Ajla Tomljanovic speaks on relationship with Chris Evert - "We love each other, so we're there for each other"

Wimbledon quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic and 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert share a special bond, with the Croatian-Australian considering Evert her mentor and a friend.

Tomljanovic fought back from a set down to defeat Alize Cornet on Monday and book her place in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. By doing so, she became the first Australian woman to enter successive quarterfinals at SW19 since Jelena Dokic reached the quarterfinals in 1999 and the semifinals in 2000.

In a chat with The Sydney Morning Herald, Tomljanovic spoke about the relationship and bond she has with Evert.

“Actually, over the past few months, we’ve been talking more than ever. She’s been there for me, like, this year a lot. It’s been so nice,” Tomljanovic said, adding, “We love each other, so we were there for each other in that way. She texted me before the match [against Cornet] that she believes in me.”

Evert has battled ovarian cancer this year, but her determination to help Tomljanovic has not waned.

“I kind of felt at one point bad. She was going through something, if you want to talk about problems in life, that’s something that’s scary. I remember one time telling her: ‘oh, my gosh, I don’t want to bother you with my problems because you’re doing something way harder’. She’s like: ‘no, no, I love, in a way, the distraction’,” Tomljanovic said.

While the 29-year-old has dealt with self-doubt throughout her career, Evert made sure that it sunk into Tomljanovic that she’s through to the last eight at Wimbledon.

"She repeated, like, three times: ‘Ajla, you’re in the quarter-finals again’. I think she repeated it, like, because I wasn’t saying much, I was just kind of laughing at her. She just kept saying how happy she is for me. I said something like ‘can you believe I’m here after, I don’t know, a couple months ago, the conversations we were having,’” Tomljanovic said.