Jump to content

Who was the better player: Gabriela Sabatini or Jana Novotna?.


Mike68

Recommended Posts

Gabriela Sabatini and Jana Novotna had very similar careers, but who was better?. To help you decide, I've posted some of their most important career stats: Singles Titles: Sabatini won 27, Jana won 24 Doubles Titles: Jana won 76, Sabatini won 14 Grand Slam Singles Titles: Sabatini and Jana are tied at 1 win apiece. (At the 1990 US Open, Sabatini upset Steffi Graf in the Final, while Jana beat Natalie Tauziat in the 1998 Wimbledon Final.) Grand Slam Singles Finals: Jana played in 4, Sabatini in 3 Highest Singles Ranking: #2 for Jana, #3 for Sabatini As the stats indicate, they are very close in career accomplishments. Sabatini did win 3 more singles titles than Jana. However, Jana won 62 more doubles titles than Sabatini. Also, Jana played in one more slam final than Sabatini. Finally, Sabatini only reached #3 in the world rankings, while Jana reached #2. Taking all that into account, I would give Jana a slight edge over Sabatini. But who do you consider the better player between Jana and Sabatini?. And why?.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed, Watching Jana on grass was a thing of beauty. Everyone knows Jana should have beaten Steffi in the '93 Wimbledon Final. Jana had her chances in that match, but she tightened up, and Steffi took advantage. I felt sorry for Jana after that match, but was happy when she finally won her Wimbledon title years later. Sabatini had some good results at Wimbledon too, but Jana was much better than Sabatini on grass. Sabatini nearly beat Steffi in the '91 Wimbledon Final, but Steffi outlasted Sabatini in 3 sets. If I remember right, Sabatini served twice for the match, but choked badly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Federer is one of the greats, No doubt. But I feel he had easy ride. Competiton was not that strong. With arrival of Nadal, things are getting hotter for Federer. Its like Ponting struggling in 90s era and as soon as many great bowlers retired, and pitches became flat, his greatness seemed to surface.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sabatini leads 11-4 in head to head record. So how is Novotna better than Sabatini. Case closed.
Granted, Sabatini holds a clear advantage in their head to head. However, 3 of Sabatini's wins over Jana were tough 3 setters. And in 2 of those matches, Jana held match points against Sabatini, and should have won. Also, Jana beat Sabatini in 2 Slams(1990 French & 1993 Wimbledon). But putting aside their head to head record, Sabatini only has 3 more singles titles than Jana, but Jana has 62 more doubles titles than Sabatini. Furthermore, Jana reached 4 Slam Finals, Sabatini just 3. And if that isn't enough, Jana's career high #2 in singles rankings trumps Sabatini's #3 career best. For all those reasons, Jana has a small but definate edge over Sabatini as the better player.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

much informative post it is, nice work done by you Thanks for sharing. keep it up
Thanks for the kind words. Glad to hear you found the thread informative. By the way, you never mentioned who you thought was the better player between Sabatini and Jana Novotna?. Most seem to think Sabatini was better, but the numbers suggest Jana was the superior player.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i don't know the stats but i saw them both play. novotna was a superb all court player who actually attacked the net - how many women players do you see who do that today? Maybe it was the influence of her great compatriots Navratilova and Mandlikova who were both also serve and volleyers. But she was a terrible choker and had the misfortune to be playing at the same time as Steffi Graf - otherwise she had the potential to become one of the all time greats. Sabatini was a typical claycourt slugger - rooted to the back of the court and playing loopy topspin forehands - fairly predictable and pedestrian stuff - i think there were a couple of years when she and graf were considered the up and coming wave - graf made it but sabatini got lost somewhere in the celebrity photoshoots of glossy mags...................

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...