The Evert family didn’t have a long-term plan to take over the tennis world, but it was beginning to feel that way.
18-year-old Chrissie showed no signs of slowing down. In two tournaments after Wimbledon, she had won all nine matches she played. Only Marita Redonda managed to win more than three games in a set against her. 11-year-old John Evert was making noise, too, finishing runner-up at the 12-and-under nationals.
In between, 15-year-old Jeanne Evert was also making progress. With the cream of American tennis away in Europe, she won titles at the Tulsa Invitation in May and the Southern Championships, in Raleigh, a month later. She came in second to Betsy Nagelsen at the national tournament for 16-and-unders.
This week, at the Western Championships in Cincinnati, it was Jeanne’s turn in the spotlight. She had just announced that she would turn professional on her 16th birthday in October. She was already proving that she could handle adult competition.
After an easy first-round defeat of British teen Glynis Coles, Jeanne settled in for a slugfest with a familiar foe, Laurie Tenney. Tenney was only 17 years old herself, and the two girls had faced off at junior events. Both were adept with the lob–something Jeanne was particularly susceptible to, standing just five-feet, one-inch tall. Neither was willing to test the other. After two hours and 46 minutes, their match was called for darkness, Evert leading 5-4 in the deciding set. The next day, Jeanne finished the job, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. She added another victory in straight sets over Sharon Walsh.
This was heady territory for the 15-year-old. Jeanne had a semi-final berth alongside both her older sister and Evonne Goolagong. The men’s draw was equally star-studded, led by Ilie Năstase and Chrissie’s boyfriend, Jimmy Connors.
On August 10th, Jeanne took on the biggest test of her young career. She faced Goolagong for a place in the Western final. The younger Evert liked her new role as an underdog, but she was realistic about her chances for an upset. When she played Evonne in April, she won only three games. “She just killed me,” said Jeanne.
Chrissie wasn’t much of a cheerleader either. “I really don’t think Jeanne expects to have a very good chance against Evonne,” she said. “Evonne’s so much stronger.”
So it proved. Jeanne fared better this time, breaking back midway through the first set to keep it close. “But she didn’t let up any,” Evert said of her opponent. “She doesn’t let it bother her; she just keeps playing. She wasn’t really in trouble.” Final score: 6-3, 6-2 to the Australian.
The pint-sized semi-finalist knew that success would take time. She told one reporter what she needed to do to beat Goolagong next time: “Grow.”
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This post is part of my series about the 1973 season, Battles, Boycotts, and Breakouts. Keep up with the project by checking the TennisAbstract.com front page, which shows an up-to-date Table of Contents after I post each installment.
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