Chris Evert made her debut at The Championships in 1972, as the No. 4 seed. In a celebrated clash of youth the 17-year-old lost in the semi-finals to Australia’s Evonne Goolagong, the defending champion, in three tight sets. Although victory was on that occasion denied, the Wimbledon stage had welcomed one of its most enduring players.

Armed with a trend-setting two-fisted backhand and nerves seemingly made of steel, Evert would compete at The Championships each year until 1989. During that time she contested no less than 10 Wimbledon finals, and won three of them. Aside from a shock third round loss to fellow American Kathy Jordan in 1983, she never failed to reach the semi-finals. It is a stirling record for a slightly-built baseliner raised on the clay courts of Florida.

Making her second visit to SW19, in 1973, Evert, again seeded fourth, beat another Australian, Margaret Court, in three topsy-turvy sets to make the first of her 10 finals appearances at the All England Club. Billie Jean King, the No. 2 seed, proved too strong on that occasion, securing victory in straight sets.

But 1974 proved third time lucky, when victory over the Russian Olga Morozova, 6-0, 6-4, saw the No. 2 seed’s name added to the Venus Rosewater trophy. The following night Evert danced with her fiancee at the Champions’ Dinner, after Jimmy Connors beat Ken Rosewall to take the Gentlemen’s Singles title. The media dubbed it the Love Match, and the public lapped it up.

In 1975, Evert enjoyed the Wimbledon top seeding for the first time, but King ended her run in the semi-finals. In 1976, Evert was again the No. 1 seed, and executed arguably the finest of her three title runs. She beat the up-and-coming Czech, Martina Navratilova, in the semis, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and Evonne Cawley (nee Goolagong) in a classic final, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6. Running to 120 minutes, the match ranked as the second-longest Ladies’ final in the tournament’s history.

The Queen’s Jubilee Year, 1977, brought joy for Britain in the form of a home-grown champion, but disappointment for Evert. In a year when neither Cawley, King nor Navratilova reached the final four, Virginia Wade, the No.3 seed, denied the tournament favourite a place in the final, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

In the final the following year, the first of five played – and lost – against Navratilova, Evert led 4-2 in the third set. But errors crept into her game and Martina, gunning for her first title, perhaps wanted it more. When the players embraced at the net it was hard to tell which had triumphed, so broad were the smiles on both faces. Evert was pleased for her friend, but fans could not know that compensation lay in dinner plans with a local golden-haired boy: John Lloyd. The next year, playing as Mrs J.M. Lloyd, Evert was again defeated by Navratilova but in half the time, 6-4, 6-4.

Fans were thrilled by an unexpected finals line-up in 1980. Talented teen Tracy Austin had relegated Evert to the No. 3 seeding, which meant a semi-final showdown with top seed Navratilova. Not for the first time, Evert scored a three set win against Navratilova in the semi-finals, a feat she would never achieve over her great rival in a Wimbledon final. Her opponent in the decider was Evonne Cawley, who had displayed too much grass court guile for Austin in the semis. The Australian became the first mother to claim the title by beating Evert in the final.

Evert’s third and final Ladies’ Singles title was secured in straightforward style in 1981, without the loss of a set. No. 2 seed Hana Mandlikova had despatched Navratilova in the semis, but the more experienced top seed made short work of the talented Czech in the final, winning 6-2, 6-2 in an hour.

Three finals losses to Martina followed, in 1982, 1984 and 1985, when the players shared the top seeding a few weeks after a resurgent Evert scored a dazzling win at Roland Garros. Given the advantage that Martina’s serve-volley game gave her on grass courts, it says much for Evert’s trademark tenacity and powers of concentration that she was never embarrassed by her great rival at Wimbledon.

Three of their five finals’ encounters went to three sets, another involved a tie-break, and the scoreline of the other was 6-4, 6-4. (On the flipside, Martina beat Chris on clay just three times in 20 years.)

If Martina’s desire to usurp Chris spurred her to a level of fitness unprecedented in the women’s game – which resulted in a 13 match winning streak during 1983-84 – then Evert responded in kind. She began to lift weights, and fortified her serve. Always a dab-hand at the drop shot, she added verve to her volleying game. Although she was never truly at home at the net, Evert developed the nerve to snatch it from Martina on critical points.

The blistering pace of today’s game is undoubtedly exciting, but some say this has come at the sacrifice of suspense. For many aficionados the contrasting, cat-and-mouse play of Evert and Navratilova, studded with acute volleys, dazzling passing shots and breathtaking lobs, embodied the tennis ideal. They raised the profile of women’s tennis, and became known around the world simply as ‘Chrissie’ and ‘Martina’.

The rivalry had its bumpy patches, of course, but the two never lost sight of their place in the sport. Evert observed: “Her fans appreciated what she stood for, and my fans appreciated what I stood for. It was about how we looked, how we acted, our style, where we came from.” A fun fact, often overlooked, is that the pair won the Wimbledon Ladies’ Doubles in 1976.

Evert made the semi-finals in each of her last four campaigns at Wimbledon, losing to Mandlikova in 1986, Navratilova in 1987 and 1988, and Steffi Graf, by then the world No. 1, in 1989. On that occasion, Evert called upon a series of vintage passing shots to escape the Italian Laura Golarsa in the quarters. It wasn’t for nothing that she was known as the Comeback Queen.

When she retired from the Tour at the end of 1989, Evert was a crowd favourite – but it wasn’t always that way. In the 1970s, during her first stint at the very top of the sport, she was known as the ‘Ice Maiden’. She has admitted to being reduced to tears by hostile spectators – though never in public view, of course. John McEnroe remarked: “She was an assassin that dressed just nice and said the right things and meanwhile just cut you to shreds.”

Evert handled the tricky transition to retirement with the sort of composure her fans had come to expect. She married Olympic skier Andy Mill, and gave birth to three sons. She was quickly signed up as a commentator for the American television network NBC, which recognised her wit and insight.

She established Chris Evert Charities, which has since raised more than $14 million for causes in South Florida, such as assisting neglected, drug-exposed and abused children. Later, she set up the Evert Tennis Academy, where she routinely hits with students before heading to her office. None of this came as a surprise – during her time in the game Evert led her peers as president of the WTA.

Seventeen years after she last graced the turf on Centre Court, several records set by Evert during her career remain intact. She boasts a 90 per cent match winning percentage; the most French Open crowns (seven), and longest winning streak on a single surface (125 matches won on clay, between 1973 and 1979).

She took home at least one Grand Slam singles title a year for 13 years on the trot – a record that looks increasingly secure while today’s stars struggle with injury. Fittingly, she is tied in fourth place with Navratilova on the Grand Slam Singles register, with 18 titles.

Evert’s grass-court record does not match that of Navratilova, Graf, Court or King, but ‘champion’ is a subjective term. Being one half of the celebrated ‘Love Match’ with Jimmy Connors, or the erstwhile Mrs J.M. Lloyd, or just plain ‘Chrissie’ also counts for a lot. Upon Evert’s retirement, Wade observed, “I think she’ll be remembered probably with more fondness than anyone.” She may lay claim to being Wimbledon’s best-loved bridesmaid, but it would be churlish to judge three Ladies’ Singles titles to be a disappointment.

Written by Adam Lincoln

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CHRIS EVERT

Singles Champion: 1974, 1976, 1981
Singles Runner-up: 1973, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985,
Doubles Champion: 1976