‘I Suppressed Things’ – Chris Evert Once Felt the Need to Have John McEnroe’s Attitude to Make Her a Perfect Tennis Player

Over the years, we have seen many different personalities on the tennis court. From the likes of Chris Evert and John McEnroe to the likes of Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios, they have enthralled fans on the tennis court. While McEnroe was an aggressive player on the tennis court, Evert rarely vented out her emotions on the court. However, she once talked about wanting to have a John McEnroe-like personality.

Why did Chris Evert want to be like John McEnroe?

During an interview, the American tennis legend once opened up about showing her emotions on the tennis court. She said, “I didn’t speak what I felt, I didn’t want to be controversial. I was the opposite of John McEnroe. John said, `If I had been a little bit more like you and you had been a little more like me, it would have been perfect.'”

Further, she went on to add, “Being famous before you’ve formed your personality, before you have that self-esteem, is dangerous. Things obviously built up inside me. I competed and handled pressure well—that was my strength. But I suppressed things off the court.”

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Evert and McEnroe dominated the tennis circuit during the 80s and the 90s. While the former went on to clinch 18 Grand Slam singles titles, McEnroe won seven major singles titles. Additionally, they were successful on the doubles circuit too, winning multiple Grand Slam doubles titles.

McEnroe is all praise for Roger Federer

Recently, the American tennis legend hailed the Swiss maestro, Roger Federer, describing him as, “the most beautiful player” he has ever seen. Indeed, many will agree with McEnroe. The Swiss legend has been one of the greatest of all time, winning an incredible 20 Grand Slam titles.

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Over the past year, Roger Federer has been sidelined due to a knee injury. However, he had admitted that he’ll return to tennis at the Laver Cup next month.