Evert and Navratilova, a rivalry for the ages
Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova -- Their Epic Duels and Extraordinary Friendship Johnette Howard Broadway Books, New York:2005 246 pp
The front cover of Johnnette Howard's involving, excellently written work is an appropriate selection, showing a crucial turning point in what would develop into an epic sports rivalry: Chris Evert hugs her overjoyed former doubles partner Martina Navratilova at the net following the 1978 Wimbledon final.
Anyone who saw the rebroadcast of the final on Star Sports before this year's championship can vouch that it was no classic of stroke-making. For the first two sets, both women played listless tennis under threatening skies, the monotony broken only a flubbed air shot by Navratilova and by Evert pounding her opponent with a close-range smash.
It seemed that Evert, then the world number one and with several Grand Slam titles already to her name, would take the title when she reached 4-2 in the final set.
It was then that her Czech-born opponent, two years younger and stateless since defecting from her homeland two years before, switched into another gear, putting aside her nerves to win 7-5 and collect her first Grand Slam crown.
More importantly, the emotionally brittle serve and volleyer had beaten the precision baseliner nicknamed "the Ice Maiden" for her unflappable, poised on-court demeanor.
It broke a psychological barrier for Navratilova, who trailed Evert 5-20 in their head-to-head record; she showed she could do it again in the Wimbledon final the following year, but the American, by then married to English player John Lloyd, still led 25-7 in their rivalry.
Navratilova, who was once described as showing a remarkable ability to go from arrogance to desperation in a second, would continue to play second fiddle to Evert for the next two years as she struggled to get her personal life under control.
It was only in 1981, after overcoming the trauma of her outing by a journalist (Navratilova, now famous for her gay activism, first described herself as bisexual, as if that were more palatable to disapproving sensibilities) that she began to show her true gifts as an athlete.
Navratilova became a champion of reinvention, changing from a chubby teenager on the brink of an emotional meltdown to a sleek, powerful athlete who was a pioneer on and off the court.
Traveling with assorted trainers, nutritionists, girlfriends and small dogs, Navratilova's entourage -- the forerunner of the miniature armies of today's circuit -- was sarcastically dubbed "Team Navratilova". She was among the first players to put hours in at the gym to build up her body and to study the benefits of nutrition, eventually deciding on a high-carb vegetarian diet to prolong her playing days.
Navratilova caught up with Evert and then surpassed her, forcing the Floridian to step up her training in order to compete. By 1982, Navratilova was getting the upper hand in their rivalry; she did not lose once to Evert in the next two years, winning 13 of their encounters in a row.
The American won a few more of their battles, including two French Open finals, and reclaimed the number one crown in 1985 before eventually retiring in 1989. Their rivalry finished at 80 contests, with Navratilova ahead 43-37.
Newsday sports writer Howard, who formerly wrote for Sports Illustrated, takes the reader on the fascinating 16-year journey of the women, who were proud rivals across the net but friends off-court for most of their careers.
She acknowledges that the rivalry was shaped by the contrasting public personalities of the two, with the feminine, All-American Evert fending off the attacking game of Navratilova, a naturalized American whose outright dominance of the game and muscular physique led to an ambivalent relationship with U.S. tennis fans.
But the contests were great theater: two athletes in the gladiator's arena with the crowd taking sides, usually for Evert. During a U.S. Open match, a fan cried out from the stands, "Come on Chrissie, we want the real woman to win."
Of course, Evert was not a soft, benign presence who happened to find herself at the top of the women's game. Before Navratilova got her head and game together, Evert had reigned queen, winning the French, Wimbledon and U.S. titles before the age of 21.
Evert tells Howard that she hated to lose, imagining the look of triumph on her opponent's face; yet Navratilova's ascension dealt her the unwanted -- but sympathy-inducing -- underdog mantle.
In Howard's characterization and by her own admission, Evert was the supremely driven, self-reliant jock. Unlike heart-on-my- sleeve Navratilova, who would give beseeching looks to her camp at crisis points, the steely American remained focused on the court.
After another Wimbledon loss to Navratilova, Evert told then husband Lloyd on the plane home to Florida that she wanted to practice right away.
Few tennis rivalries have lasted as long or produced as many great matches as the one between these two very different women (the Evert-Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Evert-Tracy Austin and Navratilova-Steffi Graf contests could never compare for drama); it was a shared journey as women's tennis developed from a second consideration to the men's game to a multimillion dollar circuit, thanks to the unrelenting efforts of Billie Jean King.
There were peaks and valleys in the relationship, particularly when former basketball player Nancy Lieberman became Navratilova's lover and mentor and tried to make her hate Evert, but the women shared an enduring affection.
They have been there when the other needed help. When Navratilova was outed, Evert wrote a thoughtful piece saying it was not for anyone to judge another's lifestyle; when Evert divorced her first husband, Navratilova invited her to stay with her in Aspen, where she met Andy Mill, now the father of her three sons.
Howard's work is insightful and entertaining, making good use of interesting, often amusing anecdotes about the two and their relationship, as well as providing snippets of blatantly chauvinistic sports writing from the 1970s.
The only glaring omission is discussion of the 1988 Wimbledon semifinal, one of their last contests and also one of the closest, during which Evert was angered after Navratilova stared down a linesman on match point and he changed his call in her favor.
A couple of minor mistakes, including referring to Jaroslav Drobny, the 1950s Czech star whom Navratilova looked up to, as "Jarosalv" throughout, and a photo of the two women described as taking the court for the 1982 final, but which is clearly from after the match, are forgivable.
Today, Evert lives in quiet but active retirement as a mother and favored speaker at U.S. corporate events, while Navratilova, who will be 49 on Oct. 18, still competes in doubles on the women's circuit. But they are not averse to a bit of friendly one-"upwomanship" even today.
At a dinner a couple of years ago, Howard writes, Evert ordered lamb, prompting a detailed lecture from Navratilova about the terrible abuse of baby sheep on their way to market.
"Evert listened intently and said, 'Martina, I am so sorry'. Then, turning back to the waiter, Evert said, 'Medium rare, please'."