This is how it should happen: I lost to a better player on the final day,” said Martina Navratilova, adjusting to life with a finalist’s plate at The Championships for the first time in nine Ladies’ Singles final appearances, as Steffi Graf held the Venus Rosewater Dish aloft for the first time.

"This is the end of a chapter," she added. "Passing the torch, if you want to call it that."

Many did, and continue to do so. The 1988 Ladies’ Singles final is one of those rare moments in sport: a sea change that happened before our very eyes. Navratilova, with her deft leftie serve-volley game and 17 Grand Slams to her name on 2 July, 1988, had been the sport’s leading lady for over half a decade; Graf, claiming her fourth major that day, was its future.

"Winning is such a special feeling," Graf said after the first of her seven Wimbledon triumphs. "I was confident before the match, but the first set made me very angry. I just wanted to hang in there, to show I could play much better than I was."

Heading into her second Wimbledon final, Graf had dropped just 17 games through six matches. The reigning Australian and French Open champion had not lost a set at a Grand Slam in 20 matches, and had raced past Pam Shriver 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes in the semis. Having just turned 19, the German was reshaping women’s tennis - her footwork, pace and devastating forehand stole the headlines and ushered in the topspin generation, but it was Graf’s tennis acumen, feather touch and will to win that truly set the 22-times major winner apart.

By contrast, 31-year-old Navratilova reached the final having claimed a three-set victory over Chris Evert that ended in curious circumstances. Evert had saved three match points already before catching the net cord with a drive that ended up in the tramlines. The line judge called out, the umpire forgot to call the match, Navratilova celebrated as Evert returned to the baseline, then protested, then relented. It was their last Grand Slam meeting, the 78th of a 15-year, 80-match rivalry that Navratilova edged 43-37.

The Navratilova-Graf rivalry was paltry by comparison - an 18-match series, split right down the middle, 9-9. But this, their 11th showdown and second of three Wimbledon final meetings, was different. A year earlier, Graf had been the young pretender, fresh from beating Navratilova for her maiden major win at the 1987 French Open. The American had a point to prove those four weeks later. By The 1988 Championships, Graf had been world No.1 for nine months. This was her seventh of 13 consecutive Grand Slam finals. She was now the woman to beat.

Navratilova had every intention of doing so, and for a set it seemed that thoughts of Graf’s Centre Court coronation had been premature. Having led 4-2, the young German began falling prey to the same slices into her backhand that had beaten her in ’87.

"My backhand was terrible," Graf conceded. "I just didn't feel comfortable out there. I had been trying to get good angles on my returns, but in the second set I played more to her volley, letting her hit it, then getting another chance."

By then Navratilova led by a set and a break, but two service return winners gave Graf a foothold and restored her confidence. She went on to win nine games in a row, turning the final on its head. Navratilova stopped the rot with a break back to trail 3-1 in the final set, but a rain delay robbed her of any sense of momentum.

"I saw her in the locker room and she was so down," Graf said. "I thought, If she’s going to play like she looks, she can’t win."

So it proved. Less than an hour later the duo returned, Graf broke twice more to secure a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 victory, whipping a backhand on match point that clipped that same net that had helped Navratilova reach the final. Victory at The Championships that year helped Graf complete the 'Golden Slam' – an unmatched feat in the sport, winning all four majors and Olympic gold in the same season.

"Steffi was hitting winners all over the place," Navratilova said. "She gets to balls no one else can. I got blown out the last two sets, so it wasn’t that tough to accept losing. I could feel what she was feeling, have that same joy because I know what the feeling is. Steffi is a super player and a nice human being. If she can keep winning, great.

"It’s possible I can win Wimbledon again – I would love to win it one more time,” added Navratilova, who went on to claim a ninth title in 1990. "But you can’t be greedy. Eight ain’t so bad, you know."

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