Despite Lacking Martina Navratilova’s ‘Physical Gifts’, Chris Evert Once Revealed How She Got the Edge Over Opponents -’Born With the Ability To..’

Chris Evert had the love and passion for the sport to win 18 Grand Slam titles on the court. However, it needed more than just talent and physical fitness to become the top player in the world. And Evert boasted about the mental strength that she carried with her to stay patient and resilient on the court.

She once talked about how some players did not have it and that is where she excelled and clinched the victory.

Chris Evert on her mental strength 

The American tennis legend reached world no. 1 not only because of her talent. Her calm demeanor and her concentration on the court made her a tough opponent game. Tennis is as much a game of wits as it is of physical strength and Evert used her mental strength to bring her opponent down.

In an old interview, she said, “You know it if you have it. It was like Martina’s physical gifts.” She boasted about her capabilities and said, “There were players I could say, ‘You know what? You have more talent, but you can’t stay in every point the way I can'”

She knew what she wanted on the court and she got it while keeping an eye for it. Evert concluded by saying, “I was born with the ability to concentrate. Some top players like to win. Some need to win.” 

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Evert was known as the ‘Ice Maiden’ because she did not show any emotions on the court. She stayed calm in every situation. And she used this calmness to get her game together and set the motion of the game in her favor.

Evert and Martina Navratilova on court

Her biggest rival on-court was Martina Navratilova. The two had a very different game. Evert used her strong baseline game and Navratilova did not mind coming up to the net. They both used their strengths to bring each other down and after one point their face-offs became so famous that people crowded the stadiums to see their matches. Both these tennis legends brought sponsorships from the corporate world to women’s tennis as the popularity of the sport grew.

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Incidentally, both Evert and Navratilova have 18 Grand Slam titles each, despite having a face-off with each other a whopping 80 times.