The world’s former number-one tennis player Chris Evert is celebrating a new milestone in her life. This legendary tennis player not only defeated her ovarian cancer but delighted her fans by being the coolest grandmommy in the town. While the fraternity is still in awe of the former WTA star’s indomitable spirit, Evert narrates a surprising moment from her debut visit to Paris fifty-one years later.

Chris Evert recalled her debut Roland Garros tour and her first visit to the City of Love in 1973. While she received a lot of applause entering the draw as a second seed, Evert narrated an interesting story involving her mother and the great Philippe Chatrier, former president of the International Tennis Federation. Evert narrated that Chatrier took her mother and her to a burlesque restaurant in Paris named the Lido on the Champs-Elysees, where the waitresses were serving orders topless.

Young Evert, who never encountered such an experience was really surprised as she never had such a sophisticated ambiance before. She exclaimed, “interesting choice,” expressing her astonishment at the restaurant. Fifty years to the day, Chris Evert’s story remains prevalent to her fans. “He took us to dinner, and it was a dance club with half-naked women. They had their breasts showing. My eyes were like saucers. I had never been exposed to anything so sophisticated like that,”- Evert recalled.

Talented Evert might not win her debut Roland Garros title but she pulled off an amazing performance to reach the finals of the tour. Despite her incredible performance, Evert was defeated by Margaret Court in the third set by 6-4 after tying the score in the first two sets. Court defeated Evert by 6-7(5), 7-6(6) and 6-4. While this American former tennis legend won the Roland Garros title the next year, the 18-year-old Evert’s 1973 performance left a mark on his fans’ hearts.

Now fifty-one years after Evert recalls the reason why she couldn’t make it to the title in 1973. While she proved her worth only a year later, her reason tells why she is one of the American tennis legends.

Chris Evert revealed that she missed out on the “killer instinct” to win her debut Roland Garros tournament

Despite her 50th anniversary celebration of winning her French Open title, Evert focuses on why she couldn’t make it the first time. While it was a commendable feat to reach the finals on her first attempt, Evert’s reason for her defeat shows her knowledge about her pace. “I just didn’t have that intense feeling. Everyone thinks I had that killer instinct like I did in the juniors with the girls my own age. But when I got to the women’s tournament, for some reason I was just more relaxed, and I felt like I had time on my side. I didn’t have the fervor to win that match,”- she said.

In 1974, when Evert defeated Olga Morozova by 6-1 and 6-2 to win the title, she felt like a different person. “I was a different person. I had the experience of the year before, of letting it slip away, of not closing it out like I should have, and I learned from that. I was mentally tougher, and I knew that if I had that opportunity again, to close out the match and win a Slam, I was going to do it,”- said Evert.

Nevertheless, this American former world’s number one tennis player’s interesting Paris experience in 1973 reveals how tournaments expose athletes to different cultures. More than wins or losses, it is those memories that help players to enlighten their lives with maturity.