disagree with your final Slam tally for both players, had Steffi not been in their way. Yes, Sabatini's serve got worse with every passing year, and Jana had trouble closing out matches throughout her career. But you can't deny Steffi proved to be a thorn in both their sides at Slam time?. So I disagree Sabatini and Jana would have lost to other players at Slam time, instead of losing to Steffi. And when you state they would have lost to other players, which players are you referring to?. Whatever players you have in mind, none of them were in Steffi's class.

I'll point out, Jana and Sabatini have winning records against Mary Joe, Conchita, Arantxa, and other top players from that era. But who's the one player they couldn't beat?. You guessed it, Steffi. Don't forget, Steffi was probably the greatest who ever played, so it's hard for me to imagine Jana and Sabatini losing Slam matches on a regular basis to "lesser players". I still maintain, Sabatini would have racked up around 7 Slams, Jana would have collected 5, maybe 6.

Yes, Sabatini did have some kind of advantage against Steffi on the East Coast, as you point out. In other sports, they call it a home court advantage. So I definately think the crowd support Sabatini received played some part in Sabatini's wins over Steffi. The way I see it, Sabatini was wildly popular on the East Coast, Steffi was much more popular over in Europe. Just my opinion though.