Athletes - Chris Evert

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	Athletes - Chris Evert

Christine Marie Evert (b. December 21 1954 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a former World No. 1 woman tennis player from the United States. During her career, she won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including a record 7 at the French Open. She also won 3 Grand Slam doubles titles. Evert's career win-loss record in singles matches of 1,309-146 .900 is the best of any professional player in tennis history.

Tennis career

Evert began taking tennis lessons when she was five years old from her father, Jimmy Evert (a professional tennis coach who had won the men's singles title at the Canadian Championships in 1947). By 1969, she had become the No. 1 ranked 14-under girl in the USA. In 1970, at a small clay court tournament in North Carolina, the 15 year-old Evert served notice to the tennis world by defeating Margaret Court 7-6, 7-6. Court was the World No. 1 and had just won the Grand Slam in singles.

Evert made her Grand Slam debut at the 1971 US Open, aged 16. After an easy straight-sets win in the first round, she faced the US No. 4 Mary Ann Eisel in the second round. Evert saved six match points with Eisel serving at 6-4, 6-5 (40-0) in the second set before Evert went on to win 4-6, 7-6, 6-1. She made two further gripping comebacks against seasoned-pros Francoise Durr (2-6, 6-2, 6-3) and Lesley Hunt (4-6, 6-2, 6-3), and progressed all the way to the semi-finals before finally losing to Billie Jean King.

Evert's game, with precise groundstrokes delivered from the back of the court, was best suited to playing on a clay court. But she quickly proved that her game had enough fortitude to excel on all surfaces. When she first started playing as a youngster, she was too small and weak to hit backhand shots with one hand and so developed a two-fisted backhand. This became a trademark of her game and inspired generations of future players to copy her. Chris's return-of-service was the cornerstone of her game. Her tenaciousness at this and at tennis all-around endeared her to the crowds.

Chris had a sufficient serve herself, but never an overpowering one like her contemporaries Margaret Court, Virginia Wade, Steffi Graf, Billie Jean King, and Martina Navratilova. Her graceful appearance, good looks, quiet demeanor, and gracious sportsmanship made her an immediate favorite with the media and fans.

Evert was a finalist at the French Open and Wimbledon in 1973. A year later, in 1974, she won both those events to claim her first Grand Slam titles and won 55 consecutive matches. Her boyfriend at the time, Jimmy Connors, won the Wimbledon men's singles title that year and media attention surrounded the "golden couple" of tennis that summer (although the relationship proved to be short-lived).

Connors and Chris were also finalists in mixed doubles at the 1974 U.S. Open tournament, although Chris rarely played mixed doubles. As time went by, Chris played women's doubles less frequently, prefering to devote her energies to singles tournaments.

For most of the next five years, Evert was the World No. 1. In 1975, she won the French Open again and the first of four straight US Open titles by defeating Evonne Goolagong in a three-set final. She also won Wimbledon again in 1976, again beating Goolagong in a thrilling three-set final. The rivalry between Evert and Goolagong was compelling during the mid-1970s. In all, Evert won 21 of their 33 matches. Evert's domination of the women's game and her calm, steely demeanor on court earned her the nickname of the "Ice Maiden" of tennis.

A new rival to Evert's dominance emerged on the scene in the later part of the 1970s in the form of Martina Navratilova. Though good friends off the court, their fierce on-court rivalry is remembered as one of the greatest in tennis history. Evert had the best of their earlier encounters, with Navratilova eventually gaining the upper hand during the 1980s.

Though successful on all surfaces, it was on clay courts where Evert was most dominant. Beginning in August 1973, she won a record 125 consecutive matches on the surface. The streak was broken in the semifinals of the 1979 Italian Open, when Evert lost to Tracy Austin 6-4, 2-6, 7-6.

Evert won the French Open singles title a record seven times. Two of her best victories came in three-set finals against Navratilova in the mid-1980s. In 1985, Evert prevailed 6-3, 6-7, 7-5, a win which saw her capture the World No. 1 ranking for the fifth and final time. And, in 1986, the 31 year-old Evert won her last Grand Slam title by beating Navratilova 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

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Athletes - Chris Evert

Tennis career

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