Martina Navratilova used a booming serve backed by aggressive net play to reach the final of the U.S. Open for the eighth time in 11 years today, eliminating top-seeded Steffi Graf 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-4.
Navratilova has won the title four times, the last one in 1987, when she defeated Graf. That was also the last time before today that she had beaten Graf, losing four straight meetings since then.Graf, bidding for a fifth consecutive trip to the Open finals, had not lost a set in her first five matches. But Navratilova, the sixth seed, ended that string by winning the first set tiebreaker 7-2.
In the second, Navratilova broke Graf in the eighth game and was serving for the match. But Graf broke back to get the set back on serve and force another tiebreaker.
After Graf rushed to a 6-2 lead, Navratilova avoided four set points to tie. But Graf won the next two points to force the third set.
Navratilova broke Graf three times in the final set to nail down the 1,307th singles victory of her career, two shy of Chris Evert's record.
She now plays for the Open championship against the winner of today's other semifinal between No. 2 Monica Seles and No. 7 Jennifer Capriati. The women's final is sandwiched between the two men's semifinals on the tournament's Super Saturday program.
This is the first U.S. Open semifinal for Seles, but her ninth Grand Slam singles semifinal. Since turning pro in February 1989, the Yugoslav has won three Grand Slam titles - the 1990 French Open and the two this year.
At 15 years, 5 months, Capriati is the youngest U.S. Open semifinalist since Andrea Jaeger (15 years, 2 months) in 1980. It is her second trip to a Grand Slam semifinal, reaching that round at Wimbledon in July when she defeated Navratilova.
"Every match gets tougher," Capriati said.
The two youngsters have played on three times, with Seles hold a 2-1 lead. But Capriati won their last meeting, in the final of the Mazda Classic last month.
"I am going to try to play like I did against her in San Diego," Capriati said. "I am going to try to be aggressive and really go for it, and do the same on her serve."
Graf, 22, a two-time U.S. Open winner, has been beset the last two years by injuries, a series of losses and a lack of concentration.
Following her third Wimbledon championship in July, Graf suffered a torn shoulder muscle that sidelined her until the U.S. Open began nearly two weeks ago. And the matches now are tougher than when she was winning everything in sight.