Tennis-Evert not surprised by McIlroy's split with Wozniacki Tennis-Evert not surprised by McIlroy's split with Wozniacki Tweet Share LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Golfer Rory McIlroy 's decision this week to call off his wedding with former world number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is no surprise, according to Chris Evert who suffered similar heartache 40 years ago. Eighteen-times grand slam champion Evert was engaged to fellow American tennis champion Jimmy Connors in 1974, the year both won the Wimbledon title, but the so-called golden couple cancelled their wedding. McIlroy, twice a major champion, announced on Wednesday that he had changed his mind about marrying Dane Wozniacki despite the wedding invitations having already been posted. "It doesn't surprise me," Evert, who was 19 when engaged to Connors, said in an ESPN conference call ahead of next week's French Open. "I look back at Jimmy and I. To look at two players that are in the prime of their career and are striving to be No. 1, (you) don't see each other.

"I mean, I was married in my 20s to my tennis. That was the only way I could put all my emotions and energies into that goal. I was in awe that it (McIlroy and Wozniacki's relationship) worked as long as it did. "I can't believe it. They must be just different kind of people. I understand 100 percent, you're married to your career. You're using your emotions. You're using the mental capacity that you have. "You're putting everything into it. That's what it takes to be the best." Evert has since been married three times, to former British tennis player John Lloyd, downhill skier Andy Mill, with whom she had three sons, and Australian golfer Greg Norman -- all of them ending in divorce. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ossian Shine) Reblog Most famous sports couples - Times Union Most famous sports couples February 13, 2012 1:17 PM Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images Close Image 1 of 14 Celebrity-athlete couples are a dime a dozen, but athlete-athlete couples are a much rarer find.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ve assembled some of the most famous. See if your favorite lovebirds made the list. First up: Tennis star Maria Sharapova has been dating former Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic since 2009. The couple is now engaged. less Celebrity-athlete couples are a dime a dozen, but athlete-athlete couples are a much rarer find. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ve assembled some of the most famous. See if your favorite lovebirds made the ... more Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images Celebrity-athlete couples are a dime a dozen, but athlete-athlete... Photo-2476267.38664 - Times Union Image 2 of 14 Two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Heather Mitts married Rams QB A.J. Feeley in 2010. It was a dark day for Mitts lovers — She was routinely counted among the sexiest single athletes in the world. Two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Heather Mitts married Rams QB A.J. Feeley in 2010. It was a dark day for Mitts lovers — She was routinely counted among the sexiest single athletes in the world.

Photo: Robin Marchant, Getty Images For ESPN Two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Heather Mitts married... Photo-2476249.38664 - Times Union Image 3 of 14 Basketball player Ann Meyers and Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale were the first sports couple to both be Hall of Famers. Meyers was only the second woman to receive a four-year athletic scholarship to a college and was the only woman drafted by an NBA team. Drysdale retired with a career ERA of 2.95 and over 200 wins. less Basketball player Ann Meyers and Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale were the first sports couple to both be Hall of Famers. Meyers was only the second woman to receive a four-year athletic scholarship to a college ... more Photo: (Jae C. Hong/AP) / (John Lindsay/AP) Basketball player Ann Meyers and Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale were... Photo-2476270.38664 - Times Union Image 4 of 14 Boxer Laila Ali and husband (former Bears/Chargers/Jets/Niners wide receiver) Curtis Conway have been married since 2007.

They have five children together, three from Conway's previous marriage. Boxer Laila Ali and husband (former Bears/Chargers/Jets/Niners wide receiver) Curtis Conway have been married since 2007. They have five children together, three from Conway's previous marriage. Photo: (Liz Mangelsdorf/The Chronicle) / (Jason Merritt/Getty) Boxer Laila Ali and husband (former Bears/Chargers/Jets/Niners wide... Photo-2476265.38664 - Times Union Image 5 of 14 Golfer Rory McIlroy caused a minor stir when he broke up with his childhood sweetheart to pursue a romance with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. The couple are still going strong, though, and appeared in Dubai (seen here) earlier this week. less Golfer Rory McIlroy caused a minor stir when he broke up with his childhood sweetheart to pursue a romance with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. The couple are still going strong, though, and appeared in Dubai ... more Photo: David Cannon, Getty Images Golfer Rory McIlroy caused a minor stir when he broke up with his...

Photo-2476250.38664 - Times Union Image 6 of 14 Softball phenom Jennie Finch retired to spend more time with her husband, pitcher Casey Daigle, and their two sons. Daigle was signed by the Giants in 2011 and is currently with their AAA affiliate in Fresno. Softball phenom Jennie Finch retired to spend more time with her husband, pitcher Casey Daigle, and their two sons. Daigle was signed by the Giants in 2011 and is currently with their AAA affiliate in Fresno. Photo: (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP) / (Sue Ogrocki/AP) Softball phenom Jennie Finch retired to spend more time with her... Photo-2476266.38664 - Times Union Image 7 of 14 Tennis legend Chris Evert is the queen of sports romances. She's been engaged to Jimmy Connors (the wedding was called off) and married to British tennis player John Lloyd, Olympic downhill skier Andy Mill and golfer Greg Norman (seen here). Evert and Norman divorced in 2009.

less Tennis legend Chris Evert is the queen of sports romances. She's been engaged to Jimmy Connors (the wedding was called off) and married to British tennis player John Lloyd, Olympic downhill skier Andy Mill and ... more Photo: David Cannon, Getty Images Tennis legend Chris Evert is the queen of sports romances.... Photo-2476262.38664 - Times Union Image 8 of 14 Former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra married soccer star Mia Hamm in 2003. They have twin girls. Former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra married soccer star Mia Hamm in 2003. They have twin girls. Photo: LOUIS LANZANO, AP Former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra married soccer star Mia... Photo-2476260.38664 - Times Union Image 9 of 14 Daughter Lailaa has some serious basketball genes to look forward to — her parents are Nets forward Sheldon Williams and two-time NCAA champion Candace Parker.

Daughter Lailaa has some serious basketball genes to look forward to — her parents are Nets forward Sheldon Williams and two-time NCAA champion Candace Parker. Photo: (Kim Raff/AP) / (Mark J. Terrill/AP) Daughter Lailaa has some serious basketball genes to look forward... Photo-2476269.38664 - Times Union Image 10 of 14 Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are true tennis royalty. The tennis legends married in 2001, and four days later, their son Jaden was born. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are true tennis royalty. The tennis legends married in 2001, and four days later, their son Jaden was born. Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE, AP Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are true tennis royalty. The tennis... Photo-2478209.38664 - Times Union Image 11 of 14 Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi met hockey player Bret Hedican at the 1992 Winter Olympics. They married in 2000 and have two daughters, Keara, left, and Emma.

Hedican currently serves as a TV analyst for the San Jose Sharks. less Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi met hockey player Bret Hedican at the 1992 Winter Olympics. They married in 2000 and have two daughters, Keara, left, and Emma. Hedican currently serves as a TV analyst ... more Photo: Courtesy Yamaguchi-Hedican Family Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi met hockey player Bret... Photo-2478311.38664 - Times Union Image 12 of 14 Olympic volleyball player Misty May Treanor and Dodgers catcher Matt Treanor must believe in love at first sight. They were engaged after just two months of dating and married in 2004. Olympic volleyball player Misty May Treanor and Dodgers catcher Matt Treanor must believe in love at first sight. They were engaged after just two months of dating and married in 2004. Photo: PRNewsFoto/Nestle USA Olympic volleyball player Misty May Treanor and Dodgers catcher...

Photo-2476264.38664 - Times Union Image 13 of 14 Golfer Nancy Lopez won 48 LPGA events, while husband Ray Knight is best known for scoring the winning run of Game Six of the 1986 World Series and taking home MVP honors. They've been married since 1982. Golfer Nancy Lopez won 48 LPGA events, while husband Ray Knight is best known for scoring the winning run of Game Six of the 1986 World Series and taking home MVP honors. They've been married since 1982. Photo: (AP Photo) / (Peter Cosgrove/AP) Golfer Nancy Lopez won 48 LPGA events, while husband Ray Knight is...

Photo-2476279.38664 - Times Union Image 14 of 14 Outbrain AR 6 Item-38491.38664 - Times Union Most famous sports couples Evert not surprised by McIlroy's split with Wozniacki Evert not surprised by McIlroy's split with Wozniacki Tweet Share Tennis player Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark (L) works as the caddie for her boyfriend, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, during the Par 3 Contest ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia April 9, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar More LONDON (Reuters) - Golfer Rory McIlroy 's decision this week to call off his wedding with former world number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is no surprise, according to Chris Evert who suffered similar heartache 40 years ago. Eighteen-times grand slam champion Evert was engaged to fellow American tennis champion Jimmy Connors in 1974, the year both won the Wimbledon title, but the so-called golden couple canceled their wedding.

McIlroy, twice a major champion, announced on Wednesday that he had changed his mind about marrying Dane Wozniacki despite the wedding invitations having already been posted. "It doesn't surprise me," Evert, who was 19 when engaged to Connors, said in an ESPN conference call ahead of next week's French Open. "I look back at Jimmy and I. To look at two players that are in the prime of their career and are striving to be No. 1, (you) don't see each other. "I mean, I was married in my 20s to my tennis. That was the only way I could put all my emotions and energies into that goal. I was in awe that it (McIlroy and Wozniacki's relationship) worked as long as it did. "I can't believe it. They must be just different kind of people. I understand 100 percent, you're married to your career. You're using your emotions. You're using the mental capacity that you have. "You're putting everything into it.

That's what it takes to be the best." Evert has since been married three times, to former British tennis player John Lloyd, downhill skier Andy Mill, with whom she had three sons, and Australian golfer Greg Norman -- all of them ending in divorce. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ossian Shine) Reblog Abortion, affairs and how tennis great Chris Evert the man eater and Jimmy Connors the cad deserved each other! | Daily Mail Online Abortion, affairs and how tennis great Chris Evert the man eater and Jimmy Connors the cad deserved each other! comments Legions of Wimbledon fans may find it hard to credit in the man who once defined bad behaviour on the tennis court, but Jimmy Connors says he ‘turned on the charm’ the first time he chatted up Chris Evert. It was June 1972 and they were having lunch in the small dining room of the Queen’s Club during the tournament that is the traditional warm-up to Wimbledon. Evert was just 17 and shadowed by her eagle-eyed mother, Colette, but Connors, two years older and never lacking in bravado, went and sat beside her.

Later that week, he took her out on the town for their first date. After dinner they went to the Playboy Club, where Connors’ eyes weren’t on the beautiful women at the bar or the blackjack tables but on Evert, he reveals in a tell-all memoir published in the U.S. this week. The golden couple of tennis were both repeatedly unfaithful to one another according to the memoirs ‘That night, we ran around London acting like kids in high school — which, by the way, she still was,’ he writes in The Outsider. They parted with a kiss — Connors says he ‘played the gentleman’ — but their public courtship was soon making headlines around the world. The ‘fairytale romance’ captured the public imagination, especially after they both won singles titles at Wimbledon in 1974. Of course, for many people, the fairytale they had in mind was Beauty And The Beast. Evert was America’s soft-spoken sweetheart, the prettiest girl on the court and the best behaved, battling every point with lady-like determination. Connors was the bully of the baseline, yelling and screaming at umpires and players.

RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share While it lasted, their match energised tennis and drew thousands to a sport hitherto seen as elitist. When, as tradition dictates, the men’s and women’s singles victors partnered up for the opening dance at the 1974 post-championship Wimbledon Ball, the band played The Girl That I Marry for a couple who were already engaged. Although Evert was only 19, a wedding was set for November — but then abruptly called off. The reason why remained a mystery until now, with the publication of Connors’ memoirs. He claims they were repeatedly unfaithful to each other, and strongly hints — without actually stating it — that his fiancée became pregnant by him and had an abortion against his wishes shortly before they were due to get married. Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert were engaged to be married when it was unexpectedly called off ‘An issue had arisen as a result of youthful passion and a decision had to be made as a couple,’ he writes.

But Connors, who was already feeling that Evert was getting everything her way in their long-distance relationship as they both continued to compete on the tennis circuit, says he soon found out the decision wasn’t to be made ‘as a couple’. He was staying in an apartment in Los Angeles with bosom buddy and fellow tennis bad boy Ilie Nastase when ‘Chrissie called to say she was coming out to LA to take care of that “issue”’, he says. ‘I was perfectly happy to let nature take its course and accept responsibility for what was to come. But Evert, who was raised in a staunchly Catholic family and wore a crucifix around her throat on court, had “already made up her mind that the timing was bad and too much was riding on her future”.’ She asked him to ‘handle the details’, to which he responded, with apparent bitterness: ‘Well, thanks for letting me know. Since I don’t have any say in the matter, then I guess I’m just here to help.’ Although he wasn’t so upset that he put off going out that evening, Connors makes clear it led directly to their relationship ending.

When he rang Evert later that night to say he thought they were too young to get married, she didn’t hesitate. Claim: Tennis legend Jimmy Connors strongly hints in his memoir that the reason he and on-court love Chris Evert called off their wedding was because she got pregnant and had an abortion According to Connors, she told him: ‘OK, if that’s what you think. I’ve got a match tomorrow. Not a problem.’ Connors admits Evert recalls it rather differently, insisting they decided to break up over a six-hour conversation. ‘I was sad,’ he confides. ‘I loved her and we both put a lot of effort into our relationship.’ But it kept going back to the same old question: ‘Can two number ones exist in the same family?’ Obviously not, he concluded. Evert, who won 18 Grand Slam titles (Connors won eight) including three Wimbledons, later said that their marriage would have been disastrous. They were too young, too inexperienced and, most importantly, too alike. ‘There were a lot of sparks there, believe me, but compatibility, you know… you kill each other,’ she said a decade later.

And as her father and coach, Jim, so romantically put it at the time, there were ‘lucrative financial opportunities’ that got in the way of their settling down together. But there was never any mention of a pregnancy. Any doubts that this is what Connors was referring to were swiftly removed last week when, thrust back into the international spotlight, Evert quickly hit back with a statement that was short but damning. Her ex-fiance had written ‘about a time in our relationship that was very personal and emotionally painful’, she said. Tennis couple: Connors, who won five U.S. Open Titles, and Evert, who won six, captured the nation's hearts when they dated in the seventies, especially after they both won the Wimbledon singles in 1974 ‘I am extremely disappointed that he used the book to misrepresent a private matter that took place 40 years ago, and made it public without my knowledge.’ Apart from later tweeting to fans: ‘Thank you guys for your support this week; means a lot to me…’, Evert has had nothing more to say. Connors has made no apologies.

‘That was a part of my life, and a very big part of my life at the time,’ he said this week. ‘It was not laboured on, and it was said as a matter of fact.’ Evert’s few words were entirely in keeping with a star whose love of talking about tennis — she is a commentator for U.S. TV channel ESPN for the four Grand Slam championships — is matched only by her reluctance to discuss her disastrous love life. After three famously ill-fated marriages, Evert now buries herself in her life as a mother-of-three and part-owner of a tennis academy in southern Florida, from where she originally hails. ‘The last thing Chris really wants to talk about nowadays is this sort of thing, but she felt very angry that Jimmy did this without even warning her,’ said a friend. ‘But Chris will readily admit that she’s made mistakes in the past.’ Few would disagree that it was unchivalrous of Connors (a man who once called an umpire ‘an abortion’) to unilaterally reveal so intimate a detail.

Tennis legend Chris Evert pictured for for the first time following Jimmy Connors' shocking claim that the pair split up after she had an abortion Critics have seized on Evert’s outrage as well as Connors’ ungracious remarks about other players in his memoirs. For them, it all simply confirms that he remains boorish. But was their relationship ever anything approaching a fairy-tale? Not according to Connors, who insists it was always conducted on her terms. In the long periods they were kept apart by the demands of the tennis circuit, Connors admits he was unfaithful to her ‘several times’ during their two years together. However he insists that though she ‘might not want to admit it … America’s Sweetheart was no angel, either’. It’s hard, he adds cryptically, ‘to keep secrets in the tennis world’. He says that if they wanted to meet, he would always be the one who had to fly off to wherever she was playing.

(Even when they did meet up, their managers would often stand guard at night to ensure they kept to their separate hotel rooms and got some sleep.) The tennis-obsessed Evert would always cut short his love of partying by wanting to be taken home early, he says. On court, Evert expected him to practise tennis with her even though he needed to practise against men, he says. The Outsider: A Memoir by Jimmy Connors And when he watched her competing, Connors recounts, she would glare at him the moment he so much as took his eye off the game. Her ‘mood swings could drive anyone crazy’, and while he was immensely supportive, she treated him ‘like some sort of house husband’. In fact, when it came to settling down to have a family, Connors admits he has always been ‘old school’ and would have expected to remain the ‘principal breadwinner’. Evert would have had to make the tennis sacrifices. Within five years of breaking up with Connors, Evert had married British tennis number two John Lloyd, after dating Hollywood star Burt Reynolds and Jack Ford, son of President Gerald Ford. She and the likeable Lloyd both came from tight-knit tennis families of modest means.

But as Lloyd’s tennis ranking plummeted, she became frustrated with his lack of drive and started an affair with the married ex-singer Adam Faith. She and Lloyd separated briefly in 1983 but reconciled. They finally called it quits in 1987. Within a year, she had married again, this time to U.S. downhill skier Andy Mill, to whom she was introduced by Martina Navratilova. Retiring from tennis in 1989, aged 34, Evert settled down to have a family. They had three sons — Alex, now 21, Nicky, 18, and Colton, 16 — and Mill, who was deferential and good-looking, seemed a perfect fit. Although she has since bitterly regretted giving up on a ‘good, solid marriage’, what some have described as her mid-life crisis struck in 2006 when she divorced Mill after 18 years. The Evert pendulum had swung back again towards an assertive Alpha Male: she had fallen in love with Australian world golfing champion Greg Norman. He was Mill’s best friend and business partner, and married — but none of that deterred Evert.

What was left of her Miss Perfect public image rapidly disintegrated in the ensuing slanging match in which she was cast as the heartless home wrecker. Mill blamed Norman for the terrible betrayal, but the golfer’s wife of 25 years, Laura Andrassy, came out all guns blazing at the ‘other woman’. The ultra-competitive Evert was a ruthless man hunter, she said. ‘She came after him — I have never seen anything like it. I never would have thought anyone would be so aggressive (in pursuing him) in front of me — like I didn’t exist.’ Evert and her beau, a self-confessed control-freak nicknamed the ‘Great White Shark’, wed in a multi-million-dollar extravaganza in the Bahamas. Months earlier, Evert had confidently told Oprah Winfrey she was not worried about marrying again. ‘At our age, over 50, it’s not like you’re 18. Both of us have lived long enough to know.’ She was proved spectacularly wrong when the marriage lasted all of 15 months. They divorced in December 2009. Echoing Connors’ remarks this week, insiders said neither could live with the other’s monumntal ego.

They couldn’t even agree where they were going to live. Vowing never to go near another married man after Norman, the Ice Maiden has gone one better and remained single. As well as raising her three children in her Spanish-style family home in Boca Raton, Florida, which she also shares with three dogs, Evert has returned to her first love: tennis. She can be found most weekdays coaching teenage girls at the nearby Evert Tennis Academy, which she owns with her brother John, a former college player and sports agent. Evert admits she has had therapy to help her cope with her romantic upsets, and she certainly sounds more self-aware, admitting in recent interviews that she was spoiled by years of success. She admitted last year that she is a casualty of the arrested emotional development that strikes child sporting prodigies. And she added, in such a lonely sport as tennis, ‘you have to be self-absorbed … it has to be about you’. Perhaps. But former tennis champions Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf have been married for nearly 12 years and are still going strong. Now 58 but still looking great in jeans and a T-shirt, Evert says she’s happier without a man than she has been for years.

Jimmy Connors’ reminder of a past she would rather not have shared with the world is hardly likely to send her rushing back into the dating game. Quotes by Tennis Pro Chris Evert Chris Evert Quotes ( Photo credit: Art Seitz ©2010 ) April 10, 2015: “It’s all so different. I mean, I’m glad I came up in the ‘70s. So glad. In the beginning, it was more fun. Look at all the people we had: we had Billie Jean [King] and Martina [Navratilova] and myself and Arthur Ashe and Jimmy [Connors] and John [McEnroe]. We started it, we started the tennis craze, and there wasn’t as much pressure and there wasn’t as much focus on us and we could have private lives. Nowadays players can’t have any privacy, with social media and everything. The women in my time were closer; we used to practise with each other and have dinner with each other that night. It’s just so different now. It’s big business.” — Tennis Legend Chris Evert, telling Telegraph Sport (UK) how dramatically pro tennis has changed since her debut.

May 28, 2014: “It doesn’t surprise me. I look back at Jimmy and me. To look at two players that are in the prime of their career and are striving to be No. 1, [you] don’t see each other. I mean, I was married in my 20s to my tennis. That was the only way I could put all my emotions and energies into that goal. I was in awe that it [Rory McIlroy and Wozniacki’s relationship] worked as long as it did. I can't believe it. They must be just different kind of people. I understand 100 percent, you’re married to your career. You’re using your emotions. You’re using the mental capacity that you have. You’re putting everything into it. That’s what it takes to be the best.” — Chris Evert, who was 19 when engaged to Jimmy Connors, another superstar, and has since been married to former British tennis player John Lloyd, downhill skier Andy Mill, and Australian golfer Greg Norman—all of them ending in divorce—on golfer Rory McIlroy’s recent decision to call off his wedding with former No.

1 Caroline Wozniacki, in an ESPN conference call. August 29, 2010: "We've been through so much history, so many layers of emotions. We were such opposites, it enabled us to get closer. She has my back; I have hers. I think people forget that we were left alone in the locker room every Sunday after we played final matches, and one of us would be crying and the other would be comforting--nobody saw that." — Chris Evert, telling Parade magazine of her long friendship with once rival Martina Navratilova who she faced in 80 matches, 60 of which were finals. March 9, 2009: "I got to the point where there's no turning back. Is it scary? No, because there's just no turning back. You're aware of the consequences and the hurt and everything but, you know, love is a funny thing." — Chris Evert, telling Australia's '60 Minutes' program that she was not intimidated by the publicity that would surround the nature of her relationship with golf star and husband Greg Norman, who also divorced his former spouse, because love overcomes everything.

"My father taught me one important lesson: to not be afraid to lose." -- All-time great Chris Evert, on how she learned to play without the fear of failure. 1989: "I would be disappointed if in a couple of years my name completely disappeared from the face of the earth. I mean, you get used to a certain lifestyle. I've been famous since I was 16 years old. It would be sort of shattering if, in two years, I went into a restaurant and said, 'Chris Evert would like a table,' and they said, 'Who?'" - Tennis legend Chris Evert, soon after she retired in 1989, in Tennis magazine. 1988: "The hunger, the drive, a lot of that will stem from negative things, like insecurity, or wanting to get attention. When I started playing tennis, I was painfully shy. But I liked the attention. I'd go, God, people are accepting me because I'm winning." - Chris Evert, on one source of the burning desire that made her a champion, in Esquire magazine.

"You're always striving to play that perfect match." - Chris Evert, eighteen-time Grand Slam singles champion "I guess she should be cocky. She beat me three years ago." - Superstar Chris Evert, with a zinger for Hana Mandlikova, who claimed Evert was past her prime. "A big deal was made of my femininity when I was younger, and I carried this image as the most feminine of the women players to the hilt. I took advantage of it. I made sure everything was perfect, from my earrings to the color of the pom-poms on my socks." - Chris Evert, in the 1979 book, Inside Tennis: A Season on the Pro Tour by Peter Bodo. A Separate Peace 13 Black Boots That You Can Also Wear in the Snow A Separate Peace In all of women's tennis, there's never been a star quite like Chris Evert. But what drove her to the top also drove three marriages off a cliff—and brought Evert to the brink of despair. Now she wants everyone to know what happened so her hard-won truth can help all the women who still long for a happy ending.

Most Popular Gillian Laub Advertisement - Continue Reading Below The "Ice Maiden" suffered panic attacks. The world traveler was terrified of flying. America's Sweetheart felt her marriage slipping away, very publicly fell in love with one of her husband's closest friends, then realized—after the divorce and remarriage—that she had made a big, big mistake. Then came another divorce, her third. That's when one of international sports' most enduring icons of grace under pressure, grit, perseverance, and determination basically fell apart. She wept. She saw a shrink. She took antidepressants. She wept some more. Things got so bad that for six months, it was all she could do to crawl out of bed in the morning, make her three teenaged boys breakfast, and get them off to school before crawling back into bed with a movie to spend the afternoon until they returned home. Most Popular That's when Christine Marie Evert realized that all the fame, money, success, and adulation in the world didn't make her happy. That it never had.

That's when Little Miss Perfect (she was the rare athletic superstar who inspired multiple nicknames—"Remorseless" among them) figured out that holding things in, always pushing forward, ignoring difficulty, and focusing solely on the moment—the emotional building blocks of her professional greatness, essentially—had also brought her close to personal ruination. She says she's delighted to have learned her lesson. "I know it's a cliché," she says, "but my whole thing this past year was, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Now I know what that means." The events leading up to Evert's semipublic scandal are painfully well known. Married to Olympic downhill skier Andy Mill for 18 years, with three children, she fell in love with Mill's friend, golfer Greg ("The Great White Shark") Norman. Norman's ex-wife has said that Evert pursued the golfer. Evert's ex-husband has said that Norman chased the tennis player. In any case, Evert left her husband, Norman left his wife of 25 years, and as tongues wagged and scolds tsk-tsked, the high-profile couple embarked on a glamorous, sun-kissed courtship.

He sat with her at the U.S. Open; she caddied for him. They were married on Paradise Island, in the Bahamas, in June 2008. Fifteen months later, they separated, then divorced. Some said it was a case of two big egos refusing to compromise. Some said Norman was more interested in being famous than in being a husband. Others said Chrissie couldn't stand a lesser athlete than herself getting more attention (Norman's golf career had a brief, remarkable resurgence shortly after he hooked up with the retired tennis player). Evert didn't say much. But now she wants to. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below "Was there passion? Yes. Was there love? Sure, uh, yes—but we had two big worlds. Honestly, we had different priorities. I want roots—I want to be with my kids, live in a nice, comfortable house, and be able to do my work. One of us would have had to give up a big part of our life. "I don't want this to be a slam on Greg, but our lifestyles were different. My priority was my kids. His priority was to build his business and travel." Since the split, Norman has remarried.

So has Andy Mill. Evert hasn't been on so much as a date during that year and a half. That's fine by her. It's not that she's given up on love. "But this time, I'm going to have a more independent relationship. If the guy's in New York, I'll fly there, he'll fly here. It's always difficult with strong, successful women. You don't want to be dominated, but you don't want to walk all over the guy. I think it'll come when I'm not looking for it, when I'm not trying so hard." She's sitting in a couch on the patio behind her house, a sprawling, red-roofed Mediterranean-style place on five wooded acres in Boca Raton, Florida. Behind her is a swimming pool. Behind the pool is a gym, and to her left is a tennis court and guesthouse. Just outside the front door is the garage, which has been transformed into a half-pipe for her sons to skateboard on. Above that is the game room, with a ping-pong table and a television, also for the boys.

It's about 8,200 square feet altogether, and a lot of it seems to be taken up by the kitchen. "It's not a formal house. It's kid-friendly, a place you can put your feet up," Evert says. Evert's in black sweatpants, white tennis shoes, and a shirt that matches her piercing hazel eyes. She has the trim figure of a woman decades younger (she's 56), the loose, relaxed carriage of an elite athlete, and a demeanor more akin to the chastened survivor of a painful breakup (or three) than to the groundstroking teenager who seemed to never break a sweat. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Which is to say, she is alternately hilarious, self-deprecating, reflective, angry (at her doctors, at others, at herself), bemused, anxious (her 19-year-old cracked his skull skateboarding a few weeks before—"and he's my easy one," she adds ruefully), determined, philosophical, and tenacious. One thing she is not is Little Miss Perfect. The truth is, she never was.

"I was labeled at a young age—Miss Unemotional, Miss Cool," she says, "and that would carry over to my press conferences. I still have this image: I can't be controversial, I can't say things." She takes a deep breath. "Being famous before you've formed your personality, before you have that self-esteem, is dangerous. Things obviously built up inside me. I competed and handled pressure well—that was my strength. But I suppressed things off the court" as well, she says. Most Popular No one knew it at the time, though. Her steadiness was too impressive, her precision too riveting. When she was 15, she beat the number one player in the world, Margaret Court, and over the course of a 17-year career, she won the Australian Open twice, Wimbledon three times, the U.S. Open six, and the French Open seven times—a modern record. She also won three Grand Slam doubles titles. Her winning percentage of 90 percent (1,309-146) has never been matched by any tennis player, male or female. That she was a remarkable athlete in an era when female athletes were vaulting into the public consciousness is inarguable.

But it's probably not why she was so beloved, so idolized, and ultimately, so misunderstood. All that was surely more a function of her relentlessly polite demeanor, her supremely phlegmatic affect on court and off. While other champions of her generation (especially men like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Ilie Nastase) were snarling, cursing, making obscene gestures, and saying unprintable things, and while even her greatest rival, Martina Navratilova, was playing with obvious hunger and sometimes even what looked like rage, the "Ice Maiden" (or "Little Miss Sunshine," or "Ice Princess," depending on who was writing the story or calling the match) would merely narrow her eyes to signal displeasure, or perhaps mutter something that everyone imagined sounded like "Aw, shoot!" Plus, she had those eyes. And that adorable two-fisted backhand (she first used it as a five-year-old, to compensate for her lack of power; now it's a common sight and is used by both sexes, including Rafael Nadal). And that cute smile—so pretty, so feminine.

She wasn't just Chris Evert, the polite baseliner with the perfect form—she was Chrissie. Mothers wanted her to be their daughter. Girls wanted her to be their best friend. Boys wanted—well, many of them probably wanted what boys often want. What no one knew was what she was keeping in, what she wasn't saying, what was missing. "I've had a lot of fear in my life, from fear of flying to fear of making a speech in front of a lot of people." She had fears she didn't even know about and wouldn't discover until years later. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below These days, it's accepted wisdom among sports fans and tennis aficionados that many athletic prodigies—especially female tennis players—end up paying a heavy emotional price for their early success and the obsessiveness it took to get them there. In 1980, when Andrea Yaeger was barely 15 years old, she became the youngest player ever seeded at Wimbledon; within three years, she was out of tennis and later claimed that she had thrown major matches because she couldn't stand the spotlight.

In 1989, Mary Pierce became the youngest American player to turn pro, at 14; shortly thereafter, she filed a restraining order against her coach, who was also her father. In 1990, Jennifer Capriati became the youngest player to crack the top 10, also at 14; a few years later, she was arrested for shoplifting and smoking marijuana. Things seemed more innocent in 1975, when Chrissie became the world's top player at 15. But appearances were deceiving. For starters, there was her stoic coach-father, Jimmy, a former tennis pro himself. "I always idolized my dad," Evert says. "He was very hardworking, strict.

I wanted in the beginning to get his praise and his affection, but I didn't get, `Chrissie, I love you; Chrissie, you look beautiful.' My dad's approach to tennis was, `Don't make errors,' not `That's a beautiful shot.'" When little Chrissie would complain about her father not giving her more love, her mother, Colette, always said, "Oh, that's just the way he is." She also warned Chrissie, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it." Her legions of fans, and the media people who covered her, praised her politeness and gushed over her demeanor. She paid attention to them. She had always been good at paying attention. She was nice. She was polite. She was a liar. "Someone at a press conference would ask, `How'd you feel about your match?' and I'd say that my opponent played too well, that this was her day. The real answer was that I let her win the match because I was horrible, I was really bad out there." Even on the court, being good wasn't quite good enough. She had to be pleasing.

She wore jewelry, and nail polish, and mascara. "I wore ruffled bloomers! I wanted to be `feminine.' Female athletes were rare and considered masculine and not celebrated when I was growing up." She didn't complain, though. She barely had the vocabulary. "I didn't speak what I felt, I didn't want to be controversial. I was the opposite of John McEnroe. John said, `If I had been a little bit more like you and you had been a little more like me, it would have been perfect.'" Finally, there were the people who took care of her. "When you're famous, and number one in the world—you have a manager, a coach, someone handling your money, a secretary, people doing everything for you. They would say, `Chrissie, just play your matches, we'll take care of you.' I didn't have the tools to lead a normal life. I didn't do my wash. Entitled is not a very pretty word, but that was me. I had a sense of entitlement." Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Evert makes clear that she's not complaining—"I'm done with the pity party for me. I'm done. I'm lucky.

There are people who have it a lot worse than I do"—but she also makes clear, intentionally or not, that what was forged by her relentless training and incandescent fame, her determination to be not just a good girl but the best girl, was not simply an intense, and intensely pleasant, nearly error-free athlete who seldom if ever insulted an opponent, much less complained to a linesman. What also emerged was a beautiful young woman who craved male approval, an expert at keeping her needs to herself, an accomplished and successful champion who had very little idea of how to be alone. In many awful ways and for all the wrong reasons, she was the perfect partner for a fine romance. And she had a few. Most Popular She was engaged at 19 ("Love Match!" screamed the tabloids) to fellow tennis phenom Jimmy Connors (he was 21). There were dalliances with Burt Reynolds, British rocker and actor Adam Faith, and President Ford's son, Jack. She married British tennis player John Lloyd in 1979 when she was 24, after she read an article in which he described the loneliness of the professional athlete. She could relate to his message. She was lonely too.

"I had a girlfriend ask him if he would want to go out with her and me to Tramp in London, to go out dancing. Yeah, he was all over that. That was our first date, and we hit it off." What she didn't know then, she knows now. "It was doomed from the start, because he was on the men's tour, and I was on the women's tour, and we never saw each other. I was married to my tennis. My aspiration was to become number one. I had no emotion left when I got home." In 1987, two years after she had been named "Greatest Woman Athlete of the Last 25 Years" by the Women's Sports Foundation, Evert and Lloyd divorced. There was little criticism from Evert's fans (nor was there much blowback after the Mill or Norman divorce: "My fans were always respectful," she says. "I never felt anything but positive things from them"). But there was other criticism. "Both my parents were really sad at the divorce, and disappointed. My mom wrote me a letter. My dad didn't talk to me for a while. Life is so funny.

It was because my dad wasn't talking to me that Martina invited me to Aspen." Martina was, of course, Martina Navratilova, Evert's archrival and close friend. At a New Year's Eve party in the ski town, at the Hotel Jerome, Evert spotted Olympic ski champion Andy Mill as he walked into the room. He sat down next to her and asked, "What are you doing here?" She told him she was there to ski, of course. The next day, skiing backward the whole way, holding her hands, he helped her down the mountain. They were married in July 1988 and in fairly short order had three sons. They were a golden couple: the skiing champ and the tennis star. They split time in Aspen and Boca Raton—and traveled a lot in between. They loved their children. They were famous, accomplished, good-looking, and rich. How could anything go wrong? Advertisement - Continue Reading Below What people didn't know was that Evert felt alone. What people didn't know was that she felt frightened—of flying, of speaking in public, of playing in exhibition matches.

What they didn't know was that what with the distractions and demands of raising the boys, and Andy's travel, and her travel, she had a sense that something was wrong but didn't know what to do about it. One afternoon in 2001, while Evert was getting her hair highlighted at a Florida salon, she suddenly felt intensely cold. She felt her pulse racing. An ambulance was called, and the attending doctors at the hospital measured her blood pressure at 180/110 and concluded that hypertension was the cause of her symptoms. They put her on medication, and for more than a year she felt groggy all the time, and weak, and yet still had the cold, pulse-racing episodes. After a year, a friend mentioned that it sounded like it might be not high blood pressure, but high anxiety. That's when she stopped the blood-pressure medication and started on the antidepressant Paxil. That helped. The frightening episodes stopped. Her blood pressure went down. But none of it stopped the deepening gulf she felt in her marriage. Friends suggested professional help. But the tennis champ wasn't used to asking for help. What champion needs a shrink?

"I'd go, `God, can't you figure out your own problems?' " By the time she and her husband did see a therapist, it was too late. By then, Greg Norman, her husband's pal, was wooing her. Or she was wooing him. It didn't really matter. "The counselor said, `If you're in love with somebody else, it's not going to work.'" She was, and it didn't. When she and Norman married, it was yet another storybook scenario. This time, though, she barely knew the leading man. "Basically," she says, "I married my affair." (Though she is quick to point out that she didn't sleep with Norman while she was still married to Mill.) When Evert and Norman divorced all too shortly thereafter, she fell apart. She thought about the huge mistake she had made, the pain she had caused Mill, whom she had described as "my husband and best friend and soul mate." She thought about what she had done to her children. She thought about what she had done to Norman's ex-wife. The woman who was always in control, who always looked forward, had lost control. Now she couldn't stop looking backward.

"My conscience and my guilt and my grief kicked in. I was a little bit of a mess then." Friends tried to help. "People would say, `You gotta get busy, you gotta keep busy.'" She didn't get busy. She cried. She took to her bed, watched a lot of movies, read self-help books. And then she got better. She doubled her exercise. She practiced yoga. She read more self-help books. And she saw a shrink. In therapy, she realized that she had misperceived her own feelings, elicited by the attentions of a man other than her husband. She realized that it wasn't love she'd been feeling but rather excitement at receiving attention and approval—things she had been searching for her entire life and had never gotten enough of. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below "When you go into therapy, you go back to your childhood. You realize it, and you get over it. You don't continue that relationship into your next relationship, like I did. You don't look for that confidence from others. It wasn't a need for love, because I had that. What I needed was approval, affirmation. I think that's probably why I always needed to be in a relationship.

A lot of it was my neediness. In a way, I'd always gotten my way. I wasn't as independent as I should have been—a quality I wish I had developed at a younger age. It wasn't Andy—it was all me. "I haven't been alone since I was 21," Evert continues. "I've had boyfriends and husbands—if I was an addict in anything, I was a relationship addict." Most Popular She says she knows now that the kind of affirmation she sought—the affirmation that she had never really known she was missing—wasn't going to come from a new romance, or from having a man flirt with her. "My therapist told me, when you're feeling down, be of service to people. So I went to my tennis academy, to the hospital—it builds back both a sense of self-worth and of humility. "Everybody took care of everything—of me—since I was 15 years old," Evert says. "Now I'm trying to take care of myself." She's been spending time with her sons. In the weeks ahead, she'll spend more time at her tennis academy and coach the tennis teams at Boca Raton's Saint Andrew's high school.

She'll raise money for the Chris Evert Children's Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. This summer, she is set to serve as an ESPN commentator at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open—"After five years," she says, "it's time to get back to work. I gotta get the juices going again." In the coming weeks, she'll schedule an exhibition match and fly to New York to introduce Billie Jean King at an awards dinner. All of it—the flying, the public speaking—will scare her, but that's all right, because nobody's perfect, and nobody can be perfect, no matter how hard one tries. She's happy to have finally figured that out. She's sorry she hurt people, and it's not like she would choose to have made the mistakes she did, but if the cost of self-knowledge and at least a measure of peace is mistakes, she's okay with that. She rarely wears jewelry these days, certainly not when on the court. She doesn't wear makeup, either—and absolutely no ruffled bloomers. "My hair's in a ponytail most of the time, and I'm fit, and that's me," she says. "You might have youth and looks, but you don't have a clue.

When you get older, you feel beautiful inside when you have that wisdom and you can teach others. That's when you feel beautiful. That's when I feel beautiful." Asked why she has chosen to talk about all this now, she pauses—a rare thing, because the teenaged Ice Princess, the preternaturally laconic adolescent, has grown into quite a chatterbox. "That's a good question. No one's ever asked me that before." After pausing some more, she says she's talking because she hopes she might be able to help someone else who believes in fairy tales, someone else who believes that love will conquer all, that romance will make a woman whole, or that keeping things in is a way of keeping things together. She would like to disabuse people of some dangerous notions. "I have something to say to women and married couples out there: I was with Andy for 18 years. It was a good, solid marriage. When we were growing apart, I should have nailed it right then and there, and communicated, but I didn't. And when someone came into my life, I just left. I broke a lot of hearts. I broke Andy's heart and broke my kids' hearts.

And I brought that into my next marriage; those issues that weren't resolved. What I have to say is, marriage is up and down. If you sense that you're drifting apart, you've got to confront the issue then and there. You can't wait until five years later, because then it might be too late." More from ELLE: Evert not surprised by McIlroy's split with Wozniacki - tribunedigital-chicagotribune Evert not surprised by McIlroy's split with Wozniacki May 22, 2014|Reuters LONDON (Reuters) - Golfer Rory McIlroy's decision this week to call off his wedding with former world number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is no surprise, according to Chris Evert who suffered similar heartache 40 years ago. Eighteen-times grand slam champion Evert was engaged to fellow American tennis champion Jimmy Connors in 1974, the year both won the Wimbledon title, but the so-called golden couple canceled their wedding.

McIlroy, twice a major champion, announced on Wednesday that he had changed his mind about marrying Dane Wozniacki despite the wedding invitations having already been posted. "It doesn't surprise me," Evert, who was 19 when engaged to Connors, said in an ESPN conference call ahead of next week's French Open. "I look back at Jimmy and I.Â To look at two players that are in the prime of their career and are striving to be No. 1, (you) don't see each other. "I mean, I was married in my 20s to my tennis.Â That was the only way I could put all my emotions and energies into that goal. I was in awe that it (McIlroy and Wozniacki's relationship) worked as long as it did. "I can't believe it.Â They must be just different kind of people.Â I understand 100 percent, you're married to your career.Â You're using your emotions.Â You're using the mental capacity that you have.

"You're putting everything into it.Â That's what it takes to be the best." Evert has since been married three times, to former British tennis player John Lloyd, downhill skier Andy Mill, with whom she had three sons, and Australian golfer Greg Norman -- all of them ending in divorce. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ossian Shine) MORE: Evert's return from the love match - Telegraph Tennis Evert's return from the love match After her disastrous marriage to Greg Norman, Chris Evert is rediscovering happiness. She talks to Cassandra Jardine ahead of today’s women’s final . Looking forward: three-time Wimbledon champion Chris Evert says a new generation of players could be set to take over from the Williams sisters Photo: Getty Images 10:23PM BST 01 Jul 2011 It was 30 years ago today that Chrissie Evert, known as The Ice Maiden, won her final Wimbledon title. Calm under pressure, at one stage the former world number one played 55 matches in a row without being beaten. That iron self-control has been called upon recently as she copes with the aftermath of the most disastrous off-court match of her life.

On Thursday, at Wimbledon, she found herself in the same place at the same time as her ex-husband, Greg Norman, who came with his new wife, Karen, on his arm. Oh, the relief of having the ESPN commentary box to hide in with old friends and fellow ex-players Pam Shriver and Mary-Jo Fernandez. Whether on screen, or talking to me now about the fashion for grunting — “I was never a grunter, I just breathed” — or the future of the American game after the Williams sisters — “we’ve got to bite our tongues and get better players” — chatting about tennis comes as light relief after the emotional roller-coaster of the last five years. She talks with enthusiasm about her new part-time commentating career which she calls, no pun intended, “a whole new ball game”. Entertaining the viewer is not about slamming in a winner, but keeping the ball in play, so it’s better for the social skills. “Commentating can be miserable if you don’t have a good team, but it’s a lot of fun if you do and I’m with people who were my friends anyway, so I don’t feel at all competitive,” she says sounding genuinely carefree.

Aged 56, she looks terrific in jeans and a T-shirt, an idealised vision of the all-American middle-aged mother with three teenage sons whom she adores. After four years spent dodging questions about the biggest mistake of her life there’s an unforced smile on her face and a lightness to her, whatever the subject, so long as I avoid mentioning a certain golfer. “I’m getting happier,” she says. “I’m in a much better place than I’ve been in the last few years.” Related Articles Greg Norman to marry for third time 18 Oct 2010 Her midlife crisis began when, in 2006, she divorced her husband of 18 years, the Olympic downhill skier Andy Mill, because she had fallen in love with Greg “The Great White Shark” Norman, the former world number one golfer, who also happened to be Mill’s friend and business partner. Norman’s wife, Laura Andrassy, accused Evert of ruthless pursuit. “She came after him. I have never seen anything like it,” she said.

Chrissie Evert got her man just as, in her tennis heyday, she won 18 Grand Slams, including three Wimbledons (1974, 76 and 81). You don’t get to be a champion by not competing. But sometimes the prize isn’t worth winning, as Evert found in the matrimonial game. Her marriage to Norman, celebrated in June 2008, lasted just 15 months. He wasted no time in marrying again. Meanwhile, Mill had also found himself a new wife. “It’s very, very amicable,” she says, about to fly off to Aspen, Colorado, to join her sons, who are staying with their father and stepmother. “I love his wife, we all get along great and the boys are happy, too.” Advantage Evert for putting on a brave face, but it has been a difficult time, one in which Martina Navratilova, once her great on-court rival, has been a “confidante”. “In those days we didn’t let each other into our private lives but she knew I wasn’t Little Miss Icicle.

Now we talk about relationships and laugh about the old days.” Navratilova hasn’t blabbed, but those mysterious “friends” who crop up when there is gossip to be dispensed have voiced various theories as to what went wrong with the Evert/Norman match. Some say that Norman’s two grown-up children made life hard for their stepmother. Andrassy has called Evert too controlling. A common opinion is that two champions make poor bedfellows. The focus on winning messes with your head, as Evert is well aware. She has been a champion since the age of seven. “I didn’t enjoy the isolation. You have to be very self-absorbed, very selfish because it is all about you, and everyone is gunning for you. “I remember aged 14 being so excited that I was made a cheerleader at high school. I told my dad who said, 'What about your tennis?’ It had to be all or nothing, and I made the decision to go with the tennis.

I stopped in 1989, when I was 34, not because I was tired physically but because after 21 years I was mentally tired of waking up every morning and having to compete, and the whole world knowing I had won or lost.” Pretty, feminine and not prone to tantrums, Evert with her double-handed backhand cut an appealing figure on court. She was real, she had boyfriends. Aged 19, she was engaged to Jimmy Connors, then Wimbledon men’s champion. In 1979, she endeared herself to British audiences by marrying our good-looking player, John Lloyd, and became Chris Evert-Lloyd, one half of a “golden couple”. The second barrel came off her name eight years later when they divorced, following her affair with the singer Adam Faith. A year later she married Andy Mill and left the tennis circuit soon after. “For years after I felt I was on vacation. After all those years of it all being about me, it was a great relief when I retired, had three children and it was all about them. I felt more like Chrissie in my role as a mother.” For 20 years she has been a “stay at home mum”.

Well, almost. Ten years ago she set up a tennis academy in Florida with one of her brothers (her father was a player turned coach; all five children were champions). She now plays three or four times a week, coaching teenagers who may one day become the next Serena Williams. Only 5ft 6in and slender, she doubts if she would have had the power to defeat today’s 6ft-plus or heavily-muscled women. Tennis has become more serious, more international since her day, but she’s glad of it. “It’ll be another three years at least,” she believes, before another world-class American talent comes through. And it won’t be one of her sons, because they take after their father: “They are fearless and like extreme sports like skateboarding; tennis is far too gentle for them.” That doesn’t worry her. It’s enough to have been back at Wimbledon, a place she loves. “They must never change the grass or the rules about wearing white.” And to find herself happy again. Coverage of women’s final on BBC One starts at 1pm Chris Evert - Tennis Player, Athlete - Biography.com » quotes “I didn't speak what I felt; I didn't want to be controversial.

I was the opposite of John McEnroe. John said, 'If I had been a little bit more like you and you had been a little more like me, it would have been perfect.'” “At a young age I learned how to put together a point. There's a science to it. You study the court, you study the opponent and you build that sense of anticipation.” Chris Evert Synopsis Born in Florida in 1954, Chris Evert was drilled in the fundamentals of tennis at a young age by her father. She won the first of a record seven French Open titles in 1974 and took over the world's No. 1 ranking in 1975. Evert retired in 1989 with 18 Grand Slam singles titles and a record 90 percent career winning percentage. Elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995, she later became a TV analyst. Early Years Christine Marie Evert was born on December 21, 1954, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to parents Jimmy and Colette Evert.

A former competitive tennis player who became the head pro at Fort Lauderdale's Holiday Park facility, Jimmy taught the sport to all five of his children. Beginning at age 5, Chris Evert was drilled in the fundamentals of tennis on Holiday Park's clay courts, where she developed her famed two-handed backhand. The hours of practice paid off: Evert became the No. 1–ranked junior player in her age group as an eighth grader and in 1970 won the girls' 16-and-under national championship. Tennis Champion Evert served notice that an extraordinary career was in the making when, as a 15-year-old, she defeated reigning U.S. Open champion Margaret Court at a tournament in North Carolina. Her talent was revealed to the rest of the tennis world at the 1971 U.S. Open, when she staged several impressive comebacks in the early rounds before falling to eventual champion Billie Jean King in the semifinals. That was the starting point of a remarkable run for Evert, who advanced to at least the semifinals of her first 34 Grand Slam tournaments.

She reeled off a then-record 55 consecutive wins in 1974, capturing the French Open and Wimbledon championships along the way. The following year she added a second French title and a U.S. Open triumph en route to the No. 1 ranking, a spot she held for most of the remainder of the 1970s. Eschewing the net game that was common at the time, Evert wore down opponents with her steady baseline groundstrokes. Pretty, even-keeled and feminine, she rose to fame as "America's Sweetheart," although her stoic nature later garnered her less flattering nicknames, such as the "Ice Maiden." Evert won her first Australian Open title in 1982 to complete the career Grand Slam, but by that time her dominance on the women's tour was being threatened by Czech star Martina Navratilova . The two engaged in many memorable battles, most notably in the 1984 U.S. Open final won by Navratilova. But Evert still found ways to claim the upper hand, outlasting her friend and greatest rival to win the French Open in 1985 and 1986.

Evert retired following her loss to Zina Garrison in the quarterfinals of the 1989 U.S. Open. She finished her career with 18 Grand Slam singles titles, including a record seven at the French Open, as well as three doubles championships. The owner of a record 90 percent career winning percentage in singles play, she was unanimously elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995. Personal Life Romantically involved with fellow tennis champion Jimmy Connors until they broke off their engagement in 1974, Evert was married to British player John Lloyd from 1979 to 1987. Her second marriage, to American Olympic skier Andy Mill, produced three children. Following their divorce in 2006, Evert married Australian golfer Greg Norman in 2008, though the union lasted less than two years. The retired tennis great remains involved in the sport via the tennis academy she founded with her family in 1996. A resident of Boca Raton, Florida, she also serves as publisher of Tennis magazine and as an analyst for ESPN. Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness.

If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us ! Citation Information Caroline Wozniacki breaks silence after McIlroy split - Telegraph Golf Caroline Wozniacki breaks silence after McIlroy split Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish tennis player, says on Twitter that she is going through a 'hard time' after her fiance cancelled their wedding Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in action at Indian Wells, 2014 Photo: Rex By Claire Duffin 1:23PM BST 22 May 2014 Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish tennis player, has spoken of her pain after her fiance, golfer Rory McIlroy, cancelled their wedding just days after they sent out the invitations. Miss Wozniacki, 23, said on Twitter: “It's a hard time for me right now. Thanks for all the sweet messages!” The Liverpool football supporter, who lives in Monaco, added: “Happy I support Liverpool right now because I know I'll never walk alone” in a reference to the club’s anthem, You’ll never walk alone.

Tennis player Serena Williams, the world number one, then sent her support to Miss Wozniacki, tweeting: "I'll always walk with you.#friendsforever." Meanwhile, Chris Evert, the former world number one tennis player, said she was not suprised by the couple's separation. Related Articles Is it possible for two top sports stars to make it in love? 22 May 2014 Evert, the 18-time grand slam winner, was engaged to fellow American tennis champion Jimmy Connors in 1974, the year both won the Wimbledon title. They also cancelled their wedding. McIlroy, 25, issued a statement on Wednesday ending his relationship with Wozniacki. He said: “There is no right way to end a relationship that has been so important to two people. The problem is mine. "The wedding invitations made me realise that I wasn't ready for all that marriage entails. I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves and thank her for the great times we've had.” Evert, who was 19 when engaged to Connors, said: "It doesn't surprise me. "I look back at Jimmy and I.

To look at two players that are in the prime of their career and are striving to be No. 1, [you] don't see each other. "I mean, I was married in my 20s to my tennis.That was the only way I could put all my emotions and energies into that goal. I was in awe that it [McIlroy and Wozniacki's relationship] worked as long as it did. "I can't believe it. They must be just different kind of people. I understand 100 per cent, you're married to your career. You're using your emotions. You're using the mental capacity that you have. "You're putting everything into it. That's what it takes to be the best." Evert has since been married three times, to former British tennis player John Lloyd, downhill skier Andy Mill, with whom she had three sons, and Australian golfer Greg Norman -- all of them ending in divorce. McIlroy and Wozniacki started dating in 2011, shortly after McIlroy won the US Open, his first major, and when Wozniacki was number one in the world.

McIlroy went on to become number one in the world in 2012 but they have both suffered a dip in form - Wozniacki is now number 14 in the world and McIlroy is number 10. Friends and colleagues have spoken of their shock at the separation. Plans for the wedding were said to be well under way. The couple reportedly hired a wedding planner in New York in February and planned to marry on Nov 8. Invitations had been delivered to a number of high–profile guests, including Bill Clinton, the former US president, it was reported. Among the rumoured venues for the wedding was the New York Palace hotel's Villard Mansion, opposite St Patrick's Cathedral. The couple, who had been together for more than two years, had separated before – once in October after Miss Wozniacki posted an unflattering picture of her sleeping boyfriend onTwitter. But they appeared happy in recent months – frequently referring to each other on Twitter - and spent the past week together in Monte Carlo, with McIlroy posting a picture online on Sunday of the view from the restaurant Nobu.

Miss Wozniacki had also told how McIlroy, who has a £6 million house in Florida, sought her parents' blessing before asking her to be his wife. "They were very happy for me, and his parents as well and everyone around us. It's a special moment, a special time in our lives," she said previously. Miss Wozniacki had also recently hinted at the possibility that the couple may have a baby. Last month, she told Lime magazine: “I want to be a relatively young mother, and I do not see it as being too far in the future." Her hairdresser, Dennis Knudsen, a celebrity stylist in Denmark, said he was “shocked” by the announcement. He had been booked to style Miss Wozniacki’s hair and do her make up for the wedding and was due to attend as a guest. "I am shocked and otherwise I have no further comments on it. It is a private matter that I have to talk to Caroline about," he told Ekstra Bladet, the Danish tabloid newspaper.

Malou Ejdesgaard, a close friend of Miss Wozniacki, told the same publication: "I will not say much because I have not been able to get hold of Caroline. But I'm just as much in shock as everyone else." Miss Ejdesgaard said she had received her invitation a few days ago and was looking forward to celebrating with the couple in New York in November. "It must have been something that happened quickly and suddenly,” she added. “But as I said I do not know anything about the background.” Michael Mortensen, her coach until recently, said: "I'm absolutely shocked. I have seen them together and they had the ultimate love and respect for each other." McIlroy proposed on a boat in Sydney Harbour as the newyear fireworks lit up the sky. Announcing the news on Twitter, he posted pictures of the couple and the ring, writing: "Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling it's going to be a great year! My first victory of 2014 #shesaidyes!!" Before he began dating Miss Wozniacki, Northern Ireland-born McIlroy had been with his "childhood sweetheart" Holly Sweeny for six years.

Question: Who has been engaged to US tennis player Jimmy Connors and married to British tennis player John Lloyd, Olympic downhill skier Andy Mill and Australian golfer Greg Norman?
Answer: Chris Evert