'Chris & Martina: The Final Set' premieres at Tribeca Film Festival
NEW YORK -- Women's tennis took center stage at the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday evening, as the upcoming Netflix documentary "Chris & Martina: The Final Set" had its world premiere in New York City.
Tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova walked the red carpet in front of the SVA Theater in Chelsea, joined by director Rebecca Gitlitz, fellow tennis greats, celebrities and family members.
WTA Chair Valerie Camillo was in attendance, as was seven-time Grand Slam singles champion John McEnroe (wearing a Knicks jersey before heading to Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of the NBA Finals).
"Chris & Martina: The Final Set" examines the legendary, and often contentious, rivalry between Evert and Navratilova in the 1970s and 1980s. They were contrasting figures -- the All-American Evert, from Florida, and Navratilova, who defected from communist Czechoslovakia.
At first it was Evert who had the upper hand in the rivalry, winning nine of their first 10 matches and getting all the fame and acclaim.
But that would change. Navratilova became fanatical about her fitness level and training and eventually caught up to Evert, and they would compete fiercely in the ensuing decades, taking women's tennis to new heights.
"Billie Jean [King] started the whole thing, and the Original 9," Evert said on the red carpet. "They really did all the hard work to fill the circuit and get prize money and get sponsors. But I’m glad that Martina and I came along next, because we had a rivalry that elevated the exposure to women's tennis even higher."
Their relationship would change throughout the years, from friendly -- they won two Grand Slam doubles titles together before Evert disbanded their team -- to icy to cordial.
But later in life, when they were both diagnosed with cancer and became more introspective, they developed a deep emotional bond over their treatments, their struggles, their sacrifices and their shared place in history.
The documentary features never-before-seen footage and rare interviews, and includes scenes where Evert and Navratilova watch some of their classic matches together for the first time.
"Chris takes it from the emotional point of view," Navratilova said of rewatching those matches. "I’m thinking I should have hit to her forehand more, I should have hit more drop shots. I totally see it from a strategy or technique viewpoint. But it was funny because neither one of us ever watched those.
"And then you remember, 'Oh, that’s what happened on that point, or that was the score, or I forgot I had that break point.' It was just funny from a tennis viewpoint as well as the emotional, how we reacted in between points. It was a trip down memory lane."
In the darker parts of the documentary, Evert and Navratilova are seen getting cancer treatments and meeting with doctors about future plans and prognoses. But as dark as those moments are, it's equally uplifting and heartwarming to see them embrace, support each other and share positive news about their progress.
Following the screening, which got a lengthy and hearty applause from the capacity crowd, Evert and Navratilova did a Q&A alongside Gitlitz.
"Everything about being No. 1 is about being No. 1," Gitlitz said. "Your whole life revolves around you, what you need, and what you have to do to be the best. I think some people think that’s wrong. I think that’s unbelievable. I think the focus and the fortitude to be able to say, 'I want to be the best,' especially for women … I love that about them.
"I love that they said, 'I want to be better than everybody else.' And I wish more women said that because yes, there was a lot of cost. But at the very end of the doc, I said to Chris, 'You have a lot of regrets, right? There’s a lot of things that you wish went differently. If you could do it all again, would you?' She said, 'In a heartbeat.' And I love that about her."
"Chris & Martina: The Final Set" premieres on Netflix on June 26.