“I'm like, wow Chris knows who I am”: Navratilova looks back fondly at first meeting with close friend Evert

Martina Navratilova recalled meeting Chris Evert for the first time and her excitement about the legend knowing who she was which started their friendship.

Evert and Navratilova are great friends today and they shared one of the most amazing rivalries in professional sports. They battled each other for 15 years with each having their moment. 80 matches in total were contested between Navratilova and Evert starting in 1973 when they first met each other.

Recalling that, Navratilova said:

"When I first met Chris and when she said hello to me, I was so excited."In 1973 at Fort Lauderdale, I was walking by and she said, 'Hi,' and I'm like, wow, Chris knows who I am."

Evert said of Navratilova:

"With all due respect, most of the opponents that I played, I had a winning record against. With Martina, it was a different story."

It's part of a feature on their rivalry which you can see below.