Chris Evert’s Party Spoiler Bows Down to Her Near-Impossible Feat on Its 45-Year Anniversary Tribute

Queen of the clay court, Chris Evert is back in the headlines. Known to be unbeatable by Nadal in clay surface record, Evert has been voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press four times. Despite an incredible tennis skill, Evert faced setbacks in front of a sixteen-year-old opponent. Now that it has been forty-five years since that day, Evert’s young opponent Tracy Austin is still yet to get over that historic moment in Rome as she remembers Evert’s achievement with great humbleness.

Tracy Austin took her official X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate veteran WTA legend Chris Evert on her record-winning streak’s 45th anniversary. “125 matches! Almost 6 years. What a record @ChrissieEvert Then 64 in a row after that. Lots of winning!” said Austin. This world’s former number-one American tennis player shared an interesting post from This Day In Tennis, where they mentioned Chris Evert’s defeat to Tracy Austin, which ended Evert’s total 125-match winning streak on the clay surface. “May 12, 1979: @thetracyaustin defeats Chris Evert Lloyd in the semifinals of the Italian Open ending Evert’s 125-match winning streak on clay dating back to Aug. 12, 1973″ was tweeted from the source’s X (formerly Twitter) platform. 

In a flashback, a young 16-year-old Tracy Austin defeated the legendary Chris Evert in the semi-finals of the Italian Open 1979. Austin performed well as she returned from 4-1 down in the match’s final set and scored well on the deciding set tie-break by 6-4, 2-6, and 7-6. Before Austin defeated Evert in Rome, this American WTA legend unleashed her dominance on the clay court without losing a single match for six years since 1973. Overwhelmed by winning against a clay court legend, Tracy Austin seemed delighted- “No, I wanted to win, too. She’s won four times, let me have a chance,” 

On the other hand, legendary Chris Evert revealed that she had doubts about Tracy Austin’s mental strength before they faced off against each other on the court. “I had her 30-love on a couple games and lost them. When I lost those, I saw she was mentally tough. I doubted that before the match. I thought maybe the title would intimidate her. But she was out there like it was just another tennis match,” said Chris Evert.

This 18-time Grand Slam champion also said- “I’ll never forget that 1979 Rome match. After winning 125 matches on clay, my best surface, it was only inevitable that I was going to lose at some point, It was a tough loss for me, but looking back, I’m glad it was against Tracy Austin, who was a great competitor. She was young, very talented, and she put pressure on me the whole match. She just played a better match than me. But I can’t believe I lost 7-6 in the third,” 

Tracy Austin has played against Chris Evert 17 times with Evert maintaining a lead by 9-8 in this tough competition between them. After meeting for the first time on the Wimbledon tour in 1977, Evert defeated Austin for the initial first five matches. It was the 1979 Italian Open that brought Austin her first victory against Evert. After this victory, Austin managed to bag five more wins against Evert at a stretch, where four of five matches were Grand Slam tours. In this rivalry, 18-time Grand Slam winner Chris Evert managed to top thrice.

Nevertheless, Tracy Austin’s message for Chris Evert showcases her admiration for the former world’s number-one WTA star. Despite defeating Evert at the clay court, Austin’s gesture offered fans a humble side of this former legendary American tennis player.

Tracy Austin bagged her debut Grand Slam after defeating Chris Evert in her native land

Tracy Austin and Chris Evert offered a nerve-wracking rivalry for their viewers on the court. While Evert’s brilliant tennis skills and her maturity brought her fans a sight to behold when she played, Austin surprised everyone with her talent against a veteran at the age of sixteen. In 1979, Austin won her debut Grand Slam title on the US Open tour after defeating Evert by 6-4 and 6-3. Austin also defeated Martina Navratilova in this tour’s semifinals. Nevertheless, this victory marked great progress for Austin’s next step towards her number one WTA ranking next year.

“One of my best assets, was my mental toughness and my ability to stay in the moment. I felt like the final was an opportunity. I felt like I was 16. I did not know how many titles Chrissie had won or that I would be the youngest champion ever, beating Maureen Connolly’s record.”

Tracy Austin’s heartwarming acknowledgment of Chris Evert’s amazing success feats on the clay court shows how tennis teaches its players empathy, love, and respect. It also showed the magnificent skills of Chris Evert as she dominated the clay surface like a queen.