"Everybody will be about to get her... she'll be thrown to the wolves": When 17-year-old Chris Evert's father spoke on her win vs Billie Jean King
Chris Evert's father had an interesting response to her daughter thrashing Billie Jean King as a 17-year-old.
The year was 1972 and the tournament was the Virginia Slims of Fort Lauderdale on clay. Evert and King competed in the final, with the then 17-year-old thrashing her compatriot, who was already a six-time Grand Slam champion at the time.
Chris Evert's father Jim reacted to her daughter's win by expressing his doubts whether a win of that kind was a good thing. He also said that the then-teenager would be "thrown to the wolves".
“I'm not so sure such lopsided win was such a good thing. Everybody will be out to get her, and don't worry, she'll be thrown to the wolves," Jim Evert said as quoted by NY Times.
Billie Jean King went on to enjoy the best Grand Slam year of her career in 1972, as she won three out of four Majors. These included her only triumph at the French Open despite her drubbing to Evert on clay. King ended 1972 with 11 titles to her name.
Chris Evert won four titles in 1972 and reached the semifinals of two Grand Slams- the Wimbledon and the US Open. She went on to have one of the most illustrious tennis careers of all time, with 18 Grand Slam singles titles to her name. To this day, Evert holds the record for the most number of titles won by a woman at the French Open.
Chris Evert and Billie Jean King locked horns on 26 occasions
Chris Evert and Billie Jean King have faced one another on 26 occasions, with the former leading their head-to-head 19-7.
The first meeting between the two came in St. Petersburg in 1971, with Evert winning the match after King retired following the end of the second set. That year, they also met at a Grand Slam for the first time at the US Open semifinals, and King triumphed 6-3, 6-2.
The two faced one another in eight Major encounters, with Evert winning seven of them. Billie Jean King won the first two Grand Slam matches between the two, including their only final at Wimbledon in 1973, triumphing 6-0, 7-5.
The last match between the two came in the semifinals of the 1983 Virginia Slims Championships in New York City, with Evert winning 6-1, 6-1 to reach the final, where she was trounced 6-2, 6-0 by her rival Martina Navratilova.