‘Rubbed Each Other the Wrong Way’ – Chris Evert Once Revealed How John McEnroe’s Bratty Side Affected Their Friendship Over the Years

WTA legend Chris Evert has always been an icon to young tennis players. Her acceptance is largely possible owing to her honest yet compassionate stance in even the most twisted of controversies. In 1994, Chris Evert openly spoke about her relationship with “Superbrat” John McEnroe.

McEnroe is always the go-to person for the most brutal opinions on tennis. While Evert has always maintained diplomacy, McEnroe has not cared to be compassionate and covered up harsh truths he thought people needed to hear. In the interview with Charlie Rose, Evert speaks about her unusual friendship with McEnroe and how it has developed over the years.

John McEnroe has “mellowed” towards Chris Evert

Close to the 23rd minute of the interview, Rose asks Evert about McEnroe. Not directly, but he poses the question in a roundabout manner- talking about newer tennis players. Evert responds by agreeing that the then-young tennis icons were taking a different approach than she had.

They wanted tennis to be a world of fame and wealth. They wanted to know what tennis could do for them, instead of what they could do for tennis.

In the due course of the conversation, Rose says, “That was always the thing about, that I admired about McEnroe, is his sense of the Davis Cup…And his sense of contribution.”

Evert replies to this with a smile. She says, “He was always involved in the politics of tennis, always, even though his opinion turned people off at times, he always cared about the game that he had an opinion, you know.”

The ‘Ice Maiden’ elaborates on their differences, “It’s funny, because John and I never, in the past, I mean, we’ve rubbed each other the wrong way at times because we were a little bit different in our approaches, you know.”

Rose picks up on the trail and says, “And you thought he was aggressive.”

Read more: ‘Didn’t Really Get Along’- Chris Evert’s Genuine Revelation About Her Friendship With a ‘Bad Tempered’ John McEnroe

Evert neither agrees nor disagrees. She talks about how their relationship has evolved over the years as the two got older, “You know, he was hurting people. But it’s been nice working with him, you know, together on NBC and doing the tournaments.”

She does not leave out how his attitude has changed towards her, “We’ve had some talks, and he’s mellowed. He’s really mellowed. It’s amazing.”

Despite their differences, Chris has, on several occasions, praised John’s brutal honesty. She even wants to be a little bit like him, she says.

Evert believes that McEnroe has a side that fans don’t see often

Evert also touches on the other side of McEnroe that many fans aren’t aware of – his personal life. She says, “It’s such a sense of he’s a great father, he has three kids, and they’re the world to him, and there’s another side, there’s a charitable side, and the father, that people don’t see.”

McEnroe currently has five children and is very affectionate towards them. Sometime after his divorce with Tatum O’Neal, he was awarded sole custody of his three children from the marriage.

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