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‘Comes Out Like the Champion in Her’ – Ajla Tomljanovic Reveals Chris Evert’s Advice Led to Her Wimbledon Success

Published 07/26/2022, 3:05 PM EDT

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via Reuters

American tennis legend Chris Evert is undoubtedly one of the greatest female tennis players in history. Currently, she is working as a commentator and pundit during various Grand Slam tournaments. Recently, she was at Wimbledon, covering the Grand Slam event.

Meanwhile, Croatian-Australian tennis player Ajla Tomljanovic reached the Wimbledon quarter-final for the second year in a row. Notably, Evert has always been a mentor for Tomljanovic, as she talked about it in the past. Recently in an interview, the 29-year-old tennis player talked about receiving guidance from Evert, which helped her greatly during the Wimbledon Championships.

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Ajla Tomljanovic talked about receiving invaluable advice from Chris Evert

In a recent podcast interview with Tennis Channel, Ajla Tomljanovic revealed she received text messages from the 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert. You know she is funny because she will always text me before my first round, like ‘good luck, you got this’.

Tomljanovic further narrated about the legendary American’s constant motivation to be focused on her game. She said, “And then more I start winning, she will always text me on my day off and be like, ‘hey, get your head in the game. You are not finished here’. So, she would always be the one that will give me like all the encouragement and always keep me hungry for more, and reminds me ‘you are not done here’.”

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Later, Tomljanovic talked about Evert’s personality both on and off the court as well.She was just like a princess on court, but inside, she would do anything to win the match. You know, when she talks to me about my tennis, it still comes out like the champion in her and how she approached the game. To me, sometimes it’s just funny the way she talks about it,” the Aussie star said. 

Evert’s incredible tennis career

Evert rose to the limelight after beating Margaret Court in the 1971 US Open, just at the age of 15. Since then, she showed her dominance on the court for nearly 15 years. Her favorite surface was clay, as she won seven French Open titles in her career. Additionally, clay also suited her game, as she was more of a baseline player with powerful groundstrokes.

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Before her retirement from professional tennis in 1989, she won 18 Grand Slam singles titles. Interestingly, she became the first player to win 150 singles titles; overall, 157. Moreover, she won 1309 singles matches throughout her career, second behind Martina Navratilova. Since retiring, she has been working as a commentator, as many people love her expert analysis during a tennis match.

Watch This Story: Chris Evert once had a hilarious banter with Martina Navratilova after her coaching stint with Polish tennis star

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Among tennis greats, where would Evert rank?

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Written by:

Debkinkar Maity

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Debkinkar Maity is a Tennis Author at EssentiallySports. His desire to become a sports journalist inspired him to take up a degree in journalism and mass communication, and he hasn't looked back ever since. Following the sport for over a decade now, Debkinkar has an ardent love for Roger Federer.
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Edited by:

Tony Thomas