‘She Had To Play That Way’ – Renowned Sports Journalist Reveals How Chris Evert Was Compelled To Use Her Powers of Concentration To Match Up To Rival Martina Navratilova

If there is anything that makes fans bite their nails in anticipation, it is the prospect of watching two players or teams with polar opposite styles fighting it off in the grandest of stages. Tennis, being an individual sport, has seen its fair share of such iconic battles on the court. From McEnroe vs. Borg to Federer vs. Nadal, there have been numerous examples on the men’s circuit. But, when it comes to the WTA Tour, no rivalry comes close to the one between the legends Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Apart from enhancing the popularity of women’s tennis, they were also able to dominate the circuit throughout their careers with widely contrasting styles of play on the tennis court.

Even though Evert offered the Czech-American star fierce competition, she still had to work far harder than her. A renowned sports journalist named Sally Jenkins recently exposed how the Ice Maiden was compelled to take on the difficult path to match up her arch-rival’s tenacious style of play.

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert shared contrasting game styles 

As everyone is aware, Navratilova and Evert have one of the fiercest rivalries on the tennis court and are polar opposites. But over time, they have battled each other in some of the most incredible tennis tournaments. In a recent podcast interview with John R. Miles, a sports journalist noted how the 66-year-old tennis player had a different playing style from Evert.

She explained how the 18-time Grand Slam champion had to use her attention skills to counteract her physical strengths. Jenkins said, “But the other thing she did have—we were talking about this not long ago, actually. She said I knew I was going to be there on every single point and every single ball. Whereas other people would drift in and out with their concentration, she had to play that way. She had to be there for every single ball because she didn’t have the physical gifts of Navratilova.” 

Further, she also talked about how the Czech-American tennis legend was a great technical striker, and shed sweat behind her game. But on the other hand, Ice Maiden was very deceptive and sad a good athleticism there. She focused on how the 68-year-old was a kind of an economical athlete who had athletic qualities to the fullest.

Well, back in 2013, the rivals turned good friends themselves and talked about their contrasting personalities on the tennis circuit.

When Evert pointed out their contrasting personalities 

Both opponents sat down for a previous interview with The Guardian and discussed how their tennis games were completely different from one another. While discussing the same subject, Evert stressed that they are like night and day. Along with that, highlighted that she preferred to play more at the baseline and had powerful shots.

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The 66-year-old tennis veteran, though, played more with serves and volleys. But leaving their sporting styles aside, the 18-time Grand Slam champion admired her archrival and her never-say-die attitude on the circuit.

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