Tennis fans know that Chris Evert holds the greatest clay court record of all time--among women and men. Evert won 125 consecutive matches on clay, and she did it using a wooden racquet. Not everyone knows who broke her incredible streak, though. It was Tracy Austin, who defeated her 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 in the semifinals of the Italian Open in 1979. Evert did not lose another match on clay until the 1981 French Open, which means that during a 7-year period, she was 197-1 on clay courts.Evert--who did not even play at Roland Garros in 1976, 1977 and 1978--won seven French Open titles, and there is no doubt she would have won at least one more had she played every year. I think three more is a more accurate guess, since she remained undefeated on clay and was number one in the world during that period.
All hail the Queen!
2 comments:
I'm sure you've probably already read it, but the "The Rivals" bio about Evert and Navratilova's lives, and their friendship and rivalry, was a great read. :)
It's difficult to see too many of today's top-ranked players, Williams sisters aside, ever maintaining such a close relationship while competing against each other at the very top of the sport for so long.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Rivals and recommend it to anyone who likes tennis. There will never be such a rivalry again.
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