"There was anger towards him in some ways, she wanted to please him" - When John Lloyd spoke about Chris Evert's relationship with her father
Chris Evert is among the greatest tennis players of all time and has enjoyed a glittering career that saw her win a total of 157 singles titles and 32 doubles titles. These included 18 Grand Slam singles titles.
The American was introduced to tennis by her father Jimmy Evert, a former player himself. He was a US age-group champion and won the Canadian Championships (now known as the Canadian Open) in 1947.
Chris Evert was featured on the 1999 ESPN biography program called 'SportsCentury', where several people spoke about her and her career, including her first husband John Lloyd, who said that she had a love-hate relationship with her father and wanted to please him.
"I always wondered what really motivated Chrissie to get that drive. It was almost a love-hate relationship with her father and I don't mean that she thought anything bad about her father but there was anger towards him in some ways. On the other hand, she wanted to please him," Lloyd said.
Speaking about his relationship with his daughter, Jimmy Evert said that while they did have their problems, they also got along very well.
"Well, we have our problems. We get along quite well however. We seem to fight on the court and 15 minutes later, we make up and we're friends again," he said.
"I got all choked up" - Chris Evert's father on her 1974 Wimbledon triumph
Chris Evert's father Jimmy Evert said that his daughter called him right after winning her first Wimbledon crown in 1974. She took home the trophy following an emphatic 6-0, 6-4 defeat of Olga Morozova in the summit clash.
Speaking about that moment, he stated that his eyes were filled with tears when he heard the news of her triumph.
"When the phone finally did ring, I heard her voice at the other end of the line saying 'I won' and I got all choked up and I couldn't speak, and the next thing I heard was 'Dad are you all right'? Can you imagine your 19-year-old calling you from England and saying 'Hey Dad, I just won Wimbledon'? Everytime I think about it, it still brings tears to my eyes," he said.
Jimmy Evert has coached quite a few players in his lifetime, most notably former World No. 1 Jennifer Capriati. Other players under his tutelage include Brian Gottfried and Harold Solomon, both of whom reached Grand Slam finals.
The tennis center in Fort Lauderdale, where he trained his children, was named the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center in 1997 in his honor. He passed away in 2015, aged 91.