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Rivalries are an integral part of any sport. They make the sport more enticing to watch for the fans. Further, tennis fans have been fortunate to witness some great rivalries over the years. The battles between Andre Agassi v/s Pete Sampras, Roger Federer v/s Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams v/s Venus Williams have enthralled tennis fans across the globe. Additionally, among them was the battle between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

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Martina and Chris Evert have faced each other an incredible 80 times on the tennis court. While Evert dominated the early part of their rivalry, Martina came back strongly to have a superior head-to-head record against Evert. Further, Martina has gone on to win 43 of the 80 matches played against Evert.

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Recently, Martina expressed her disappointment at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Martina Navratilova takes a sly dig at the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Earlier this month, the International Tennis Hall of Fame announced voting for the most epic rivalry. The poster had the likes of Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and others. However, Evert and Navratilova went missing from the poster. Lashing out at the body, Navratilova said, “Ok then. I guess Chris and I didn’t make the cut for the poster? Good to know… in the words of you know who.”

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The two had one of the most intriguing rivalries, and fans eagerly awaited to see them face off against each other. It is highly surprising to see them miss out on the poster of the most epic rivalry.

via Imago

Talking about Navratilova, Evert once said, “I think people thought of her as a villain because physically she was so strong. There’s Chrissie, Tracy Austin, Ivan Goolagong, and along comes Martina, who is, you know, working out and then veins popping out of her arms and is really strong. People were taken aback and people were intimidated by this. But, she is a kitten.”

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The voting for the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s ‘Most Epic Rivalry’ is currently underway. Apart from Navratilova and Evert, the nominees include Serena vs Venus, Rod Laver vs Ken Rosewall, Nadal vs Federer vs Djokovic, etc.