‘He Literally Said Tennis’ – Martina Navratilova Defends Chris Evert’s Shocked Reaction to Novak Djokovic’s ‘Greatest Rivalry’ Boast

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert wrote some of the most important pages of tennis. Their records still stand tall and act as a standard. However, sometimes their greatness gets overshadowed by the achievements of the active players of this generation. People get so lost in the present’s glory that they undermine the beauty of their history.

Something of the same sort happened recently. Though the veterans pay no heed to such things, they had to jump into the conversation. As the claims arrived from a professional who has spent decades in the game.

Martina Navratilova responds to Novak Djokovic’s mistake

The 21 times Grand Slam champion while detailing how beautiful and majestic his and Rafael Nadal’s rivalry is accidentally denoted it as the biggest of all time. “We played the most matches against of each other of any other rivalry in the history of tennis.” He claimed. This caught one of the fan’s eyes and he brought it to Navratilova and Evert’s attention.

Though Evert lightheartedly responded to the same. She wrote, “Oops…” But a fan came to Djokovic’s rescue and commented. “He’s talking about men’s tennis.” As a result of which Navratilova came stepped into the debate. “He literally said tennis.” The nine times Wimbledon champion pointed out.

Read more: ‘A Near-Death Experience’ – Martina Navratilova Once Perfectly Described How Her Bold Off-Court Activism Benefitted Her Tennis Big Time

The Serb without any doubt has a great rivalry with the 22 times Grand Slam champion. They have locked horns for a total of 59  times and the head to head is at 30-29 favouring Djokovic. Thus, it won’t be wrong to say that their clashes are one of the most anticipated and entertaining ones. However, it isn’t the biggest, as Navratilova and Evert tussled 80 times during their playing days.

Navratilova and Evert’s rivalry

The seven times French Open champion debuted a bit early that Navratilova. In fact, when the latter joined the tours, Evert already had the entire game in her palm. Though the Czech-American slowly built herself.

From incurring 16 defeats in first 20 matches to gaining a six win lead by the end of their careers. Navratilova proved her prowess and showcased her determination. She dragged the score to a 43-37 lead and snatched dominance on grass and hard courts out of Evert’s hand.

Watch this story: Rise of a superstar – Iga Swiatek’s victorious moments on the WTA tour

However, she could never reach the American’s level of control on clay. Till the end she struggled on clay against her and secured just three out of their 14 clay-based clashes.