Maria Sharapova narrowly avoided being the first No. 1 seeded woman to ever lose in the first round of the French Championships, defeating fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina 6-1, 3-6, 8-6 on Wednesday. Had Sharapova been defeated, it would have arguably been the biggest women’s upset at Roland Garros since world No. 1 Martina Navratilova lost to 17-year-old Kathy Horvath in the fourth round in 1983 – which, ironically, happened 25 years ago today. Here’s a look back at that match, as documented in the soon-to-be-released book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY (click here to pre-order for a 39 percent discount)
May 28, 1983 – World No. 1 and defending champion Martina Navratilova is stunned in the fourth round of the French Open, falling to 17-year-old Kathy Horvath of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., 6-4, 0-6, 6-3. Navratilova entered the match having won her first 36 matches for the year and 126 of 129 since the beginning of 1982. ”Obviously I’m not happy about it,” said Navratilova, ”but I knew I had to lose sooner or later. It’s not a disaster.” The loss would be the only one of the year for Navratilova, who finished the year with an 86-1 record. Wrote Bud Collins in The Bud Collins History of Tennis, “The ramifications of that upset wouldn’t be felt for months. Following the defeat, Navratilova won her next 50 matches and swept the field of Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open championships. Not only had Horvath denied her the opportunity of achieving a Grand Slam but spoiled what might have been the first perfect campaign in the Open era.”
