Martina Navratilova

By LOC
in The Sporting Arena

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

LOC Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

PARIS (AP) _ Martina Navratilova hit an ace Tuesday, a nifty achievement for a 47-year-old player at the French Open. She needed more than one.

Navratilova's Roland Garros comeback lasted barely an hour, ending with an opening-round loss to Gisela Dulko, 6-1, 6-3. The match was Navratilova's first in Grand Slam singles since 1994.

``I had some moments of brilliance,'' Navratilova said. ``But they were few and far between, unfortunately.''

The left-hander employed the same serve-and-volley tactics that helped her win 18 major singles titles, but she was often a step slow reaching shots. Often left lunging, Navratilova won just 10 of 22 points at the net, struggled with her serve and was broken five times.

In the twentysomething division, Serena and Venus Williams advanced easily.

No. 2-seeded Serena, jeered the last time she played at Roland Garros, drew applause after beating Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2. No. 4 Venus looked tentative at times in her first match since being sidelined May 9 by an ankle injury, but she still defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-2, 6-4.

On the men's side, top-ranked Roger Federer ended his two-year French Open losing streak by beating Kristof Vliegen 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.

Federer lost in the opening round at Roland Garros to Hicham Arazi in 2002 and to Luis Horna in 2003. But he dominated from the start against Vliegen, who lost in qualifying and made the draw only when another player withdrew.

Fabrice Santoro won the longest match _ by time _ in the Open era, beating fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 16-14. The 6-hour, 33-minute marathon actually took two days because darkness forced a suspension Monday at 5-all in the fifth set.

Dulko, 19, was born the year after Navratilova won the second of her two French Open titles in 1984. Two decades later, Navratilova is a very different player, and against Dulko she converted only one of six break-point chances.

Navratilova led 3-2 in the second set before the Argentine won the final four games.

``If you look at the score line, you'd say, wow, she got killed,'' Navratilova said. ``But if you watch the match, I could have been up 4-3 in the first set. I couldn't convert game points _ that was the difference in the match.''

In the next-to-last game, Navratilova stumbled and fell to the clay chasing a forehand into the corner. Dulko grimaced in concern, but Navratilova quickly rose unhurt.

Active in doubles since 2000, when she came out of retirement, Navratilova has said this will be her final year of competitive tennis. Her return this week drew complaints from at least two players that Navratilova took a spot in the draw that could have gone to a young player trying to establish herself.

``Did I diminish the tournament by playing out there today?'' Navratilova said. ``I don't think so.''

Navratilova said she hasn't decided whether to play singles next month at Wimbledon, a tournament she won a record nine times.

Serena Williams played on center court at the same time her older sister was on Court Suzanne Lenglen, and neither match produced much drama. Venus lost the first two games, then won 10 in a row against Tanasugarn.

``I was a little stressed out too starting out and got a slow start,'' Venus said. ``But so far, so good. Keep them short and simple.''

She's seeking her fifth Grand Slam title but her first since 2001 and her first at Roland Garros. She declined to say whether she was hampered by pain in the ankle.

``If I was, I wouldn't let on,'' Williams said with a smile.

Parisian fans turned against Serena Williams last year when she questioned calls during a semifinal loss to eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne. But this time there were cheers, not jeers.

``It was really exciting to come back out there,'' Williams said. ``I got out there and got nice applause. It was interesting. I didn't think anything about the semifinals. I just thought about playing my match.''

The biggest stir Williams caused Tuesday was in response to her latest ensemble _ a fuchsia two-piece outfit augmented by a headband, poofy hairpiece and hoop earrings the size of tennis balls.

``I'm always trying to raise the bar on my outfits, especially here,'' Williams said. ``It's a one-of-a-kind city, and you need to have a one-of-a-kind outfit.''

The Santoro-Clement match was one of a kind: an endurance test lasting 453 points. Santoro won 235, including the last one on a backhand winner.

He collapsed on his back in relief, and later sat at his chair and appeared to sob into a towel.

The previous longest match since the Open era began in 1968 was John McEnroe's five-set victory over Mats Wilander in a 1982 Davis Cup match that took 6:22, all in one day.

Clement, seeded 32nd, held a match point in the fifth set Monday but found himself still playing 17 hours later. He found no consolation in making the record book.

``I don't care,'' he said. ``What do I get, a medal?''

Source: Tennis.com

Damn! I used to love watching her play, I hope she plays Singles at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/170727-martina-navratilova/
Share on other sites
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.