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Riveting rivalries
Chris Evert vs.
Martina Navratilova
John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, maybe the most heated rivals ever in men's tennis, played each other 14 times. Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova also met on 14 occasions -- in Grand Slam finals. From 1973 to 1988, the two women went head to head 80 times (with Navratilova winning 43 matches, including 10 of those Slams). Funny thing is, their on-court dominance was just about all the two had in common. Evert: America's sweetheart, romantically linked to athletes and movie stars. Navratilova: child of the communist Czech Republic, one of the first openly gay athletes. Evert: stoic righty with a huge two-handed backhand. Navratilova: emotional lefty with a quick serve-and-volley game. And yet, the two legends have always been tight. "After the match, one is very happy and one is very sad," Navratilova (left in photo, with Evert) once said. "But we would put our arms around each other and say, 'You know, I was lucky,' or, 'Next time, you're going to get it.'" And we're pretty sure McEnroe and Borg never did that.
