"People were saying Martina Navratilova was dominant & Chris Evert had had her heyday" - When Evert spoke on winning last Slam amid Steffi Graf's rise

Chris Evert once reflected on the enormity of winning her final Grand Slam title in the time of Martina Navratilova's dominance and Steffi Graf's rise. The American, who was 35 years old at the time, also disclosed how the triumph caused her to prolong her career.

Evert entered the 1986 French Open defending champion and triumphed over the likes of Gabriela Sabatini, Carling Bassett, and Hana Mandlikova to set up an exciting final with her arch-rival Martina Navratilova. She was at a disadvantage heading into the title clash, having won only two of her last 20 encounters with Navratilova.

Nevertheless, Chris Evert claimed a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in the final to clinch her 18th and final Major title. In an interview with rolandgarros.com on the 35th anniversary of her victory in 2021, the former World No. 1 admitted that she had surprised herself by pulling off an upset against Martina Navratilova, especially since it was the widespread belief that her Slam-winning days were behind her.

"I think the beauty of it was that it was an upset, I'd beat Martina. Everybody had counted me out, I think, as far as winning another Grand Slam, that was the consensus. Martina was pretty dominant around those years. So the nice thing was just kind of surprising myself that I could still win a Grand Slam at that late age," Chris Evert said.

Evert also pointed out that the belief that she was past her prime was prompted by Steffi Graf breaking through on tour. However, the American disclosed that triumphing at the French Open motivated her to extend her career for another three years.

"That was also the year I think Steffi (Graf) was really starting to come up. People definitely were (saying)... Martina was dominant and the newcomers were coming up and Chrissie had had her heyday. I think that win, winning a Grand Slam, propelled me to play three more years, I played three more years. I wanted to milk it as long as I could," she added.

Chris Evert later locked horns with Martina Navratilova in the semifinals of the 1987 edition of the claycourt Major. Navratilova dashed the 18-time Grand Slam champion's hopes of defending her title by securing a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory.

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Chris Evert: "After that, it was an uphill battle because Steffi Graf and then Monica Seles really were starting to play well"

Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova - Source: Getty

During the same interview, Chris Evert admitted that after her triumph at the 1986 French Open, she found it an "uphill battle" to compete on tour. The American attributed the challenge to Steffi Graf and Monica Seles making a name for themselves by beating her and Martina Navratilova.

"After that, it was an uphill battle because Steffi and then Monica (Seles) really were starting to play well and they had nothing to lose and they were starting to beat Martina and I," Evert said.

Evert squared off against Graf in 13 tour-level encounters, with the German enjoying a 7-6 lead in their head-to-head record. Meanwhile, the 18-time Grand Slam champion held a 2-1 winning record against Seles.

Chris Evert eventually retired from professional tennis at the 1989 US Open. The American reached the quarterfinals of the New York Major in her final campaign before suffering a 7-6(1), 6-2 loss to Zina Garrison.