The Best of U.S. Open Tennis: 1980-1990 [VHS]

This highlight reel of the top men's and women's matches comes complete with sizzling serves, piercing passing shots, great ground strokes, victorious volleys--all the shots the great champions make. It is a compilation of tournament thrills that will delight die-hard tennis aficionados.

The best aspect of this video is that it offers a glimpse of tennis greats from three decades. The beginning years rely on the stars who brought the sport critical recognition in the 1970s. Bad boys John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors show only their best sides and statesmanly Swede Bjorn Borg is tortured in the final match of the only Grand Slam tournament he failed to win. On the women's side, there is the ice maiden of the 1970s Chris Evert-Lloyd and the emergence of her biggest rival, Martina Navratilova. Navratilova and fellow Czech ex-patriot Ivan Lendl dominate the mid-1980s, while the final three years are an introduction to the stars who ruled the next decade. German powerhouse Steffi Graf wins her first two Opens, including the 1988 to complete the first Grand Slam in tennis in 19 years. And on the men's side, there is the arrival of Boris Becker and teen idol Andre Agassi. But the real thunder comes in 1990, when 19-year-old Pete Sampras displays the perfection that will dominate the sport for the next decade.

Not even the timid work of CBS commentators Tim Ryan, Pat Summerall, and Tony Trabert can spoil the great plays. Unfortunately great tennis usually coincides with great drama, and this can't be captured in snippets of action. Still, just to see most of these great Hall of Famers at their best is like serving an ace. --Gordie Sholtys

Price: $19.98

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