Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova had one of the fiercest rivalries in the history of tennis. They faced off each other an astonishing 80 times. While Evert dominated the early course of their rivalry, Navratilova came back strongly to have a superior head-to-head record against Evert. Navratilova went on to win 43 matches of the 80 she played against Evert.

Further, they also teamed up for the United States to win the 1986 Fed Cup. Both the players had retired as legends of the game. While Navratilova clinched 59 Grand Slam titles overall, Evert won 18 Grand Slam singles titles.

Recently, Chris Evert opened up about her close friend, Martina Navratilova.

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Chris Evert reveals astonishing facts about Martina Navratilova

The 18-time major winner revealed that Navratilova was physically very strong but soft from the inside. She said, “I think people thought of her as a villain because physically she was so strong. There’s Chrissie, Tracy Austin, Ivan Goolagong, and along comes Martina, who is, you know, working out and then veins popping out of her arms and is really strong. People were taken aback and people were intimidated by this. But, she is a kitten.”

Further, talking about her display of emotions, Martina said, “I displayed my emotions on a silver platter to everyone. Sometimes, I didn’t know what was going on the inside but the outside was very obvious.”

Navratilova had an incredible career in tennis. She went on to achieve a grand success on all three surfaces. However, she had to face hardships early on in her career. Born and brought up in Prague, she had to move to the United States in 1975 when she was just 18 due to political tensions in her native country.

Subsequently, she acquired United States citizenship and went on to represent the US for the rest of her career. Later on in her career, she had a bittersweet homecoming in 1986. That year, the Fed Cup was held at the Czech Lawn Tennis Club in Prague. In an emotional victory for Navratilova, the USA defeated Czechoslovakia in the finals to lift the 1986 Fed Cup.

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Navratilova had many ups and downs in her career but she rose whenever things were not going her way. Her success on the tennis court will hardly be matched by any!