WTT disappointment

Not so good news to report this weekend. The Boston Lobsters lost their semifinal playoff match in Sacramento on Friday to the New York Sportimes 25-7. Martina, unfortunately, lost all three of her matches - in singles, she lost to Martina Hingis 5-2; in doubles, Martina & Kristen Schlukebir lost to Hingis & Jennifer Hopkins 5-2; and in the mixed, Martina & Johan Landsberg lost to Hingis & Rajeev Ram 5-2. Looks like having Hingis back made all the difference for the Sportimes who had lost their previous two Hingis-less encounters with the Lobsters.

Nevertheless, I think it is safe to say it was a successful season for the Lobsters who were a new team, back for the first time since 1978. To have made the playoffs is a great achievement. Well done, team - Martina, Daja Bedanova, Kristen Schlukebir, Thomas Blake, Johan Landsberg, Jonathan Chu, James Blake and coach Anne Smith. Team owner, Bahar Uttam, who worked so hard to bring the Lobsters back to WTT says he's "virtually sure" Martina will return next year so that is definitely something to look forward to. Make sure you check out this excellent piece by Bud Collins in the Boston Globe.

And a few links. First a few articles on Friday's match: WTT Press Release, The Sacramento Bee, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald. And two photos: Photo One, Photo Two.

I'm not sure what Martina's next event is going to be. Per this nice article by Mic Huber in her hometown newspaper, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, she will likely be heading to the Czech Republic next. Thanks to Marilyn for alerting me to this article. Martina is also committed to playing the Womens Tennis Classic in Mill Valley, California next month, October 14-16 - an exhibition event organized by Rosie Casals which will also feature Tracy Austin, Jana Novotna, Caroline Vis, Wayne Ferreira & Rick Leach. For a few articles, click on the following links: Bay Area Business Woman, the Marin Independent Journal. You can also visit the official event website here.

And finally, this is slightly off-topic but I thought it deserved a mention. Liezel Huber, an opponent of Martina's on court, occasional doubles partner and a good friend, has set up a charity called "Liezel's Cause" to help out the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Liezel has been off the tour since July following a knee injury and is currently undergoing rehab after surgery. For an article from 'The Sunday Tribune,' click here and click here for one from 'The Houston Chronicle'.

Summer Recap

Hey Martina fans, remember me? :-)

It goes without saying, I'm extremely embarassed, not to mention sorry, for having gone MIA over the last month. Hopefully, most of you were checking in on the message boards which is always up-to-speed on Martina's latest tournaments and results. My apologies again to everyone for the inconvenience caused...

What a summer Martina has had. It sure looks like she has amazingly managed to turn the year around with some strong performances on the hardcourts over the past month. Following up on their Wimbledon semifinal appearance in July, Martina & Anna-Lena returned together in Carlsbad for the Acura Classic. They suffered a shock first round defeat but two weeks later in Toronto, Martina & Anna-Lena managed to go all the way - defeating quality opposition such as Black & Stubbs, Hantuchova & Sugiyama & Martinez & Ruano Pascual on their way to the title. It was Martina's 175th doubles crown of her career!

At the recently concluded U.S. Open, Martina gave it her all, making the quarterfinals of the mixed with Leander - where they fell victim to the cruel super tie-break, missing on two match points - and the semifinals of the doubles with Anna-Lena. On their way to the semis, Martina & Anna-Lena defeated the Olympic champions Li & Sun and the Australian Open champions Kuznetsova & Molik. Reports indicate that Martina is not done for the year and will probably head to Europe as the indoor season swings around.

Before that, she has a World TeamTennis finals to attend to. Martina's team, the Boston Lobsters, will take on the New York Sportimes in Sacramento, California this coming Friday, September 16 in the first semifinal.

Acura Classic

Martina & Anna-Lena have teamed up for the Acura Classic in Carlsbad, California. They are the #7 seeds and will play a pair of qualifiers,Kateryna Bondarenko & Anastassia Rodionova, in their opening match, scheduled to be played last today on Stadium Court. For the complete draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.

Yesterday, Martina participated in the tournament's All-Access Hour where players meet with the media. For a photo, click here. For article from the North County Times, click here. Martina also had kind words for her former doubles partner, Sveta, in this article from the San Diego Tribune.

This and that...

A couple of miscellaneous links collected over the past month...

Mike Bryan talked about playing mixed doubles with Martina at Wimbledon in this article in the Ventura County Star, which also features comments by his mother, Kathy Blake-Bryan, who played on the tour with Martina in the 70s.

How significant was Billie Jean King's "Battle of the Sexes" victory over Bobby Riggs back in 1973? Martina offers her opinion in this interesting piece from the Hartford Courant.

A really nice interview with Martina - including a too-cute-to-miss close-up photo! - from the recent issue of Out Traveller. My special thanks to Marilyn for alerting me to this link.

And finally, Martina is expected to return to Toronto later this month for the Rogers Cup. Martina will be involved in a variety of charitable events during her stay in Toronto, which of course, should come as no surprise to us. For more, check out this column by George Cross for the Canadian sports website Slam Sports. One thing that I found confusing about the article is that it indicates Martina will play with Sveta in Toronto - or at least that's the way I interpreted it. Anna-Lena is also on the Toronto commitments list so I'm not sure why Martina would not be playing with her. If anyone has any information on this, please let me know.

Just a confirmation - Martina has committed to two WTA Tour events this summer before the U.S. Open - Carlsbad and Toronto and she might enter New Haven, depending on how she does at the other events.

World TeamTennis Roundup

My apologies to all fans for not updating the blog over the past month but I'm sure most of you were following Martina's results on the message board or through the WTT website.

Martina's 2005 WTT season was a marked success, capped by the fact that her team, the Boston Lobsters, made the playoffs to be held in Sacramento, Calif., September 16-17! Congratulations to Martina and her Lobsters teammates on this excellent achievement! Martina ended with an impressive 14-7 match record - 5-2 in singles, 5-2 in doubles and 4-3 in the mixed - a winning record in every discipline!

Here are Martina's results summarized from her 7 appearances:

July 6, Wilmington, Delaware
Singles: Martina d. Chanelle Scheepers 5-3
Doubles: Martina/Daja Bedanova d. Liezel Huber/Scheepers 5-1
Mixed: Martina/Thomas Blake l/t Huber/Robbie Koenig 2-5

July 7, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Singles: Martina l/t Martina Hingis 0-5
Doubles: Martina/Daja l/t Hingis/Jennifer Hopkins 3-5
Mixed: Martina/Jonathan Chu l/t Hingis/Mark Merklein 1-5

July 9, Houston, Texas
Singles: Martina d. Ansley Cargill 5-4(4)
Doubles: Martina/Kristen Schlukebir d. Cargill/Edina Gallovits 5-3
Mixed: Martina/Thomas l/t Gallovits/Ashley Fisher 4-5(3)

July 19, Mamaroneck, New York
Singles: Martina d. Hopkins 5-2
Doubles: Martina/Kristen d. Natalie Grandin/Hopkins 5-2
Mixed: Martina/Thomas d. Hopkins/Bobby Reynolds 5-2

July 20, Avon, Connecticut
Singles: Martina l/t Milagros Sequera 1-5
Doubles: Martina/Kristen d. Lisa McShea/Sequera 5-0
Mixed: Martina/Johan Landsberg d. Sequera/Don Johnson 5-1

July 21, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Singles: Martina d. Sequera 5-2
Doubles: Martina/Kristen l/t McShea/Sequera 2-5
Mixed: Martina/Johan d. Sequera/Johnson 5-4(3)

July 23, Mamaroneck, New York
Singles: Martina d. Hopkins 5-3
Doubles: Martina/Kristen d. Grandin/Hopkins 5-4(1)
Mixed: Martina/Johan d. Hopkins/Robert Kendrick 5-4(2)

As you can see, I've only listed Martina's results above. If you want to get the complete team results, visit the WTT website here. For reports from fans who attended the matches along with great photos, visit the message board here.

The following are links to articles, photos, press releases etc. over the past month that I have compiled, in chrnological order: The News Journal (1), The News Journal (2), The Boston Herald (1), The Boston Herald (2), The Boston Globe (1), The Harvard Crimson, Associated Press, The Houston Chronicle, The Journal News (1), The Journal Inquirer, The Bristol Press, The Hartford Courant, The Boston Herald (3), The Boston Herald (4), The Boston Globe, The Journal News (2), Boston Lobsters Official Website.

Wimbledon wrap up, WTT news

It turns out Martina wrote one more column for the Guardian. Click here for more. Martina also took the time to clarify her future plans...or lack thereof:

For the record, I have no plans. I'm just going to keep playing until I don' t want to do it any more. I suffered a devastating loss in the mixed doubles on Saturday and the first couple of days after that happens to you is no time to start making big decisions. The result wasn't what I wanted but it was a great two hours on No1 Court. Right now I'm playing through the summer and I'm going to see where it takes me.

Martina does not get much of a post-Wimbledon break as she is back playing World TeamTennis this week for the Boston Lobsters. Her first match is today in Wilmington, Delaware against one of the WTT favorites, the Delaware Smash led by Wimbledon champion, Liezel Horn-Huber and coached by Mariaan de Swardt. Before her match tonight, Martina will be a guest speaker at the Women's Networking Night event along with Billie Jean King. For a few articles on the Lobsters from the local media, click on the following links: The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald.

Wimbledon Day Thirteen

Was it because it was the thirteenth day of the tournament? Or was it the fact it was the 11th anniversary of the "Black Day" when Martina lost that heartbreak of a final attempt at title #10? Whatever it was, today was just not our day. Martina lost both her matches within the span of a few hours and just like that, her Wimbledon was over.

The womens doubles loss came in the form of a straightforward 6-4 6-4 defeat to the unseeded pair of Svetlana Kuznetsova & Amélie Mauresmo. Martina & Anna-Lena put up a brave fight towards the end, rallying from 1-5 down to come to within a point of levelling at 5-5 but it was not enough.

The mixed result is one that will haunt me for a long time to come. Martina & Mike lost to the #4 seeds, Kevin Ullyett and Liezel Huber 3-6 6-4 9-7. The specifics of the match have already been covered on the message board. Our team started out at an acute disadvantage. Mike had to play a four-set mens doubles final earlier in they day (which he lost). Martina, as mentioned before, was invovled in her womens doubles match. On the other hand, Huber had just a quick womens doubles match earlier while Ullyett had nothing besides the mixed. Nevertheless, what makes this defeat so disappointing is the number of opportunities our team had to finish the match off, first in straight sets and then again in the third. It is not often that you lose a match after being a set and "two" breaks up - 6-3 3-0. Or that you lose after being up a break in the third with multiple chances to consolidate that lead with a double break. Or you lose after serving for the match at 6-5... on second thought, I guess Lindsay Davenport would disagree... Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what happened out there and right now, I honestly don't want to know. This could well have been Martina's final Wimbledon and today's double-whammy seems like such a cruel way for it all to end.

Two articles on the two matches from the tournament website here and here. For photos, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five, Photo Six. Martina's final column appeared in today's Guardian; while a very nice interview with her appears in tomorrow's Observer. I've tried not to provide links to articles that attempt to psychoanalyze Martina and her intentions on her 21st Wimbledon article but this one from 'The Independent' seems harmless enough; just take the commentary with a grain of salt.

Perhaps a week from now, I will look back on this tournament and realize what a great run it was for Martina to get to the semis in the womens doubles and the quarters in the mixed. After the year we've had since the Australian Open, this is obviously one of her finer showings - the womens doubles result is certainly her best of the year to date. Thank you, Martina, for all the memories from this Wimbledon fortnight; the happier ones of which will stay with me forever.

Wimbledon Day Twelve

Martina & Mike did not get to play their mixed doubles quarterfinal today as rain washed out all matches in the latter half of the day. Their match has been postponed to tomorrow as the last match on Court 1. Prior to that, Martina & Anna-Lena will play their womens doubles semifinal against yet-to-be-decided opponents in the fourth match on Court 2.

Wimbledon Day Eleven

Martina and Mike are scheduled to play their mixed doubles quarterfinal tomorrow against the #4 seeds, Kevin Ullyett and Liezel Huber. The match has been scheduled third on Court 13.

For another photo from Martina's & Anna-Lena's doubles match yesterday, click here.

Wimbledon Day Ten

Martina won both her matches at Wimbledon today. In their womens doubles quarterfinal, Martina & Anna-Lena defeated Vera Douchevina and Shahar Peer 7-6(5) 6-4. And later, Martina & Mike won their mixed doubles third round encounter with Travis Parrott and Amy Frazier 7-5 6-7(4) 6-4. For match reports from the tournament website, click on the following links: Doubles, Mixed Doubles. And click here for a brief write-up from PA Sport. Martina also received some coverage in the Israeli press as her womens doubles opponent, Shahar Peer, was the last remaining Israeli participant at Wimbledon. Click on the following links for articles: The Jerusalem Post, Ha'aretz. And here are the photos from today - lots of them! Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five, Photo Six, Photo Seven, Photo Eight, Photo Nine, Photo Ten, Photo Eleven, Photo Twelve, Photo Thirteen, Photo Fourteen, Photo Fifteen, Photo Sixteen, Photo Seventeen, Photo Eighteen, Photo Nineteen, Photo Twenty, Photo Twenty One, Photo Twenty Two. You will find more photos on Getty Images and ANP (do a search for "Navratilova").

Martina gets tomorrow off with no matches scheduled. I'm not exactly sure why Mike & she don't get to play their mixed doubles quarterfinal tomorrow since all the other three mixed matches are scheduled to be played then; but perhaps the extra day off will do Martina some good after a busy day at the office today.

Wimbledon Day Nine

Martina & Mike received a walkover today from their opponents, Lucas Arnold & Emmanuelle Gagliardi. Rain interruped play today at Wimbledon late in the afternoon so this turn of events was most fortuitous for our team. For photos of Martina on the practice courts today, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two. We should think of a caption contest for the second photo sometime this summer!

Martina now has two matches on schedule tomorrow. First up, in the second match on Court 2, Martina & Anna-Lena are expected to play their quarterfinal match against Vera Douchevina and Shahar Peer. Martina & Mike are later scheduled to play their third round match against Travis Parrott & Amy Frazier on a yet-to-be-determined court, no earlier than 5:00 p.m., British Summer Time.

It appears Martina's & Anna-Lena's performance in the doubles has been attracting some media attention in Germany. My special thanks to Tobias for alerting me to this. For two photos from their first and second round matches, respectively, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two. And here are a few articles in German: Frankfurter Rundschau, SID, Deutsch Presse-Agentur, sport1.de. For translation help, try Google's Language Tools. Anna-Lena confirms that Martina & she will be playing together till the U.S. Open at least so that is definitely good news.

Meanwhile, Leander spoke to 'The Times of India' at Wimbledon and while he didn't directly address why he chose not to enter the mixed, he spoke warmly of Martina and her influence on his life. He fully expects to play with her at the U.S. Open in August. Click here for more.

Wimbledon Day Eight

Martina & Anna-Lena won their third round match today, defeating the #10 seeds, Shinobu Asagoe & Katarina Srebotnik 6-3 6-3. They have already won more matches at this tournament alone than all their previous tournaments put together! For photos from today, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two. For a report from the tournament website, click here.

To read Martina's fourth column in tomorrow's edition of 'The Guardian,' already available on their website, click here.

Weather permitting, Martina & Mike are scheduled to play their second round mixed doubles match tomorrow against Lucas Arnold & Emmanuelle Gagliardi on a yet-to-be-determined court.

Wimbledon Day Seven

Martina & Anna-Lena are scheduled to play their third round match tomorrow against the #10 seeds, Shinobu Asagoe & Katarina Srebotnik in the second match on Court 3.

Wimbledon Day Six

Martina and Anna-Lena won their second round match today, defeating Denisa Chladkova and Virginie Razzano 6-1 6-4. This marks the first time that Martina & Anna-Lena have won 2 consecutive matches in a tournament. For a match report from the tournament website, click here.

Tomorrow is the Middle Sunday of Wimbledon, the traditional rest day.

Wimbledon Day Five

Rain forced play to be suspended at Wimbledon today so Martina & Anna-Lena were unable to play their second round match. The match has been postponed to tomorrow, again to be played fourth on Court 2.

For Martina's latest column in 'The Guardian,' click here. She does mention in the article that her coach, Stefan Ortega, will be available - i.e. not working with her - this summer. Now what could she mean by that??

Wimbledon Day Four

Martina got the day off today but returns tomorrow with Anna-Lena for their second round match against Denisa Chladkova and Virginie Razzano. The match has been scheduled fourth on Court 2.

Wimbledon Day Three

Game, set and match, Miss Grönefeld and Miss Navratilova, 6-3 6-3...

Oh, those sweet words! Martina and Anna-Lena had a straight sets win today over their Japanese opponents, Rika Fujiwara and Saori Obata. I had been worried about this match, I must confess - Fujiwara is of course a former semifinalist at Roland Garros and the season-ending Championships and has been ranked as high as #13. But it appears our Martina was in top form today so the ladies are safely through to the next round. For photos, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. You can also find more photos in the Getty Images gallery. The Wimbledon website also has a short write-up which you can read here.

Meanwhile, the mixed doubles draw came out today. It turns out Leander has decided to sit out the mixed doubles due to his injury. Martina will instead be playing with Mike Bryan, the men's #5 ranked doubles player. They have been seeded fifth and receive a first round bye. For the complete draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.

Wimbledon Day Two

Not much to report today except that Martina is all over the news for the thoughts expressed in her most recent Guardian column.

Tomorrow, she takes to Court 3 with Anna-Lena for their first round doubles match. They take on the Japanese qualifiers, Rika Fujiwara and Saori Obata in the last match on that court. This match will mark Martina's 30th career appearance at Wimbledon dating back to 1973.

Wimbledon Day One

First, it appears Martina will once again be writing columns for 'The Guardian' over the Wimbledon fortnight. She started off with her first one today and her second one for tomorrow's edition is already available online: Column One, Column Two.

Martina had more complimentary things to say about French Open champion, Justine Henin-Hardenne, to Eurosport, along with tennis legend, Maria Bueno who also chimed in. Click here for that report.

I found a few Slovak and Czech links on Martina's appearance at the Danubiana in Bratislava over the weekend. The only problem is I have no idea what they say! If anyone can help with the translation, I'd be very much obliged. Thanks in advance: SME (1), TASR, Mlada Fronta Dnes (1), Mlada Fronta Dnes (2), SME (2). The 'Associated Press' has a brief write-up as well, in English thankfully. Click here for the article, you will need to scroll down to the middle for the part on Martina.

And finally, this is not an article primarily on Martina, but Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle has written a wonderful article on Wimbledon and what makes it so special.

Wimbledon draw

Martina & Anna-Lena are the #8 seeds at Wimbledon. They have a tough opener against the Japanese qualifiers, Rika Fujiwara and Saori Obata. Let's hope Anna-Lena has fully recovered from her injury. For the complete draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here. In a surprising twist, Leander has been given the green light by his doctor to play at Wimbledon. As of now, he is in the men's doubles draw but was unsure as to the mixed. The mixed draw will not be done for another few days anyway. Said Leander:

"I am taking a big risk, only because it’s Wimbledon and there’s a lot at stake... Such an injury normally takes two to three months to heal, but I’m lucky… But I have to be very, very careful. I can’t dive, I can’t stretch too much. As of now, I’m playing men’s doubles… will decide about the mixed after reaching there this weekend.”

Let's hope Leander recovers well enough to play the mixed doubles with Martina next week.

Martina in Bratislava

Martina was in Bratislava, Slovakia yesterday for the opening of her friend, Juraj Kralik's art exhibition, entitled "Art Grand Slam," at the Danubiana - Meulensteen Art Museum. For information on the exhibition, courtesy of the museum website, click here. For photos from yesterday's opening, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five. The piece in the last photo was co-created by our Martina herself! Who knew what artistic talents she was hiding all these years! Fans will remember Martina had her own African wildlife photography exhibition in Prague in 1999.

I have not been able to find any links to articles just yet but will post them here if I come across any. If anyone of our Slovak fans has been able to visit the exhibition, please share your thoughts with us, either here or on the message board.

Semifinal end in 's-Hertogenbosch

Martina & Anna-Lena's run came to an end in the semfinals earlier this week. They were beaten in straight sets 6-4 6-3 by the #2 seeds, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Dinara Safina, who went on to win the tournament. Anna-Lena suffered a thigh injury two days earlier in her singles match where she was forced to withdraw and it is possible that she had still not fully recovered when they took to the court for their doubles semifinal. Their next tournament will be Wimbledon, their first Grand Slam tournament together.

On Wednesday, Martina and the top-ranked wheelchair tennis player, Esther Vergeer, took part in a short hitting session, seemingly in conjunction with the Laureus Sports Academy. I'm only going by the pictures available - Photo One, Photo Two - and a report in Dutch here. If someone can help with the translation, that would be great. Thanks in advance!

For a photo of Martina at a Q&A session at the tournament, click here.

You win some, you lose some

Mixed results for Martina in 's-Hertogenbosch over the last two days. Yesterday, she lost her first round singles match to Claudine Schaul 4-6 6-1 6-4. Today, along with Anna-Lena Grönefeld, she won her first round doubles match over Klara Koukalova and Lucie Safarova 6-7 6-4 6-3.

Yesterday's singles loss was definitely a heartbreaker. Martina found herself down 1-3 at the start of the match but quickly recovered, winning 6 of the next seven games to go up a set and a break - a familiar position as in her matches last year against Sequera at Amelia Island and Dulko at Wimbledon. But like those two previous matches, Martina couldn't build on that lead. She proceeded to lose the next 9 consecutive games, going two breaks down in the third. Martina rallied at that point, spurred on by the crowds - she managed to get one break back but ultimately capitulated at 4-5 with three consecutive unforced errors.

Martina and Anna-Lena survived a stiff challenge from their Czech opponents today and now find themselves in the semifinals after their quarterfinal opponents, Elena Dementieva and Michaela Krajicek, pulled out due to Dementieva's shoulder injury.

For photos from yesterday's singles match, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. For two articles, featuring Martina's post-match comments, click on the following Reuters links: Article One, Article Two. For an interview with Martina on NOS Dutch television, click here. A translator speaks over her in Dutch but you can understand most of what she says.

Doubles draw

Martina & Anna-Lena are the #2 seeds this week in 's-Hertogenbosch and take on Klara Koukalova and Lucie Safarova in their opening match. For the complete draw, courtesy of the WTA Tour website, click here.

Martina will play her first round singles match tomorrow against Claudine Schaul. Their match has been scheduled second on Centre Court.

Singles against Claudine Schaul

The singles draw for the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands came out today. Martina, unseeded and a wildcard recipient, will take on the former Luxembourgian #1, Claudine Schaul, in her opening match. This will be Martina's first tour singles match in almost a year since last year's Wimbledon. For the complete draw, courtesy of the WTA Tour website, click here.

The doubles draw is not out yet but Martina will be partnered this week by Anna-Lena Grönefeld.

A few links from Liverpool. First, a couple of articles from The Liverpool Daily Post and The Liverpool Echo. And a few photos from Chappie on the message boards: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three.

Two for two in Liverpool

Martina won her second and final mixed doubles match in Liverpool today teaming up with Robert Kendrick to defeat Jan-Michael Gambill and Karoline Borgersen 6-4 6-4. She next heads off to the Netherlands for the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch.

For an article on yesterday's action, courtesy of the Liverpool Daily Post, click here.

Leander out of Wimbledon

Really bad news... Leander's shoulder injury, sustained at the start of the Roland Garros mixed doubles final last week, will keep him sidelined for the next three to five weeks, thereby cancelling any hopes of playing at Wimbledon. For articles, click on the following links: The Calcutta Telegraph, The Indian Express.

Wimbledon will just not be the same without Lee, but our best wishes to him for a speedy recovery!

Roland Garros roundup

We're all aware by now of what happened at Roland Garros but here is a brief summary. Well, the tournament did not begin well as Martina & Arantxa, as expected, crashed out of the womens doubles in the first round, beaten 6-4 3-6 6-3 by Lourdes Dominguez Lino & Nuri Llagostera Vives. Martina's attention then turned to the mixed doubles with Leander where they were seeded sixth. They won their opening match defeating Nicolas Devilder & Stephanie Foretz 6-4 6-3. In the second round, they defeated Simon Aspelin & Dinara Safina 6-4 6-0 in a shockingly easy match. On to the quarterfinals where they faced a tough test against Jared Palmer & Corina Morariu. Our team was down a break in the third before they recovered to score a 7-6 4-6 6-3 victory. And before it could sink in that Martina was in her first Roland Garros semifinal since 1988, they reached the finals with a 6-2 6-3 demolition of Paul Hanley & Samantha Stosur.

Unfortunately, disaster struck in the final against Fabrice Santoro & Daniela Hantuchova, during Leander's opening service game. He fell on his right shoulder, diving for a return and the injury was serious enough that it will now take him three to five weeks to recover fully which will force him to miss Wimbledon. Despite the injury, our team took the first set and were up a break at 2-0 in the third with a point for 3-0 when it all began to unravel; they proceeded to lose six games in a row and with that died Martina's hopes of a third mixed doubles title at Roland Garros, 3-6 6-3 6-2.

There was not much media coverage of Martina over the fortnight despite making the mixed doubles finals. She was pointedly ignored on the tournament website with not even a photo from the courts. The Roland Garros website is notorious anyway for being the worst of the four Grand Slam websites so that should not come as a surprise. For a few photos, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. You will also find photos on the websites of Getty Images and Wire Images - do a search for "Navratilova" in the search box on the left. For two video clips, click on the following links: France 2 & Eurosport (interview with Matthias Stach & Barbara Schett). Martina & Arantxa held a press conference after their first round loss but unfortunately, the transcripts are not available online. Quotes from that press conference were included in this nice article from The Daily Telegraph and a short blurb from the Associated Press (scroll to the middle of the page). They don't seem to have had a press conference after the mixed doubles final but for articles of interest click on the following links: The Indian Express, United News of India, rediff.com.

Liverpool news

Martina is in Liverpool, England this week for the Liverbirds Development Liverpool International Tennis Tournament (that really is the full name of the tournament!) This is a men's exhibition event that also features two mixed doubles matches, both of which involve Martina. She played her first match today partnering Jan-Michael Gambill and together they defeated Ivan Ljubicic and Samantha Smith 6-2 6-7 10-6 (final set super tie-break). Martina will play her second and final match tomorrow when she will team up with Robert Kendrick to take on Gambill and Karoline Borgersen.

Yesterday, Martina received a tour of the famous Liverpool Football Club at Anfield by former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson. She got to see the Champions League trophy won by Liverpool FC, the reigning UEFA Champions League winners, and posed for the photographers along with Ivan Ljubicic.

There has been great coverage of Martina in the Liverpool Echo - click on the following links for articles: Article One, Article Two, Article Three, Article Four. Please note that some of the articles are continued on the second page so click on the "2" to read on. For other articles, click on the following links: PA Sport (1), PA Sport (2), ITN. The last ITN article is accompanied by a short video clip of Martina being interviewed at Anfield.

For photos, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. The last two photos from the tournament website are from a practice session at Liverpool with Karoline Borgersen, the Norwegian #1 (pictured with Martina in Photo Three).

Roland Garros with Arantxa!

The Roland Garros doubles draw was announced today. The big surprise is that Martina's doubles partner this fortnight will be Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario! At #166, Arantxa's ranking was too low to meet the field cutoff so the team was given a wildcard.

Arantxa retired from tournament play after the 2002 season but she returned last year to play few events to prepare for the Athens Olympics. She won Palermo, made the finals in Bali and the quarterfinals in Berlin, so it was not a bad year for Arantxa. This year's Roland Garros though will be her first event of the year so I'm not quite sure what to expect from our team. They take on the claycourt specialists, Lourdes Dominguez Lino & Nuria Llagostera Vives in their opening match. For the complete draw, click here.

And a quick note to all fans... Martina confirmed on the message boards last week that she will not be playing in Eastbourne next month. She has decided instead to compete in the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands instead.

Laureus World Sports Awards

Martina was in Lisbon yesterday for the Laureus World Sports Awards. She presented the award for World Sportsman of the Year to none other than Roger Federer. For a photo of Martina on the red carpet, click here. Also check out the Getty Images & Rex Features sites for additional photos. And for a short video clip, click here for the BBC Sport website - the video link is in the top-right corner.

Disappointment in Rome...

Unfortunately, Martina did not have a good tournament in Rome. Francesca & she were upset in their opening match by Maria Elena Camerin & Tathiana Garbin 6-4 6-2. Martina's next event is Roland Garros in Paris in one week's time.

Finally... Rome!

Martina is back after a long break... has it really only been three weeks since her last event? Martina will team up with Francesca Schiavone next week for the Telecom Italia Masters in Rome. They are the #7 seeds and have a difficult first match ahead of them against the all-Italian pair of Maria Elena Camerin and Tathiana Garbin. For the complete draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.

2005 WTT schedule

The World TeamTennis schedule is finally out. Martina has added an extra sixth stop to her season this year which looks like this:

July 6 (Wednesday): Wilmington, Delaware

July 7 (Thursday): Cambridge, Massachusetts

July 9 (Saturday): Houston, Texas

July 19 (Tuesday): Mamaroneck, New York

July 20 (Wednesday): Avon, Connecticut

July 21 (Thursday): Cambridge, Massachusetts

The first stop in Boston on July 7 will also feature Martina Hingis while the Houston tie will include Tommy Hass on the opposing team. You can check out the complete season schedule on the WTT website here. The official Boston Lobsters website is here.

Disappointment in Charleston

2005 has undoubtedly been the worst year of Martina's comeback so far, filled with disappointment and misfortune, and Charleston brought more of the same. Martina & Anna-Lena were beaten in their opening match by the Czech pairing of Iveta Benesova & Kveta Peschke 7-5 5-7 7-6. This was a match our team should have won - they were up 4-2 40-15 and serving in the final set but somehow found a way to let their opponents back in. Up 5-4, they had a match point on Benesova's serve and then two more match points at 6-5 on Peschke's serve but each time failed to capitalize. They lost the final set tie-break 7-5.

As expected, there was no media coverage of Martina at the Family Circle Cup last week. For a few photos from the tournament website, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three.

Right now, I have no idea where Martina will be playing next. She might play Berlin in two weeks' time but her next confirmed event is Rome, the week after.

Martina in Charleston

Martina is back in Charleston for the fourth straight year with her fourth different partner! This week she is back with Anna-Lena Groenefeld and they are the #4 seeds. They have received a first round bye. Let's hope the ladies will have better luck this week - their previous pairing in Hyderabad ended in the most unfortunate of circumstances as you are all well aware. For the complete doubles draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.

Martina in the Bay Area

Martina will be in Mill Valley, California this fall, October 14-16, for the Women's Tennis Classic, a three-day fund-raiser to support the Marin Breast Cancer Council and Youth Tennis Advantage. She will be joined by Tracy Austin, Wayne Ferreira & Rick Leach. I'm not exactly sure why the thing is called the Women's Tennis Classic when the only featured match will be a mixed doubles match involving Martina & Rick against Tracy & Wayne, but whatever. You can read the complete article from the 'Marin Independent Journal' here.

What I'm really confused about though is that this event takes place right in the middle of the European indoor season. Does this mean Martina is planning to bypass the Fall indoor events in Europe like she did last year? Or is it just that week which is the week of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow? - not exactly Martina's favorite event. I guess we will have to wait and see. We hopefully should have something definite by September.

2005 WTT season

For those of you hoping to catch Martina at her World TeamTennis stops this summer, here's the scoop. Martina will be making 5 appearances this year for the Boston Lobsters - twice in Boston and once each in Houston, Hartford, Conn. & Wilmington, Del. The exact dates will be announced later this month and I will let you know as soon (relatively speaking) as I hear of it.

Amelia Island roundup

I decide not to update the page for a week and Martina has her best showing of the year - should I make this a habit? Ha ha. Anyways, Martina & Alicia made it to the semifinals at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida last week. They were promoted to the #5 seed position following the withdrawal of the top seeded team of Nadia Petrova & Meghann Shaughnessy. In their opening match, they struggled to a 6-4 3-6 6-0 victory over a pair of qualifiers, Lourdes Dominguez Lino & Evgenia Linetskaya. In the quarterfinals, they found themselves down 3-6 4-5 0-40, down three match points to Eleni Daniilidou & Carly Gullickson, yet managed to stage a remarkable recovery, eventually prevailing 3-6 7-5 6-2. In the semifinals, however, their Cinderella run came to an end with a 6-3 3-6 7-5 defeat to Kveta Peschke & Patty Schnyder. They had been up 4-2 in the final set and wasted 6 additional break points. But all in all, it was a good week, Martina's first semifinal of the year.

For photos from last week, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. The last two photos show Martina signing autographs at the Tennis Against Breast Cancer booth and the Nassau County Humane Society booth on the tournament premises. There was not much in the way of print media coverage, save for a few blurbs from the Florida Times-Union: Article One, Article Two, Article Three.

Martina nexts heads out to Charleston, South Carolina for the Family Circle Cup where she will be playing with Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

Amelia Island with Alicia

The claycourt season begins this week at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida. Martina will be playing with Alicia Molik and they have drawn Liezel Huber & Mashona Washington in their opening match. Let's hope this week will be a good week for our team. For the complete doubles draw, click here.

Martina returns to Boston

"It's great to be back in Boston."

So says Martina, who will be back playing World TeamTennis this summer as a member of the Boston Lobsters. Martina last played for the Lobsters in 1978 and this time she will be joined on the team by James Blake, Scott Draper, Daja Bedanova, Kristen Schlukebir & Thomas Blake. For a look at the other players on the other teams, visit the WTT website here.

2005 nightmare continues

The year so far is slowly turning into the year from hell. Martina has now lost more tour doubles matches than she has won. Today, Martina & Francesca were beaten 6-4 3-6 6-2 by Anabel Medina Garrigues and Dinara Safina in their opeening match in Miami. I must say, I was surprised at how well Martina & Francesca were able to play the more-established team of Medina Garrigues and Safina. Nevertheless, the first round loss will likely cost Martina dearly in the rankings as her semifinal points from last year come off.

Martina's next tournament is expected to be the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida which should begin in a week's time.

Martina signs with Olivia

A new endorsement deal for Martina. She has been signed by Olivia - a travel & lifestyle company that caters mainly to lesbians. As part of the deal, Martina will wear the Olivia logo on her shirt sleeves and shorts during matches, appear in print advertising, show up at company events and be a guest on some of the company's cruises and other trips. For the press release from the Olivia website, click here. And here are two articles: The New York Times, Associated Press, The Miami Herald. For a few photos from the press conference in Miami, check out the Getty Images website (type "Navratilova" in the search box).

Miami draw, Indian Wells disaster...

Sorry guys, I should not have waited this long to update the blog but the Indian Wells result was just too depressing for words. As most of you know by now, Martina & Sveta were shocked in their opening match, going down 6-2 6-2 to the unseeded first-time pairing of Emmanuelle Gagliardi and Jelena Jankovic. Unfortunately there was zero media coverage of Martina's appearance in Indian Wells so we have no idea if her injury was still bothering her or if they just ran into a team playing the match of their lives.

Our prospects don't seem too bright for the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami either, which starts this week. Martina is playing with Francesca Schiavone of Italy and they take on the established team of Anabel Medina Garrigues & Dinara Safina in their opening match. I really don't see our team getting past this first hurdle. At this point, I have no idea what's happening with the partnership with Daniela. They were supposed to play here but from the looks of things, I guess the partnership has been called off. Hopefully, there will be some confirmation available soon. For the complete Miami doubles draw, click here.

First Round

Martina & Sveta are scheduled to play their opening match tomorrow in Indian Wells. They take on Emmanuelle Gagliardi & Jelena Jankovic in the fourth scheduled match on Stadium 3. Good luck, ladies!

Indian Wells surprise!

Well actually, there were two surprises today. The first was seeing Martina's name in the Pacific Life Open doubles draw. Obviously this means the back is doing better and she feels fit enough to compete this week. The second surprise what seeing Sveta Kuznetsova's name beside her in the draw - our beloved team from 2003 is back! If only temporarily, but still... we'll take it any way it comes, right? Let's hope some of that 2003 magic is still working. Our team has a difficult first round proposition in the form of the always dangerous Emmanuelle Gagliardi and Jelena Jankovic. For the complete draw, click here (see Page 3). All the best, ladies!

Liverpool update

It is now confirmed that Martina will be playing singles at the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament this June. She will play a match against former British #1, Sam Smith in addition to the mixed doubles. The Liverpool Echo also quoted Martina in yesterday's edition, commenting on her upcoming appearance:

"It is great to be coming to Liverpool for the first time. I've heard about the relaxed atmosphere of the event and how friendly the people are."

Off to California

Martina left for California this weekend. She is still unsure if she will recover in time to play in Indian Wells but she has business to attend to so the trip was on her schedule anyway. For more, click here for an article from Martina's hometown newspaper, the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Meanwhile, Martina has committed to the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament in Calderstones Park, Liverpool this June. This is an exhibition tournament but unfortunately, that is about all I know about it at the moment. For the official press release from the tournament website, click here.

And finally, the latest Harris poll of America's favorite sports stars is out. Martina has made the list at #8, I don't remember the last time she was ranked in the top 10. For the press release, click here.

No Dubai

As most of you will have already heard by now, Martina was forced to withdraw from the Dubai Duty Free Championships this week due to a back injury. Here is what she had to say about that on the message board:

Well, I got some bad news, guys. I will not be playing Dubai. Thursday morning when I bent over to move some stuff in the back seat of my car, when I straightened up, my lower back locked up on me. Totally unexpected, though it has happened before - last time about 6 years ago... so I have been in bed since, getting accupuncture treatments and will now try to play Indian Wells instead, if I get well enough, needless to say.

Martina was kind enough to update us again yesterday with the good news that she was doing much better:

As you can see, I have too much time on my hands now as I am still on my back, but feeling better today, I know i will be ready for Iindian Wells. The accupuncture really helped, highly recommend it for all kinds of problems.

It is so nice of Martina to keep in touch with us during this stressful time. We wish her a speedy recovery and cannot wait for Indian Wells!

Hyderabad Round-up

Alright guys, I know I've been slacking off again but can you blame me? It's been such a disappointing week in Hyderabad after it began with so much promise. By now, you all know what happened: Martina & Anna-Lena were forced to retire from their quarterfinal match against Amanmuradova & Panova while leading 3-2 when Anna-Lena suffered a right knee strain. The injury was serious enough to force her out of her singles semifinal as well. Martina, now back in the USA, posted on the message boards today, explaining what happened:

Well, that was a bummer. Anna-Lena landed funny on the first point of the match and hyperextended her knee without actually hitting a ball. She served, I poached - first point of the match!!! - and hit it to Panova. Panova reflexed a backhand volley down the line, it was a let cord and so I ran for it and as I hit a backhand, I heard a yell, stopped playing and saw Anna-Lena on the ground clutching her knee. The trainer taped her, she was ok for a few games. We went up 3-0 and then it started to bother her. At 3-2 she stopped. Apparently she does have a slight tear in her meniscus and right now is not sure when she will be good to go again.

We wish Anna-Lena a speedy recovery and hope she gets better soon.

In the meantime, here are a few links to articles, photos etc. from Hyderabad. Martina's appearance received a lot of press attention in India - which is nice but not surprising when you consider how many fans she has over there: Mid Day (1), Despardes, The Hindustan Times (1), NDTV (1), The Telegraph, The Indian Express (1), The Indian Express (2), NDTV (2), rediff.com (1), Press Trust of India (1), Mid Day (2), Press Trust of India (2), The Hindustan Times (2), rediff.com (2), The Indian Express (3), Indo-Asian News Service, rediff.com (3), NDTV (3), The Times of India. And here are a few photos from the tournament website: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four.

Some folks in India are already asking when Martina will be back. The tournament organizers are trying to get her to play at the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in the fall. This article from 'The Telegraph' sheds more light on that including quotes from Leander - who is recovering well from his ankle injury per Martina.

As for what's next. Like I said earlier, Martina is back in the USA for the first time in a long time. She will return in two weeks time to Dubai (in the United Arab Emirates) for the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open with Daniela.

Martina also updated us on the message boards with her tentative upcoming tour schedule over the next couple of months. Right now, we're looking at Dubai, Miami, Amelia Island, Charleston, Rome, Istanbul, Roland Garros, Eastbourne & Wimbledon. The Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto also confirmed this week that Martina will be back in Canada this summer.

First Round win

Just a quick update... Martina & Anna-Lena won their first round match today, defeating Shiho Hisamatsu & Remi Tezuka 6-2 6-1. Hopefully, I'll have links to articles tomorrow. Up next is a more difficult quarterfinal match tomorrow against the always-dangerous Tatiana Panova & the towering Uzbek Akgul Amanmuradova.

Ceremonies in Hyderabad

No tennis today - and there's nothing scheduled for tomorrow either - but Martina took part in the opening ceremony at the Hyderabad Open today. She was joined by the Chief Minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Rajashekhar Reddy & India's top-ranked player, Sania Mirza. Later in the day, Martina appeared on court in a saree (!!!!) for another ceremony and was presented with a miniature replica of the Charminar, the famous landmark of the city of Hyderabad. Reports indicate Martina will get to visit the real Charminar tomorrow.

For an article on today's events from NDTV.com click here. And for a few photos, click on the following links: Opening Ceremony (1), Opening Ceremony (2), Exotic Martina.

Martina in Hyderabad

Martina has arrived in Hyderabad for her debut appearance in India. She held a press conference earlier today that seems to have been well-attended and received wide coverage by the Indian press: The Indian Express, The Times of India(1), The Times of India (2), Deepika Global, The Hindustan Times (1), The Hindustan Times (2), NDTV.com. There will likely be more articles tomorrow. For a photo of Martina arriving at a practice session in Hyderabad, click here. The reports indicate that she had to postpone several business meetings in the USA to play in Hyderabad. And it looks like she will head straight home following this event and will bypass the Middle Eastern events this month.

The doubles draw came out today. Martina & Anna-Lena are seeded #1 and will meet Shiho Hisamatsu & Remi Tuzuka in their opening match. For the complete draw, courtesy of the WTA Tour website, click here.

Hyderabad with Anna-Lena

Confirmation today on the doubles next week. Martina will partner Germany's top-ranked player, Anna-Lena Groenefeld. Groenefeld's regular partner, Marion Bartoli, is not playing in Hyderabad and neither is Daniela. Just out of curiosity, I went back and looked up the last time Martina played doubles at a tour event with a German player - I had to go all the way back to 1973 when a 16-year-old Martina reached the finals of the Canadian Open in Toronto with the "Golden Giraffe" Helga Masthoff.

Victory in Christchurch

Martina made a clean sweep of her matches in New Zealand earlier today, defeating Monica 4-6 6-2 6-4 in their second match in Christchurch. Undoubtedly, this has been a good week for Martina and it has also been nice to have Monica back and we wish her the best as she contemplates a return to the tour.

A couple of articles: The Press, The New Zealand Herald, TV NZ. For photos from the second match, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. And for a nice video interview with Martina on "One News" courtesy of XtraMSN, click here. My special thanks to Jinnie for locating this video clip.