0:00:48 > 0:00:521977 was an annus mirabilis for Great Britain.
0:00:52 > 0:00:58Queen Elizabeth II toured the country in celebration of her Silver Jubilee
0:00:58 > 0:01:01as Britons quite literally danced in the streets.
0:01:09 > 0:01:15At Wimbledon, the centenary All England Championships were graced by Her Majesty's presence
0:01:15 > 0:01:19and for once the tennis gods shone on the home nation.
0:01:19 > 0:01:25Virginia Wade was an elegant, all-court player with talent to spare, but a fragile nerve.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28That year, I mean I was coming obviously
0:01:28 > 0:01:32to the end of what was really my peak years
0:01:32 > 0:01:36and I was thinking, "I've messed up so many times at Wimbledon,"
0:01:36 > 0:01:42and the extra aura that it had with the Queen being there and being the centenary year
0:01:42 > 0:01:45just managed to take my motivation
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and make it stronger than my nerves.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51'She's done it, she's done it.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54'A fairy story come true.'
0:01:56 > 0:01:58If I watch it now
0:01:58 > 0:02:02or if I even talk about it, I might start getting emotional.
0:02:02 > 0:02:07There was the Queen and there was so much noise going on, I have no idea what she said.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09I just couldn't hear her.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11APPLAUSE
0:02:11 > 0:02:16# For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow... #
0:02:16 > 0:02:21Then you hold the trophy up - it's very heavy - I'd never experienced anything like this.
0:02:21 > 0:02:27To tell you the truth, it made me feel very, very small, which was very nice.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29I just was part of the whole thing.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34A fairy story indeed,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38but a far cry from the preceding decades
0:02:38 > 0:02:41when British successes at Wimbledon were few and far between.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45In the second of our four-part series, we examine an era
0:02:45 > 0:02:50of huge change, not just at Wimbledon, but on a global scale.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55In the immediate post-war years, Britain was anxious to get back to normal,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59yet acutely aware of the difficulty of doing so.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02The land fit for heroes was still subject to rationing
0:03:02 > 0:03:06and there were major shortages of staple foods.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11The Centre Court, a metaphor for the country, was gouged by a bomb crater.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14But the main aim was to get the show back on the road.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20There was no better symbol of a world at peace than a sunny afternoon at SW19.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25Americans would stop off in Ireland on their way here, in Shannon
0:03:25 > 0:03:27where the plane would stop,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30and pick up butter and cheese and whatever
0:03:30 > 0:03:34because they just didn't have those things here at the time.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40All of London was very grim still in 1946.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43We hadn't really yet got over the war.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Food was rationed.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50Some of the American players even brought their own steaks with them.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55I took enough meat to have two steaks every day for the 14 days,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00including about four days during the Queen's Tournament which I played in the doubles.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04It worked out beautifully. I was mentally prepared.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08I said, "I'll have no problems. I'll have my regular stuff."
0:04:08 > 0:04:12It just worked out beautifully. That meat was a big help mentally for me.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16I hate to admit it, but I guess I was a steak freak in those days.
0:04:18 > 0:04:24It's part of the British nature to be generous with their sport -
0:04:24 > 0:04:30invent the game, lay down the rules, export it and then watch as the rest of the world becomes the masters.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Beating the Mother Country became terrific sport after the Second World War
0:04:36 > 0:04:43and where better to advertise the uprising than on the lawns of the most English of sporting events?
0:04:43 > 0:04:47But of course, the Americans hadn't had a war.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52Their own championship in America was played throughout the war years.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56They didn't have any breaks and so they went on playing
0:04:56 > 0:05:02and came here best prepared of all the competitors who played in 1946 and those next few years.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06So we had some very great American champions.
0:05:06 > 0:05:12I played a lot of matches against Don Budge when he was in the Air Force and I was in the Coast Guard,
0:05:12 > 0:05:18so we kept sharp and we were lucky in America, being athletes, that this was available to us.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22There were some great American stars of that era -
0:05:22 > 0:05:27Bob Falkenburg who used to chuck sets
0:05:27 > 0:05:32because he would get tired and conserve his energy by conceding a set.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Rather a curious thing to think of now, but that's what happened.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Jack Kramer, of course.
0:05:38 > 0:05:44I'll be very honest with you. I'm fairly lucky in winning my two US Championships and my Wimbledon title.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Anybody that wins Wimbledon is a deserving champion.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53You win because on that fortnight you've been the best player in the world.
0:05:53 > 0:05:59Luck or not, the American men claimed five consecutive singles titles between 1947 and 1951.
0:05:59 > 0:06:04But their dominance was eclipsed by that of their female counterparts.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09You could name 12, 13, 14 really great American women,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13the greatest of whom, of course, was Maureen Connolly,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17the first woman to win the Grand Slam in 1953.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22Even before her, we'd had Pauline Betz, Louise Brough. The list goes on and on.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26But they were terrific players and set a very high standard.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32In that outstanding generation, Maureen Connolly was the most talented,
0:06:32 > 0:06:37Louise Brough the most effective, but Althea Gibson was the most surprising.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42Long before the Williams sisters' explosion on to the global stage came the girl from Harlem,
0:06:42 > 0:06:48six foot tall and with a touch of both Venus and Serena in her imposing presence on court.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50She was intimidating.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54She was tall. I don't know how tall, probably six foot two or so.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58And she sort of towered over you.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00She was long and spindly.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06She threw the ball up miles high and this great, powerful serve came belting down.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11She beat me often. And analysing her game, she had a great serve,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13a very good serve,
0:07:13 > 0:07:15and she had continental strokes,
0:07:15 > 0:07:20which were, to me, always kind of baffling.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25I didn't think they were solid, but she was making all these shots.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Althea Gibson's victories in tennis were as important to people
0:07:29 > 0:07:33as Jackie Robinson's integration with baseball. She started playing
0:07:33 > 0:07:38before the Civil Rights Movement and during the Civil Rights Movement.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43At that time, a lot of people placed a lot of stock in what entertainers and athletes were doing
0:07:43 > 0:07:48because they had such visibility that people held them in high esteem.
0:07:48 > 0:07:54There were a number of high profile people like Sugar Ray Robinson and the boxer Joe Louis
0:07:54 > 0:07:58who helped provide Althea with money, so that she could compete.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03They also broke barriers in boxing, so they understood what she was going through.
0:08:03 > 0:08:09The esteem of winning at such an international place as Wimbledon made Althea a huge star
0:08:09 > 0:08:14and an important figurehead for black people in sport and in life.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18People lined up outside of her apartment building in Harlem.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23She was surprised to see how many people were standing at the airport to greet her.
0:08:23 > 0:08:29People had celebrations everywhere that she went and people continued to celebrate for years
0:08:29 > 0:08:34and she paved the way for a number of people from Arthur Ashe to Venus and Serena Williams.
0:08:34 > 0:08:40Wimbledon had evolved into the premier global tennis tournament and demand was increasing
0:08:40 > 0:08:46for show court tickets, but the All England Club's unique entrance policy remained unchanged.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51It was the same in the 1950s and 1960s as it is today.
0:08:51 > 0:08:57'If you want to see the 100 yards run in under ten seconds, stand by the Wimbledon gates on the last day.'
0:08:57 > 0:09:00I think our approach to ticketing is very egalitarian.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04I don't think there's many sporting events in the world
0:09:04 > 0:09:08who have a public ballot for tickets open to anybody to apply,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12then deliberately holds back ground passes
0:09:12 > 0:09:16and a limited number of Centre Court tickets for people to queue up.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20The last few years, we had 20,000 people queueing in Wimbledon Park
0:09:20 > 0:09:25for 6,000 ground passes and 500 Centre Court tickets.
0:09:25 > 0:09:31I think Wimbledon has always tried to dedicate its efforts very much to the fans.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34That is the purpose of the queue at Wimbledon.
0:09:34 > 0:09:40Wimbledon could easily sell all the Centre Court tickets in a few days to the highest corporate bidders,
0:09:40 > 0:09:47but the queue is the fairest way of getting 6,000 or 7,000 people a day into our grounds.
0:09:47 > 0:09:54I think it's become a rite of passage almost. Now we've moved it into the park, it's become...
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Again for international people, if you go in the queue... If you're from Australia or South Africa
0:09:59 > 0:10:03and you're in London, you do a couple of days in the queue.
0:10:03 > 0:10:09So we provide a nice environment, but again they all add to the vibrancy, I think, of the atmosphere
0:10:09 > 0:10:12for people who come in here.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16What we've now seen is almost like an emergent strategy.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20The queues are an important part of the fan experience.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It's part of the product and of the brand,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26so rather than seeking to alleviate the queues,
0:10:26 > 0:10:31it's almost as though the All England Club have tried to perpetuate the queues
0:10:31 > 0:10:36because it's all part of the camaraderie, it's part of the communal spirit.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40It's part of the event itself,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44so I think in some ways it was entirely accidental,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48but Wimbledon are now playing this out very, very well
0:10:48 > 0:10:54because they've used the misfortune in a way that's helped to create a very interesting brand experience.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59After the American dominance in the post-war years,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03a new nation emerged as a force to be reckoned with -
0:11:03 > 0:11:06the first country to view tennis as a team sport.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11The Australians roomed together, practised together and drank together.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16They call it "mateship", an unbreakable camaraderie which still lies
0:11:16 > 0:11:20at the heart of Australian sporting success.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25Well, I think the Australian group, which was started by Sedgman and McGregor...
0:11:26 > 0:11:32..owed a great deal to Harry Hopman, the great coach and former player
0:11:32 > 0:11:38who moulded those players into a great Davis Cup squad.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43Harry was, you know, he was really a very strong person.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47He couldn't teach you how to hit a ball that well,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49but he was a stickler for fitness
0:11:49 > 0:11:55and I think his teams won so many matches because they could go all day and they were the fittest players.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58He was very strict. I can remember our first trip away.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02It was Rosewall and Hoad's first trip away when they were 17.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07And I was about 21 and he had us going to bed at ten o'clock at night
0:12:07 > 0:12:10and I wasn't used to going to bed at ten o'clock at night,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14but you had to get into bed at ten o'clock and turn the light out.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18If you didn't do what he said, you'd be on the plane back to Australia.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23You've got to take it back in its context. It was amateur tennis.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28Amateur tennis didn't mean that you were playing for prize money.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30You were playing for pride and trophies.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34And it was your opportunity to represent your nation.
0:12:34 > 0:12:40The Australians' domination of the game coincided with the first mass push towards professionalism,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43but this wasn't a new idea.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47Big Bill Tilden had blazed a trail as early as the 1930s.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Tilden, as he advanced and got into his 30s,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55realised that he could make a buck off of this.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58And so he began to tour.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03Tilden gave older players an avenue to go into and they all succeeded him.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07You became a champion, then you turned pro
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and you had to leave the big tournaments.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14I won at Wimbledon, I won the US,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18then the Davis Cup, and then the opportunity opened up for me
0:13:18 > 0:13:22to turn professional and make a career of being a top tennis player.
0:13:22 > 0:13:28I got a telephone call in New York during the US Open, I think, in 1967,
0:13:28 > 0:13:34wondering whether I was ready to sign a contract to play professional tennis.
0:13:34 > 0:13:40At that point, I was ready to give up and retire from tennis and get a real job.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43But I was offered 30,000 dollars,
0:13:43 > 0:13:50which was four times what I could have made in any job back in South Africa at the time.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54And, um...so I signed quickly.
0:13:54 > 0:14:00The divide was absolute. By turning pro and accepting payment for playing the sport,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05you were excluded from all of the Grand Slams, including Wimbledon.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08By the 1960s, the amateur game was in turmoil.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11The top players had all been poached by the pro tours,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15led by former player Jack Kramer and promoter Lamar Hunt.
0:14:17 > 0:14:24By 1967, the amateur game was really needing a boost
0:14:24 > 0:14:29because all the great champions had been signed to professional terms.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Turning professional wasn't an easy choice
0:14:32 > 0:14:38because in a way you're abandoning Australia to some degree
0:14:38 > 0:14:41because of the Davis Cup being very important.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45The touring teams had started you off, taking you round the world
0:14:45 > 0:14:48to improve your game, to represent Australia.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53You're not representing anybody when you turn professional, so it was a tough choice,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57but at the same time, I felt I had to do something about my future
0:14:57 > 0:15:01and I thought that was a legitimate way of accomplishing it.
0:15:01 > 0:15:07The latest of the promoters was WCT, Lamar Hunt's organisation,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10and he signed up The Handsome Eight.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16Well, as personalities, we were supposed to be enthusiastic and exciting
0:15:16 > 0:15:18and young and handsome.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23The whole idea was to get a group of guys together
0:15:23 > 0:15:28that WCT could turn into "personalities".
0:15:30 > 0:15:33The capture of those players,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38who included John Newcombe, of course, and our own Roger Taylor,
0:15:38 > 0:15:43meant that the game now desperately needed to resolve the question
0:15:43 > 0:15:45of amateurism and professionalism.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Any sport in which money is being made
0:15:49 > 0:15:54and you're not paying the performers, but everybody else is getting money -
0:15:54 > 0:15:58the coaches are getting money, the presenters are getting money,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02the press and the people who sell the hot dogs are getting money...
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Everybody is getting money but the performers. That's insane!
0:16:06 > 0:16:12The pressure reached its height when the best players in the world, like Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16were no longer able to play in the best championships in the world.
0:16:16 > 0:16:22And it finally happened as a result of the All England Club staging in 1967,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25on the hallowed turf of the Centre Court,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28a professional tournament. Shock, horror!
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Wimbledon and the BBC had a trial tournament
0:16:31 > 0:16:35of which I was the promoter and brought in the eight best players,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39including Rod and Ken and Lew and Gonzales and everybody,
0:16:39 > 0:16:44to find out if the fans would like to come to Wimbledon to see professionals.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48We sold the place out, all three days that we played,
0:16:48 > 0:16:54and that made it very easy for them to make the decision to go to open tennis.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58- 'And that's the championship.' - Game, set and match to Laver.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02'A very thrilling match indeed - 6-2, 6-2, 12-10.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06'Rod Laver becomes the first professional champion at Wimbledon.'
0:17:06 > 0:17:11In the history of the game, nothing was as important as that decision.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16The first Grand Slam of this brand-new era was the 1968 All England Championships.
0:17:16 > 0:17:22Fittingly, six years after his last, Rod Laver, the Rockhampton Rocket,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24won back his men's singles title.
0:17:25 > 0:17:32'Victory in straight sets - 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, to become Wimbledon's first open champion.'
0:17:32 > 0:17:39The amateurs were against the pros and there was considerable talk about the pros being overrated
0:17:39 > 0:17:44and that the amateurs were going to win and beat the pros.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Fortunately, we as the professionals did pretty well.
0:17:48 > 0:17:55With the biggest stars back in the fold, the popularity of the championships exploded,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59but still the hallowed ground of Centre Court remained pristine.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03The All England Club stayed faithful to its ethos of understated elegance
0:18:03 > 0:18:06to the detriment of potential advertising revenue.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12Wimbledon is unique and I think it's unique even amongst the four Slams.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16If you look at commercial activity around the tournament as one example,
0:18:16 > 0:18:20you compare Roland Garros with Centre Court at Wimbledon,
0:18:20 > 0:18:25at Roland Garros, lots of sponsors' logos, at Wimbledon, no sponsorship logos.
0:18:25 > 0:18:31It is a very unique and distinctive property and the comparison that I would make with Wimbledon,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35certainly in terms of other cultural assets if you like,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38is it's a bit like Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
0:18:38 > 0:18:44It's quintessentially English, it's very distinctive, it really screams out Englishness.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49That's very different to other tennis tournaments and other sporting events
0:18:49 > 0:18:53in this globalised environment that sport now operates in.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58I think it's been particularly a business philosophy at Wimbledon
0:18:58 > 0:19:03to differentiate itself from other organisations and other sporting events
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and to make itself very individual.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10I think by not having advertising on Centre Court and around the grounds,
0:19:10 > 0:19:14that makes Wimbledon quite unique in the world of sport today
0:19:14 > 0:19:18and if we did have a lot of perimeter advertising,
0:19:18 > 0:19:25the danger is we would just compete with other events and not differentiate ourselves in that way.
0:19:25 > 0:19:31The approach the All England Club has always taken is to have selected partners, rather than sponsors,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34providing goods and services for the event.
0:19:34 > 0:19:40Their minimal, almost subliminal presence on Centre Court has raised these brands to iconic status.
0:19:44 > 0:19:50In 1978, Rolex decided to be more part of the sporting world.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55And the elegance and exclusivity of this Wimbledon Championship
0:19:55 > 0:19:59was really part of the heart of Rolex at that time and still is.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02So it's a major thing for us.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Slazenger were immensely proud of our long-standing association
0:20:06 > 0:20:09with the championships at Wimbledon.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14We've been an official ball supplier to the championships since 1902.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19That makes our partnership the longest-standing in sports history.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Robinsons Lemon Barley Water was indeed created at Wimbledon
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and the story, I'm pretty certain it's true,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32is that there was a Robinsons sales representative at Wimbledon
0:20:32 > 0:20:37who on a hot and very sunny day noticed that the players looked pretty fatigued,
0:20:37 > 0:20:43so he took the initiative and got together a jug with some iced water, some lemon juice, some barley powder,
0:20:43 > 0:20:49mixed it together and encouraged the players to drink it because it would invigorate them for the next match,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52so there was born Robinsons Lemon Barley Water.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59It's very, very interesting because Wimbledon faces something of a conundrum
0:20:59 > 0:21:03in that, at the moment, by not having more visible logos,
0:21:03 > 0:21:07it is forgoing potentially a very strong revenue stream,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10but at the same time, the more it commercialises,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14the more potentially it tarnishes the essence of the Wimbledon brand.
0:21:14 > 0:21:20We were talking about exclusivity, elegance, uniqueness.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It's really the same thing for Rolex.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Tradition, innovation.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29So these are the roots of our association.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33As the 1960s gave way to the '70s,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37professionalism brought a new outlook to Wimbledon.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42It was yet another Australian who led the way in the women's game.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47Following her male counterparts, the exceptionally athletic Margaret Court
0:21:47 > 0:21:51became the first Australian woman to claim the Wimbledon singles title,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55heralding the arrival of a new breed of female tennis player.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58I was very fortunate
0:21:58 > 0:22:03that one of our all-time greats, Frank Sedgman, opened his gymnasium
0:22:03 > 0:22:06to me and to work in one of his offices.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10He trained with me. I used to train in the gym five mornings a week.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15The English press used to give me a hard time. They used to call me the Aussie Amazon.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20I always remember... I think it was my fitness that kept me in the game
0:22:20 > 0:22:22for probably 15, 16 years without injury.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26It was all the training I did as a young person. I loved it.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30In those days, it wasn't lady-like to say that you go to the gym
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and work out because it wasn't lady-like to have muscles.
0:22:34 > 0:22:41Court and Goolagong, later Mrs Cawley, were two of a triumvirate of precociously talented women
0:22:41 > 0:22:44who played out an intense rivalry that spanned 15 years.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49Margaret set the bar physically, Evonne possessed bewitching, balletic grace,
0:22:49 > 0:22:56but a diminutive American brought mental toughness with a touch of gamesmanship to the Centre Court.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00I remember the first few times that I played Billie Jean.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02She scared me
0:23:02 > 0:23:05because she was always, um...
0:23:05 > 0:23:08You know, she was always talking.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11She seemed bigger than life to me.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16She was an aggressive player, serve and volley player, and I thought, "Oh, God, here she comes!"
0:23:16 > 0:23:21I used to spend more time watching her than paying attention to what I was doing.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Even though I had a lot of tough matches against Margaret,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29I think Billie Jean was the one that gave me a really tough time.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34I think Billie knew tactically how to do it too
0:23:34 > 0:23:40and I think I was one that could turn off to her when she started to perform.
0:23:40 > 0:23:46A lot of the younger players didn't understand that and she would get through them
0:23:46 > 0:23:49in the tactics side of it also,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51but she knew...
0:23:51 > 0:23:57She never nerved me. I think that sort of helped me tremendously and got through her a little bit.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Evonne and I had played many times.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08The only time I ever lost to Evonne was in the Wimbledon tournament.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12I'd played her many, many times.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17I think it was the year when I found I was on Centre Court and I was three months' pregnant.
0:24:17 > 0:24:23I came along when Billie Jean and Margaret were on top and playing each other in all the finals,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26so, you know, I had those two to contend with.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30And then along came Chris and then Martina,
0:24:30 > 0:24:37so I think it's been great knowing that I've played sort of both generations
0:24:37 > 0:24:40and did reasonably well against both.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46Knowing I got to play against the best of the best will always be a great feeling.
0:24:46 > 0:24:53What's really important to us too is that we really helped forge the future of women's tennis.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55I think every generation's job
0:24:55 > 0:25:00is to make the next generation better.
0:25:00 > 0:25:06Between the three of them, Court, Cawley and King won 11 titles.
0:25:06 > 0:25:13Billie Jean went on to set records on the court and become a tireless campaigner for equality off it.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23As the 1970s drew to a close, a new generation of professionals had emerged -
0:25:23 > 0:25:27fitter, stronger and more powerful than their predecessors.
0:25:27 > 0:25:33The new breed of tennis players were more than just athletes. They were personalities.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40The ice-cool.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42The brattish. The controversial.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45And the heart-throbs.
0:25:45 > 0:25:51Tennis and Wimbledon braced itself for the most exciting era the game had ever seen.
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