Evert/King 75 - Evert/Navratilova 85 - Agony and Ecstasy
…Graham

King beat Evert at Wimbledon 1975 - this was my worst moment during Chris Evert's career. I lived in the UK, we only saw tennis on television when Wimbledon was on, and there was no internet. The rest of the year I had to search the newspapers, usually The London Times, for results and my best friend had to be 'reuter' because he was the only one that sent the results. So when Wimbledon came round, I skipped school to watch Chris Evert's matches and sat right up to the TV in a big chair. My parents were banned from the room during her matches so I could concentrate.

She must win this match I thought, she had played poorly in the quarter final just beating Betty Stove but looked good in this match, playing much better. The rest is history of course as the 3-0 lead in the final set slipped and Billie Jean came racing back.

I was devastated, I raced into the bathroom and had a terrible tantrum, shedding tears and I felt bad about this result for a long time.

10 years later - I was in France on my year abroad, living in Rouen, and watching Chris Evert against Martina Navratilova in the French Open Final on television. The only thing that had changed was that my flat mate was banned from the room during the match. This was a massive match for me, I wanted Chrissie to win so much, but knew it would be tough. I remember the terrible tension I went through making coffee after coffee to ease it. Chris played very well of course, but so did Martina and it was a very nervy affair - and that dramatic love 40 come back at 5-5 was almost too much to bear - remember that funny bounce - yikes. When Chris got to match point, I held my breath and waited for the passing shot to come - it must have been one of her best ever under pressure - and the sweetest one of all. After that it was tears and screams of joy as my flat mate thought I had gone mad - I will never forget that match and the joy it brought me.