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Tennis
At 46, Martina Navratilova isn't content with just playing, she strives for the win.
By KEITH NIEBUHR, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2003
Martina Navratilova left competitive tennis in the mid-1990s with a loaded resume.
She had no intention of returning.
But while working as a commentator at Wimbledon in 2000, the tennis icon had a crazy thought. Why not hit the court again, just for fun?
"I got the itch and was ready to go physically," Navratilova said. "I got a good break from tennis and honestly didn't think I would ever play again. ... (At Wimbledon), I just thought I might as well play doubles because I'm in good shape. And then I enjoyed it so much. The pressure of playing singles was so immense that just playing doubles was a relief. It never occurred to me I could just play doubles. It just sort of snowballed from there."
If anyone is capable of competing in a sport dominated by players half her age, it is Navratilova, who at 46 is in remarkable physical shape despite the many years of oncourt wear and tear. She works out regularly with a personal trainer, eats right and practices less than in the past, giving her body more time to rest and recover.
She doesn't play for the adulation.
She plays to win.
"If I'm going to play I want to play as well as I possibly can, which means preparing," said Navratilova, who lives in Aspen, Colo. "I think it was Joe Paterno who said that most people have the will to win, but very few have the will to prepare."
Navratilova apparently has both.
She has three tournament titles this year -- two in doubles and a mixed doubles championship at the Australian Open. The victory in Melbourne, where she teamed with India's Leander Paes to beat Todd Woodbridge and Eleni Daniilidou 6-4, 7-5, was her 57th title (18 singles, 31 doubles and eight in mixed doubles) at a Grand Slam tournament, putting her behind only Margaret Court's 62.
It was her first mixed title in the Australian, which gave her at least one championship each in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at all four majors, which two other women have accomplished. Navratilova, the oldest player to win on the WTA Tour, had not played in a Grand Slam final in almost eight years.
"This goes beyond any wildest dream," she said after winning.
Navratilova's feat added another chapter to an already storied career.
She won the first of 167 singles titles (a record in men's and women's tennis) 29 years ago in Orlando, then turned professional the next year. In 1978, she claimed her first major, winning at Wimbledon. That same year, she moved to No. 1 in the world rankings the first time. In 1984, Navratilova, the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Decade in the 1980s, won 74 consecutive matches. Athletically, she had few, if any, equals.
But she also was cerebral. The left-handed Navratilova, a serve-and-volley specialist, fearlessly charged the net, knowing more often than not the move would rattle her opponents into an unforced error or cause them to hit the ball at her.
"Nobody plays (now) the way I did," Navratilova said.
Navratilova won nine Wimbledon singles titles and four U.S. Open championships. She reached the singles final at 32 Grand Slam events and has 168 doubles titles.
Navratilova defeated No. 22 Tatiana Panova in the first round of a tournament in England last summer, prompting many to speculate how Navratilova in her prime might fare against today's best, particularly sisters Serena and Venus Williams.
"I think she would do just fine," the always-confident Navratilova said of herself. "Everybody's got a bigger serve now and I think that's what really separates Venus and Serena from the pack. That and their ability to cover the court. ... I'd love to be playing now against them, but I played against people like Margaret Court and Billie Jean King, and three or four generations. You can only do so much."