Chris Evert
responded to
Novak Djokovic after he spoke about how challenging it is to be
friends with his rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The
24-times Grand Slam champion has been one of the key figures in men's tennis,
engaging in a fierce rivalry with Federer and Nadal, the three dominant players
on the tour over the past two decades.
According
to Djokovic, it's not easy to maintain close friendships with his rivals while
still actively competing, so he has kept a bit more distance from them. While
the friendship between Federer and Nadal is more apparent to many fans,
Djokovic has always maintained a somewhat more distant relationship with the
multiple Grand Slam champions: "It's
true that we can't be friends because with friends you talk about everything,
the good, the bad, your secrets. With your rivals I don't think you feel very
comfortable revealing all that. In the last 15 years I have seen more of Nadal
and Federer than my parents," he said.
"They
have been a very important part of my life and my career. I have incredible
respect for them and for the rivalry we've had for so long. It's been a long
journey together and when we hang up our racquets we'll look at it in a more
relaxed way," the Serb said.
The former
world No. 1 and 18-times Grand Slam champion, Chris Evert, shared her opinion
on Djokovic's words, stating that she believes Djokovic will eventually develop
a closer relationship with his major rivals: “You will!!,”
Chrissie Evert wrote with winking face emoji.
The
American is one of the voices who can testify to building a friendship with her
greatest rival. Between 1973 and 1988, Evert possibly created the most
well-known rivalry in women's tennis by facing the legend Martina Navratilova
80 times, with 60 of those encounters in finals. Both were world No. 1 and
boast 18 Grand Slam titles. Moreover, from November 1975 until August 1987, one
of the two held the top spot in all but 23 weeks.
Despite
their incredible rivalry, the tennis players have known each other for over 50
years and have maintained a friendship since their adolescence. Although their
peak rivalry kept them apart, after retirement, they became great friends and
even faced the challenging ordeal of living with cancer at the same time.
