Chris Evert is a bit at home at Roland Garros. The American holds the number of victories in the ladies (7). The one who revolutionized the sacrosanct serve-volley with her baseline game had 125 straight victories on clay between 1973 and 1979. The “lady with nerves of steel” – “A chic and polite assassin who cut you to pieces”, said John McEnroe – has a career winning percentage of 90%, again a record, men and women alike.
For years, the whole world was passionate about her rivalry with Martina Navratilova: between 1973 and 1988, they faced each other eighty times (43 wins for Navratilova), and each have eighteen Grand Slam victories. Retired since 1989, the tennis legend, 65, heads the academy that bears his name in Boca Raton, Florida. On the occasion of the Parisian Grand Slam, which she comments for Eurosport from the United States, pandemic obliges, The world spoke with her.
You have triumphed seven times at Roland Garros: why did your game adapt so well to clay?
I grew up on clay and when you do your scales on a certain type of surface very young, it becomes second nature. It shapes your playstyle and you end up being good at it. I was not a powerful player, I was neither tall nor very muscular, I measured 1.68 m for 54 kg …
I did not have the weapons to take my opponent off the court, I had to develop other strengths, such as patience, consistency and concentration. I was very patient, I waited for my opponent to make a mistake. Also my cushioning was effective, I varied a lot on gravel, I had good footwork and I could slide.
With hindsight, which of your victories remains the most significant?
The one in 1985 [6-3, 6-7, 7-5 face à Martina Navratilova]. Before facing Martina, I had lost thirteen games in a row against her, each time she had largely dominated me, I did not really believe in my chances of being able to beat her. But when I faced her in the final that year, on my favorite surface, I kept telling myself: “Above all, stay in touch with her, if the score is close, it might make her nervous because the pressure is on her shoulders, not on you. “ That’s what I did.
It was a very long match, in three sets, with incessant reversals of situations. No one was betting on me, so when I beat her it was exhilarating to put it mildly… Especially since I was at the end of my career, the joy was greater than for any of my Grand victories. Slam.
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