Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova played out a thrilling encounter in the semifinals of Wimbledon 1988, with the latter winning 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. However, the match ended on a controversial note, and Evert was far from happy. She eventually did not shake hands with the chair umpire after the fixture’s completion.
Chris Evert on Controversial Match Point at Wimbledon 1988
Evert was serving at 30-40 to stay in the match, and hit a forehand that reached the other side of the court after a deflection at the net. The then-33-year-old thought the ball was in and reacted accordingly. However, the linesman called the ball out, thus resulting in Navratilova winning the match.
Evert was not happy with the call at all, as she believed the ball was in. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion subsequently did not shake the chair umpire’s hand.
Speaking after the match, Evert said that she was surprised that the ball was called out, adding that she initially was unaware of it before looking at Navratilova’s celebratory reaction.
“You know, I’m just real surprised that the linesman called it out but you know, after thinking about it, it really doesn’t matter what I think because I’m not sitting there on the line. He thought it was out and he called it out. So, there’s nothing I can do about it,” Evert said.
I was so sure it was good that I reacted, I was so happy it was deuce, and I was totally unaware that he had called it out. And then, I looked and I saw Martina with her hand out like that, and then I put two and two together, and figured out that the linesman had called it out. I don’t usually question calls but that was so crucial, and I think that, I don’t know, maybe it was a mixture of hoping and seeing but I really do think it was in,” she added.
With the win over Evert, Navratilova reached her seventh successive Wimbledon singles final, where she lost to a 19-year-old Steffi Graf.
#Onthisday in 1988, Steffi Graf won gold in Seoul, clinching the first and only ‘Golden Slam’
Here’s how she won the #Wimbledon leg… pic.twitter.com/ulcyBUWybn
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) October 1, 2016
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova Locked Horns 9 Times at Wimbledon
Evert and Navratilova faced one another more on Wimbledon than at any other Grand Slam, locking horns on nine occasions. Navratilova won seven out of these, including five finals in 1978, 1979, 1982, 1984 and 1985.
Evert and Navratilova played out one of the best Wimbledon finals ever in 1978, with the latter winning 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. Chris Evert won just a couple of her matches against her rival at the grass-court Major, namely two semifinals in 1976 and 1980.
The two locked horns just twice after their semifinal clash at the 1988 Wimbledon semifinals, with their final meeting coming in the final of that year’s Virginia Slims of Chicago. Navratilova beat Evert 6-2, 6-2, thus finishing their head-to-head at 43-37.
