Steffi Graf has a point to prove. For Martina Navratilova, it's a source of pride - and a little fun.
The two - the current queen of women's tennis and the former champion - collide in the unique best-of-5 format Sunday for the title of the Virginia Slims Championships."I'm happy and I think Martina's quite happy," Graf said. "It's not often that they get No. 1 and No. 2 to go through."
"I am as ready as I have ever been," Navratilova said.
Graf needed all of her power and shotmaking skills to beat back a determined upset bid by defending champion Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 Saturday after Navratilova had romped past French Open champion Arantxa Sanchez 6-2, 6-2.
Graf hasn't won the 16-player finale at Madison Square Garden since 1987; Navratilova since 1986. In fact, both are making their first trip to final since their last titles.
And both came into the tournament with injuries. Graf sprained her left ankle in practice a few days before the tournament began. Navratilova suffered a groin pull and was forced to default from a tournament in Chicago a week ago.
"Everybody has been having some problems lately and some injuries," Navratilova said. "Now it is just a matter of going out there and playing.
"I am excited to be in the finals. I am here and that was my goal."
Navratilova teamed with Pam Shriver Saturday to capture the doubles crown, defeating Larisa Savchenko and Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union 6-3, 6-2. It was the sixth Virginia Slims Championships title for the pair, who are reportedly playing their last match together, and the fourth consecutive year they have won.
"Pam and I are not playing together next year, but maybe the year after that," Navratilova said. "I plan on playing four or five years more and so does Pam."
The 21st career meeting between Graf and Sabatini was contested in a bullfight atmosphere as the record-setting Madison Square Garden crowd of 17,793 cheered on both players, even stomping their approval after several exciting points.
At first it appeared as it would be a typical Graf runaway as she streaked through the first set, dropping only four points on her serve and breaking Sabatini in the sixth game.
She also broke Sabatini's service at love to begin the second set. But Sabatini, who has beaten Graf three times in the last two years - the West Germany has lost just five matches in that span - broke right back in the next game as the largest crowd to watch women's tennis at the Garden roared its approval.
Graf, however, was far from finished. She took the next game at 15, breaking Sabatini, and increased her lead to 3-1 when she held at 30.
Sabatini leveled the match in the sixth game when Graf, helped by the Argentine's deep groundstrokes, made several uncharacteristic unforced errors. Then, in the 12th game, Sabatini broke Graf at love, jumped on a second serve at set point and crushed a forehand down the line.