"Especially grateful for this birthday" - Martina Navratilova thanks fans for well wishes following a year of cancer struggle

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova could not contain her happiness at the wishes she received on her birthday as she thanked her fans.

Navratilova celebrated her 67th birthday on Wednesday (October 18). It's no surprise that the American had her inbox overflowing with well-wishes, given how popular she's among fans. It was also an extra special day for her, as it marked her first birthday after successfully beating cancer.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her gratitude to everyone who wished her:

"Good morning everyone! And thank you to all for your birthday wishes- am very grateful to you and am especially grateful for this birthday!!!"

Among all the wishes, one from Martina Navratilova's good friend and former rival Chris Evert stood out. Evert stated that the Czech-born-American continues to 'inspire' her and has a 'huge heart.'

"Happy birthday to my great friend ⁦@Martina who continues to inspire me with her strength, resilience, and principles... You've got a huge heart, Martina, so appreciate of our friendship," she wrote on X.

Navratilova then wasted no time in thanking Evert, with whom she shares 18 Grand Slam singles titles.

"To say this means the world to me, well … that is an understatement- right back at you Chrissie, and thanks for helping me get to this birthday," she wrote.

Chris Evert, like Martina Navratilova, was a cancer patient, suffering from stage 1C ovarian cancer. However, the 18-time Grand Slam champion confirmed earlier this year that she's now cancer-free.

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Chris Evert once revealed how Martina Navratilova overcame losing record against her

Chris Evert (left) and Martina Navratilova at a press conference

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert's rivalry is widely regarded as one of the best in tennis history.

They faced each other a whopping 80 times, with Navratilova leading the head-to-head 43-37 and 36-24 in finals. However, in the early stages, the win-loss record was skewed in Evert's favor.

In a 1990 interview on Bob Costas' "Later" show, the two players discussed their rivalry. Evert disclosed that Navratilova's close friend and legendary American basketball player Nancy Lieberman had advised the nine-time Wimbledon winner to "hate" Evert and have a "killer instinct."

"Nancy pretty much drummed it in her, 'Hate Chris, hate Chris, and you'll play better'. Unfortunately, it worked. It was bad for our relationship, but she started to beat me once she got that killer instinct going," Evert said.

Evert added that in most of their matches at the start of their rivalry, Martina Navratilova was always nice and extremely respectful.

At that point, Lieberman intervened and strongly advised Navratilova to alter her perspective on her opponent — which later proved to be highly effective for the 67-year-old.

"She (Lieberman) had this theory that Martina was losing to me because she was too nice to me, and she liked me too much," the seven-time French Open champion said.

"She had this theory that you really have to dislike your opponent if you want to win. You have to get that killer instinct going. I can see what happened because Martina had no killer instinct a long time ago. She was just so happy to be in America from Czechoslovakia," she added.