On This Day:  Evert Seals South Carolina Dominance, 1985

Due to the ongoing global health crisis surrounding COVID-19, professional tennis has announced a suspension of the 2020 competitive season until July. During this time, USTA.com is opening up our archives and taking a look back at memorable, monumental and notable moments in the history of American professional tennis that took place "on this day." 

On this day 35 years ago, Chris Evert not only extended her dominance at one of the most storied events in women's tennis, but the sport was also introduced to one of its next champions. 

The present-day Volvo Car Open—which was called the Family Circle Cup for over 40 years from 1973 to 2015—and was contested on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina before miving to Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C., in 2000, has been the gold standard for WTA events over the past five decades. The event began in 1973 and boasts a staggering 18 Grand Slam singles champions in its role of honor. 

However, no one in the history of the event was more dominant than Evert, who captured a record eight titles on the event's green clay in the tournament's first 12 editions.  

Her final title came in 1985, where, as the top seed, she rolled through five matches with the loss of just 15 games for victory at the event. That included a domimant 6-2, 6-1 showing against Steffi Graf in the semifinals and a 6-4, 6-0 win over wunderkind Gabriela Sabatini in the final.

Sabatini, just 14 years old, was the world's No. 1 junior in 1984, and she turned professional in January 1985. The teenaged Argentine beat four seeds en route to her first career final, including three in the Top 10: No. 5 Zina Garrison, No. 4 Pam Shriver and No. 2 Manuela Maleeva.

From 4-4 in the opening set, Evert won the last eight games of the match to collect her 135th career title. Nonetheless, after the match, the all-time great praised the young Sabatini, who was contesting just the 15th event of her professional career.

''For 14, she's very advanced for a tennis player. She hits hard with topspin, and she's got everything but a hard serve," Evert told The New York Times. "Baseliners mature faster, and me and Tracy Austin were tough at that age, but it is unusual for someone that young to have her court sense and variety of shots.''

In addition, the top seed also revealed that she was wary of the Argentinian teenager moreso than Graf, who was the No. 11 seed at age 15 but had yet to reach a quarterfinal at a Grand Slam and was two years away from her first major title. ''With Graf, I don't feel as threatened," Evert said. "Not many women hit with topspin.''

While the Family Circle Cup was Sabatini's coming-out party, she had her first at a Grand Slam just six weeks later. At 15 years, three weeks old, after celebrating her birthday in May, she became the then-youngest semifinalist at the French Open. In the final four, she'd again lose to Evert in straight sets, as the American went on to win her sixth title in Paris. 

Photo: Chris Evert in action in 1985. Credit: Getty Images.