Chris Evert made the Grand Slam semifinals in her first 34 majors, advanced that far in 53 of the 56 Slams she played in her career and won 18 titles, tied for third all-time with her longtime rival Martina Navratilova. Yet despite that historic tennis résumé, Evert never won the Grand Slam, something that might have been different if she didn’t only play the French Open sporadically in the 1970s and the Australian Open barely at all in that decade. Serena Williams, who passed Evert in total Slams last year but has also never won the Grand Slam, will continue her march toward the elusive achievement on Thursday when she faces a rival she dominates, 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova.
With Evert in London calling the tournament for ESPN, almost no one is in a better position to evaluate Serena’s chances of becoming the third woman to win all four Slams in a calendar year. We spoke by phone Tuesday night, as she nibbled on dinner (and sipped on a glass of wine, as she’d later say on Twitter), discussing Thursday’s blockbuster, which men’s player will break the Big Three stranglehold and how she and her contemporaries would fare in today’s modern game.
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FTW: Do you think Maria has any shot on Thursday?
Chris Evert: Maria should go into this match feeling no pressure. She should know that the pressure is all on Serena. It’s not only in that Serena has won 16 matches against her in a row — that expectation is pressure enough. But there’s another layer of pressure and that’s due to her quest for the Serena Slam and then on to the Grand Slam.
I don’t think Maria has a chance. No; if I were to be perfectly honest. The way Serena has been playing, she’s upped her game and her level since playing her sister. And then she played Victoria Azarenka in a really high-quality match too. She loves to play Maria because her game fits into Maria’s game so well. She has a better serve and she moves better on the grass. And those two things are the reason she beats Maria consistently.
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FTW: Do you see anybody in the very wide-open bottom half giving Serena trouble in the final? It seems that when she loses in Slams, it’s not the Azarenkas or Sharapovas or Li Nas she has troubles with —
Chris Evert: Right, I agree.
FTW: — it’s the Muguruzas and Razzanos and Cornets and Makarovas.
Chris Evert: I really think her tough matches are behind her. That match with Heather Watson, when she was two points from defeat, I think that really triggered something in her. After that she played heads up tennis and got to another level. So, very often, when she’s in danger, her alert level goes up and her fight turns up. Her will to win goes up. Everything just gets intensified and that match was instrumental in getting her in a position to win this tournament. If she wins, the Watson win will have been the turning point.
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Because in her next match against her sister, Serena played better than in any match at the French Open. And her match on Tuesday was the same thing. Azarenka is playing like a No. 2 or No. 3 in the world right now, so that’s two straight matches Serena has played top-tier tennis. If she keeps that up, she’s unstoppable. (If there’s anyone who’s going to beat her at a Slam though, matching boldness and aggressiveness, it’s Azarenka.) The danger of Serena is having three very close tough emotional matches. The danger with her is having a letdown, especially against Maria.
Because Maria is so mentally tough, the tournament is on Serena’s racket. And we always say this. If injuries happen or if she gets flat in a match or she doesn’t have that fire, then she may lose a match. But very rarely does anyone beat Serena when she’s at her best.
FTW: Okay, so let’s look ahead and give her Wimbledon.
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Chris Evert: (Laughs) Sure!
FTW: Right, we’ll just give her the most prestigious tournament in the sport. Boom, just like that. Do you think the pressure increases at the U.S. Open? Because at the French Open, Serena admitted the pressure got to her in the final against Lucie Safarova. Then in these last two matches, she’s been stone cold.
Chris Evert: The thing is, everybody thinks there’s so much pressure here at Wimbledon, but this is going to be nothing compared to the U.S. Open. When you’re playing your last Grand Slam tournament, in the U.S. while being an American? That’s going to be so much more pressure than playing Wimbledon. Steffi Graf said that too. She said every match in the last Slam is when she felt the pressure and she wasn’t even American.
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FTW: One tennis criticism about Serena is that she doesn’t have a rival. Whereas you had Martina and you still both won 18 majors, you could say that Serena doesn’t have one. Maybe Justine Henin, but she was in and out of the game and is now long gone. Do you side with that argument or do you say that Serena has no rivals because she’s vanquished all comers?
Chris Evert: She had more rivals back in the days of Jennifer Capriati and Justine and Kim Clijsters. Their careers were short. In the last 10 years, there haven’t been any rivals. As dangerous as Azarenka is, she’s 17-3 against her. And Sharapova has been No. 2 in the world for a long time, but these last 16 matches, Serena has won. So I think the lack of rivals is because Serena is so good. It’s her serve. It’s the greatest serve in the history of the game. It wins her easy points, free points and that gives her an advantage. She’s ahead of her time. She’s head and shoulders above her competition because of her power and movement.
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We don’t see her athleticism from other players. And then she’s mentally tough — she’s gotten tougher as the years have gone on — and she’s digging herself out of holes that nobody has any business doing. You can’t believe she’s going to pull it out but she somehow finds that next level of excellence and she manages to win these matches. I’m kind of in awe of her right now. She wins the French Open not even playing well. She didn’t even play well at the Australian Open! This tournament, the last two matches, she’s played the best she’s played at any Slam this year. If that continues, that’s why I think she’ll win Wimbledon. And for the rest, the matches are always on her racket and that’s cliche but it’s true.
FTW: I wanna switch gears if you don’t mind. We’ve seen a decade of dominance from the Big Four. Even though Andy Murray has never been No. 1, which player outside of the four — Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray — do you think is the next to reach the top ranking?
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Chris Evert: Oh, Wawrinka. Without a doubt. Honestly, at 30 years old it’s hard to believe. He’s a late bloomer and he’s the only one besides Djokovic who’s won two Grand Slams in the last year-and-a-half. Wawrinka is definitely knocking at the door and he’s not intimidated by the top players. He has a lot of respect and he’s very humble, but he knows that he’s right in there with him. He’s beaten all of them.
FTW: Is Federer going to win another Slam?
Chris Evert: (Long pause) Very possible. It had been three years in a row that I picked him to win Wimbledon and this is the first year I didn’t pick him. (Laughs) I picked Djokovic to win. Can Federer win? Hands down, absolutely, especially if everything is panning out correctly for him. The way he’s playing, he looks better and better.
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It’s ridiculous how talented he is with his hands, the way he comes to net and hits the volleys, and the variety that he has is better than anyone left in the tournament. But his problem is if he gets overpowered. He doesn’t want to face a player who keeps relentlessly hitting to his backhand where he has to slice returns. But can he win? Absolutely. And to win an 18th, I think everybody would be cheering for him.
FTW: Finally, if a young Chris Evert were to come up in today’s game, how would she do?
Chris Evert: Hmmm, if I were to come up with a graphite racket, a different grip, different training regimen — I mean, everything has improved. The physicality, the athleticism, it’s all gotten better. I think I would be more of a thoughtful player and would invest more of my talent in strategy and being mentally solid out on court. I don’t know. It’s hard. I think I could do okay on the mental side, but somebody like Serena would just wipe me off the court for sure. You know what though? She’s the only one who’s not human. Everyone else is human. I think if you put Steffi or Martina or Billie Jean or myself or anyone with a champion’s mind in the game today, I think with everything the way it is, we could still do well. But I still see Serena overpowering everybody. She’s that good.
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