OTT Review: Chris And Martina: The Final Set
Chris And Martina: The Final Set | Director: Rebecca Gitlitz | Cast: Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova | Netflix
Chris Evert was the blonde American princess who wore ruffled bloomers, jewellery, and was the girl next door. Martina Navratilova was the Czech defector, who learnt her English from I Love Lucy reruns, a queer woman who was built like the elite athlete she was. Their rivalry helped shape women’s tennis. They played each other 80 times, Evert won 37 and Navratilova won 43. They were friends, then rivals, and then friends again united by the cancer that hit them both.
To a generation raised on the rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, it is difficult to explain how this great rivalry ignited the world of tennis, with each pushing the other to be better. Evert was the baseliner, who won her first Wimbledon at 19 in 1974. Navratilova was the big server, who won her first Wimbledon at 22 in 1978, beating Evert. Evert retired in 1989 with 157 Singles titles. Navratilove went on for five more years, winning 167 Singles titles. They both fought the patriarchy in different ways, and the documentary on their lives reminds us how far tennis has come. It also shows what sportsmanship is all about. Greatness comes at a price but not at the cost of humanity, and to watch the two greats revisiting their old matches together is a treat.