Chris Evert
Chris Evert
Christine Marie "Chris" Evert, known as Chris Evert-Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships and three doubles titles. She was the year-ending World No. 1 singles player in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981. Overall Evert won 157 singles championships and 32 doubles titles...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth21 December 1954
CityFort Lauderdale, FL
CountryUnited States of America
Losing hurts me. I was determined to be the best.
I can definitely say the same thing [discussing Steffi Graf's claim that she had played against at least one top player who used steroids]. Steroids can really make a difference, physically and mentally. I'd be really disappointed if I had been ranked No. 2 behind someone who took steroids.
Training the body to obey the mind as I have done differs from the more conventional method of getting the mind to obey the body.
Competitive toughness is an acquired skill and not an inherited gift.
Whatever your goal in life, be proud of every day that you are able to work in that direction.
Don’t let a first-set victory lead into a second-set slump
Single-mindedness. I hate to say it because I don't think it's the best thing for developing a person, but the single-mindedness - just concentrating in the one area - that's what it takes to be a champion.
To be a tennis champion, you have to be inflexible. You have to be stubborn. You have to be arrogant. You have to be selfish and self-absorbed. Kind of tunnel vision almost.
The difference is almost all mental. The top players just hate to lose. I think that's the difference. A champion hates to lose even more than she loves to win.
I wanted always to appear strong and in control . . . .Then the cookie began to crumble.
When I play, I'm boiling inside. I just try not to show it because it's a lack of composure, and if you give in to your emotions after one loss, you're liable to have three or four in a row.
Ninety percent of my game is mental. It's my concentration that has gotten me this far.
Of all my achievements in tennis, I'm probably as proud of my record on clay courts as any of my Wimbledon, U.S. Open or French singles titles.
You're always striving to play that perfect match.