"The joy on his face says it all" - Chris Evert inspired by the success of wheelchair Wimbledon champion Tokito Oda

Tennis legend Chris Evert was recently left impressed by the success of Japan's teenager Tokio Oda, the wheelchair men's singles champion of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Just after midday on Sunday (July 16), quite an astonishing record was broken when 17-year-old Tokito Oda became the youngest man ever to win a Wimbledon singles title in any discipline.

Tokito Oda's record-breaking performance came just 18 hours after the men's doubles final, which was won by Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid after the duo beat Oda and his partner, compatriot Takuya Miki. Hewett and Oda returned to the same Court No. 1 arena for the singles final.

However, this time, the Japanese teenager emerged as the clear victor, winning with an impressive 6-4, 6-2 scoreline in front of a vibrant and enthusiastic crowd who supported him throughout.

Oda had also won the men's wheelchair tennis singles title at the French Open two months ago, becoming the category's youngest Grand Slam champion in history. He defeated top-seeded Alfie Hewett, 6-1, 6-4, avenging his loss in the Australian Open final in January.

In light of this, 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert praised the youngster on Twitter, writing:

"So inspirational! The joy on his face says it all!"

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Chris Evert recalls a valuable piece of advice her father gave her when she was a child

Chris Evert pictured with her father.

Chris Evert recalled a valuable piece of advice her late father and coach Jimmy Evert gave her when she was a child.

In a video from 2021, the American can be seen discussing her father's advice, which came when she was 12 years old and started "cussing" and breaking racquets.

Seeing this, her father advised her not to show any emotion to her opponent, as doing so would give them the impression that they had the upper hand.

"I was practicing about 12 years old and I started cussing and broke a couple of rackets and my dad, who was my coach was on the court and he said 'If you show your opponent that you are upset, they are gonna be really happy about that and they are gonna go uh-huh, I have her'. He goes, 'Don't show your opponent any emotion and I promise you that will give you like two games a set'," she said.

She also revealed the origin of her nickname, 'The Ice Maiden', saying it came after she followed her father's advice and built a reputation for being composed on the court.

"Once I was that way, it came easy to me. Everybody expected me to be that way, so then I had an image and I was dubbed 'The Ice Maiden'. So then, of course, I couldn't come out of my bubble and all of a sudden be flamboyant and expressive and throw my racket," Chris Evert said.

Chris Evert shared the video on Twitter, stating that she still believes it was good advice.

"I still think this was good advice!!!" she wrote.