‘Never Bought Into That’ – Chris Evert’s Ex-husband Lays Bare His Notion Over Her Iconic Martina Navratilova Rivalry
- Sports are no stranger to iconic rivalries and tennis has seen more than most. From Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras to Serena Williams vs Venus Williams, there has been no shortage of thrilling clashes. Then there is the unique story of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, enemies turned friends. The duo played in a number of key matches, with most of them going the distance. Even Evert’s ex-husband, John Lloyd, spoke about it in his autobiography.
Back then, Lloyd was also coaching Evert while she was at the peak of her game. As a result, he knew exactly what went on behind the scenes of Evert’s rivalry with Navratilova. Here’s an interesting anecdote from his autobiography.
John Lloyd describes the “brutal” animosity between Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert
Despite being strong rivals on the court, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert were good friends off the court and enjoyed mutual respect for each other. However, John Lloyd didn’t believe this was the true scenario.
In his autobiography, Dear John: The John Lloyd Autobiography, he says, “On the court, my then wife had it in spades. There was all this talk about Chrissie and Martina being the best of friends off the court and how that translated to a friendly rivalry on court. I never bought into that.”
Further, he went on to add, “I am not saying they disliked each other, simply that they were the best of enemies during matches. It was pretty brutal, actually.”
