"Ripe old age of 19... I was not a typical teenager" - Chris Evert fondly looks back on her maiden Grand Slam title at French Open 1974

Chris Evert recently recounted her mindset going into the 1974 French Open, which saw her win her maiden Major title. The American believes that she wasn't a normal teenager, with an immense focus on leaving the rest of her peers behind as far as career achievements went.

Evert joined the women's tour at the turn of the 1970s. She soon became one of the greatest tennis players of the old era, winning 18 Grand Slam tournaments in the next two decades. Seven of those came on the terre battue of Paris, making an unassailable argument for her to be the best female player on clay.

Chris Evert's French Open domination was recently covered by US sports magazine Tennis; the 69-year-old admitted during the segment that she was not a "typical teenager", as her mentality was far beyond her years.

"In the spring of 1974, I was at the ripe old age of 19. I was a typical teenager in a lot of ways, and I was not a typical teenager in a lot of ways. Emotionally, I was a typical teenager in the sense of... 'I really want to belong', I did not want to be an outsider. But where I wasn't typical was my mentality. I was very, very intense and very focused. I was chasing Grand Slam titles."

The American also disclosed that she had a strong conviction in her abilities on the dirt in 1974 - a year after her maiden Major final appearance in Paris (where she lost to Margaret Court in three sets).

"The French Open in 1974, I went into that tournament thinking this is my time, I can beat these girls. I've beaten all of these girls in this tournament on clay. This is my surface. I was ready to win my first Grand Slam. The clay was so slow, and you were using wood rackets. Nobody could hit me off the court. I was just willing to stay out there as long as I could and, you know, wear them down. And so, that's what I did."

---

Chris Evert on her early success: "Nobody had seen a young girl do so well until then"

Chris Evert looks on at Wimbledon 2016

Chris Evert went on to win her first eight Major titles before turning 24. She was also the first woman to hold the World No. 1 position after the inception of the WTA rankings in 1975. Naturally, these spectacular feats were likely to make her peers green with envy.

In a conversation with American writer Debbie Millman in 2022, the legend insisted that she may have accidentally hogged the limelight from the players who played a big role in forming the WTA Tour.

"Because I was getting all the press. I was on the cover of Newsweek. You know, I was the 'It girl', nobody had seen a young girl do so well until then. A young school girl, an all-American girl. I was the promoter's dream, I was the sponsor's dream.

So they did all the work and I kind of came right in there and started beating them. Suddenly, I was getting all the attention. So I 100% understand why they felt the way they did."