"A fierce and versatile competitor" - Billie Jean King wishes Evonne Goolagong Cawley on her birthday

Former World No. 1 Billie Jean King recently took to social media to wish Australian tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley on her birthday.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion reflected on her rivalry with former World No. 1 Goolagong Cawley, describing her as a fierce and versatile competitor. King added that the seven-time Grand Slam champion is a wonderful person.

The American tennis legend wrote:

"Happy Birthday to Australian tennis legend and my friend Evonne Goolagong (Crawley). Evonne is a 7x Grand Slam women's singles champion, a fierce and versatile competitor, and a wonderful person."

Following her loss to Goolagong Cawley in the semifinals of the 1974 Virginia Slims Championships, Billie Jean King marvelled at the Australian's graceful demeanour and mobility across the court, comparing her to a panther.

"She [Evonne Goolagong Cawley] was like a panther compared to me. She had more mobility and she played beautifully. I started watching her, and then I'd remember all of a sudden that I had to hit the ball," King said.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley was a formidable competitor. After accumulating 68 singles titles and compiling a record of 704-165 across her career, the former World No. 1 retired in 1983. Her seven Grand Slam singles victories - four at the Australian Open, two at Wimbledon, and one at the French Open - will never be forgotten.

"It was at the age of nine that I dreamed of winning Wimbledon" - When Evonne Goolagong Cawley reflected on her illustrious career

Evonne Goolagong Cawley in front of her mural at the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival in Australia

Evonne Goolagong Cawley appeared as a guest on a television news program, Where Are They Now Australia in 2007. The seven-time Grand Slam champion reflected on her childhood and shared an intriguing story from when she was only nine years old and dreamt of winning the Wimbledon Championship.

"It was at the age of nine that I dreamed of winning Wimbledon," said Goolagong Cawley.

Elaborating further, the former World No. 1 talked about a cartoon story she read in a magazine about a young girl who was trained and taken to a place named "Wimbledon," where she played on a magical tennis court and ended up victorious.

“I read this cartoon magazine story called Princess Magazine, about a young girl who was found, trained and taken to this place called Wimbledon, where she played on this magical centre court and eventually won," said Goolagong Cawley.

Goolagong Cawley explained how she used to pretend to be the girl from the cartoon while in practice and even dreamt about the magical court.

"Every time I went to hit against a wall I used to pretend I was there, and every time I went to sleep I would dream about playing on that magical court,” she further added.

As a 19-year-old, Evonne Goolagong Cawley made her debut at Wimbledon in 1970 and only had to wait a year for her fairy tale to come true as she won the Grand Slam in 1971, beating her compatriot Margaret Court.