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© Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum |
Chris Evert made her debut at The Championships in 1972,
as the No. 4 seed. In a celebrated clash of youth the 17-year-old lost in the semi-finals to Australia’s Evonne
Goolagong, the defending champion, in three tight sets.
Although victory was on that occasion denied, the Wimbledon
stage had welcomed one of its most enduring players. Armed
with a trend-setting two-fisted backhand and nerves seemingly
made of steel, Evert would compete at The Championships
each year until 1989. During that time she contested no
less than 10 Wimbledon finals, and won three of them. Aside
from a shock third round loss to fellow American Kathy Jordan
in 1983, she never failed to reach the semi-finals. It is
a stirling record for a slightly-built baseliner raised
on the clay courts of Florida.
Making her second visit to SW19, in 1973, Evert, again
seeded fourth, beat another Australian, Margaret Court,
in three topsy-turvy sets to make the first of her 10 finals
appearances at the All England Club. Billie Jean King, the
No. 2 seed, proved too strong on that occasion, securing
victory in straight sets. But 1974 proved third time lucky,
when victory over the Russian Olga Morozova, 6-0, 6-4, saw
the No. 2 seed’s name added to the Venus Rosewater
trophy. The following night Evert danced with her fiancee
at the Champions’ Dinner, after Jimmy Connors beat
Ken Rosewall to take the Gentlemen’s Singles title.
The media dubbed it the Love Match, and the public lapped
it up.
In 1975, Evert enjoyed the Wimbledon top seeding for the
first time, but King ended her run in the semi-finals. In
1976, Evert was again the No. 1 seed, and executed arguably
the finest of her three title runs. She beat the up-and-coming
Czech, Martina Navratilova, in the semis, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
and Evonne Cawley (nee Goolagong) in a classic final, 6-3,
4-6, 8-6. Running to 120 minutes, the match ranked as the
second-longest Ladies’ final in the tournament’s
history.
The Queen’s Jubilee Year, 1977, brought joy for Britain
in the form of a home-grown champion, but disappointment
for Evert. In a year when neither Cawley, King nor Navratilova
reached the final four, Virginia Wade, the No.3 seed, denied
the tournament favourite a place in the final, 6-2, 4-6,
6-1.
In the final the following year, the first of five played
– and lost – against Navratilova, Evert led
4-2 in the third set. But errors crept into her game and
Martina, gunning for her first title, perhaps wanted it
more. When the players embraced at the net it was hard to
tell which had triumphed, so broad were the smiles on both
faces. Evert was pleased for her friend, but fans could
not know that compensation lay in dinner plans with a local
golden-haired boy: John Lloyd. The next year, playing as
Mrs J.M. Lloyd, Evert was again defeated by Navratilova but
in half the time, 6-4, 6-4.
Fans were thrilled by an unexpected finals line-up in 1980.
Talented teen Tracy Austin had relegated Evert to the No. 3
seeding, which meant a semi-final showdown with top seed
Navratilova. Not for the first time, Evert scored a three
set win against Navratilova in the semi-finals, a feat she
would never achieve over her great rival in a Wimbledon
final. Her opponent in the decider was Evonne Cawley, who
had displayed too much grass court guile for Austin in the
semis. The Australian became the first mother to claim the
title by beating Evert in the final.
Evert’s third and final Ladies’ Singles title
was secured in straightforward style in 1981, without the
loss of a set. No. 2 seed Hana Mandlikova had despatched
Navratilova in the semis, but the more experienced top seed
made short work of the talented Czech in the final, winning
6-2, 6-2 in an hour.
Three finals losses to Martina followed, in 1982, 1984
and 1985, when the players shared the top seeding a few
weeks after a resurgent Evert scored a dazzling win at Roland
Garros. Given the advantage that Martina’s serve-volley
game gave her on grass courts, it says much for Evert’s
trademark tenacity and powers of concentration that she
was never embarrassed by her great rival at Wimbledon. Three
of their five finals’ encounters went to three sets,
another involved a tie-break, and the scoreline of the other
was 6-4, 6-4. (On the flipside, Martina beat Chris on clay
just three times in 20 years.)
If Martina’s desire to usurp Chris spurred her to
a level of fitness unprecedented in the women’s game
– which resulted in a 13 match winning streak during
1983-84 – then Evert responded in kind. She began
to lift weights, and fortified her serve. Always a dab-hand
at the drop shot, she added verve to her volleying game.
Although she was never truly at home at the net, Evert developed
the nerve to snatch it from Martina on critical points.
The blistering pace of today’s game is undoubtedly
exciting, but some say this has come at the sacrifice of
suspense. For many aficionados the contrasting, cat-and-mouse
play of Evert and Navratilova, studded with acute volleys,
dazzling passing shots and breathtaking lobs, embodied the
tennis ideal. They raised the profile of women’s tennis,
and became known around the world simply as ‘Chrissie’
and ‘Martina’. The rivalry had its bumpy patches,
of course, but the two never lost sight of their place in
the sport. Evert observed: “Her fans appreciated what
she stood for, and my fans appreciated what I stood for.
It was about how we looked, how we acted, our style, where
we came from.” A fun fact, often overlooked, is that
the pair won the Wimbledon Ladies’ Doubles in 1976.
Evert made the semi-finals in each of her last four campaigns
at Wimbledon, losing to Mandlikova in 1986, Navratilova
in 1987 and 1988, and Steffi Graf, by then the world No. 1,
in 1989. On that occasion, Evert called upon a series of
vintage passing shots to escape the Italian Laura Golarsa
in the quarters. It wasn’t for nothing that she was
known as the Comeback Queen.
When she retired from the Tour at the end of 1989, Evert
was a crowd favourite – but it wasn’t always
that way. In the 1970s, during her first stint at the very
top of the sport, she was known as the ‘Ice Maiden’.
She has admitted to being reduced to tears by hostile spectators
– though never in public view, of course. John McEnroe
remarked: “She was an assassin that dressed just nice
and said the right things and meanwhile just cut you to
shreds.”
Evert handled the tricky transition to retirement with
the sort of composure her fans had come to expect. She married
Olympic skier Andy Mill, and gave birth to three sons. She
was quickly signed up as a commentator for the American
television network NBC, which recognised her wit and insight.
She established Chris Evert Charities, which has since raised
more than $14 million for causes in South Florida, such
as assisting neglected, drug-exposed and abused children.
Later, she set up the Evert Tennis Academy, where she routinely
hits with students before heading to her office. None of
this came as a surprise – during her time in the game
Evert led her peers as president of the WTA.
Seventeen years after she last graced the turf on Centre Court,
several records set by Evert during her career remain intact.
She boasts a 90 per cent match winning percentage; the most
French Open crowns (seven), and longest winning streak on
a single surface (125 matches won on clay, between 1973
and 1979). She took home at least one Grand Slam singles
title a year for 13 years on the trot – a record that
looks increasingly secure while today’s stars struggle
with injury. Fittingly, she is tied in fourth place with
Navratilova on the Grand Slam Singles register, with 18
titles.
Evert’s grass-court record does not match that of
Navratilova, Graf, Court or King, but ‘champion’
is a subjective term. Being one half of the celebrated ‘Love
Match’ with Jimmy Connors, or the erstwhile Mrs J.M.
Lloyd, or just plain ‘Chrissie’ also counts
for a lot. Upon Evert’s retirement, Wade observed,
“I think she’ll be remembered probably with
more fondness than anyone.” She may lay claim to being
Wimbledon’s best-loved bridesmaid, but it would be
churlish to judge three Ladies’ Singles titles to
be a disappointment.
Written by Adam Lincoln
CHRIS EVERT
Singles Champion: 1974, 1976, 1981
Singles Runner-up: 1973, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985,
Doubles Champion: 1976
