"We want to be tough and kill each other" - When Chris Evert spoke on facing friend Martina Navratilova ahead of 1982 final
Chris Evert once said that her adrenalin would be flowing while facing her close friend Martina Navratilova in a final in 1982.
The two greats of tennis were fierce rivals during their playing days but also forged a close friendship off the court.
Both players competed at the 1982 Toyota Championships as the top two seeds. Neither of them dropped a single set en route to the final, with top seed Navratilova beating Hana Mandlikova 7-6, 6-1 in the semifinals while second seed Evert thrashed Tracy Austin 6-0, 6-0.
Speaking about the clash, Evert said that her adrenaline would be flowing and that she was psyched up about facing her rival.
"I think my adrenalin will be flowing,' the then-27-year-old said. 'Mentally I'm fine and I always get psyched up when I play her," Evert said as quoted by United Press International.
The then-World No. 2 also said that whenever the two walked out on court, they had a desire to be tough and kill one another.
"When we go out on the court, we want to be tough and kill each other," Evert said.
Navratilova eventually went on to win the final 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to claim the 1982 Toyota Championship. Chris Evert finished the season with ten titles, including two Grand Slams at the Australian Open and French Open.
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova squared off in 60 finals
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova forged one of the fiercest rivalries in tennis history and locked horns on 80 occasions. Sixty of these came in the finals, with Navratilova winning 36 while Evert came out on top 24 times.
The two have faced one another in 14 Grand Slam finals, with Chris Evert winning only four of those, three of which came at the French Open. The only time she beat Navratilova in a Major title clash not on clay was at the 1982 Australian Open. The Czech-American defeated her rival in the finals of each of the four Grand Slams.
The last couple of matches between the two were also finals, both of them coming in 1988. Navratilova beat Evert 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix before registering a 6-2, 6-2 win in the title clash at Virginia Slims of Chicago. Navratilova thus finished her rivalry with Evert with 43 wins out of 80 matches.