All signs suggested this would not be your typical Italian Open women’s final.
First of all, it would be played on the Foro Italico’s famed centre court. The Italians were unashamed by their preference for men’s tennis. Women’s matches tended to be scheduled at odd hours on outer courts. This time was different, and the house was packed.
The two ladies remaining in the draw were the reason why. Chris Evert, the 18-year-old American, was making her first appearance in Rome. She was just seven days removed from a near-miss in the Roland Garros final. Opposite Evert was Evonne Goolagong, just two years older, and already a crowd favorite. Even those male fans who disdained women’s tennis could enjoy Goolagong. The adjective of choice for the Australian was “lithe.”
Goolagong, however, was not at her best on clay. She had beaten Evert in the Wimbledon semi-finals the year before, then lost five in a row since. Evonne rarely maintained her focus through an entire match, and steady, persistent Chrissie was exactly the kind of opponent to exploit those lapses.
On June 10th, the final began as expected. Goolagong made too many unforced errors, and Evert took a 4-2 lead. Then the Australian’s forehand began to find its targets. The Guardian‘s David Gray described it as a “battle between sense and sensibility,” the “calmly practical” Evert against the “natural” Goolagong, who “needs to be sure that her own special magic is working.”
That magic saved Evonne at 3-5 in the first set tiebreak, when she recovered with a down-the-line forehand winner. The Aussie took the opener, 8-6 in the breaker.
From that point, it was all Goolagong. Evert won just 11 points in the second set and lost the frame at love. “I felt that I could run for miles,” Evonne said. “I have never played better on a clay court.”
“I hope she hasn’t,” Evert replied.
Goolagong’s head-to-head record against Chrissie still stood at a meager 2-5, but she couldn’t have asked for a better confidence boost to wrap up her stint on the Continent. Now she would head to Wimbledon, the site of her greatest triumph just two years before.
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This post is part of my series about the 1973 season, Battles, Boycotts, and Breakouts. Keep up with the project by checking the TennisAbstract.com front page, which shows an up-to-date Table of Contents after I post each installment.
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