tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96931402024-03-12T17:36:47.568-07:00A blog about Martina Navratilova...and a few other tennis playersAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-68225429664681882522009-09-09T20:54:00.000-07:002009-09-10T06:36:01.610-07:00My Favorite Memories of Martina from the U.S. OpenI posted this on my message board - which is private and only open to Martina fans - and did not get much of a response. And I only spent about an hour putting the whole thing together! Lol. Anyway, here it is again. As most of you know, I only became a fan of Martina's in 1989 so I missed the heyday years at the Open. My memories date from 1989 onwards and here are my top 3:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Martina's run to the finals in 1991</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/NavratilovaMartina-web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 364px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/NavratilovaMartina-web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">I don't think I will ever forget Martina's incredible run to the finals that year, where she went one round better than Jimmy! For starters, she was only the #6 seed, with Mary Joe Fernandez slipping past her as the #1 American player the week before the Open. And then there was the mess with Judy hanging in the air. Martina had not played since the Wimbledon defeat to Jennifer and no one was sure what to expect. Perhaps these lowered expectations may have been a blessing in disguise. Certainly, her path to the finals was not an easy one. Save for the first two matches, from the third round onwards, it was one tough match after the other. First, Pam Shriver gave her a tough first set coming back from 1-5 down, before finally capitulating 7-5 6-1. That win sent Martina into the fourth round - a rematch against Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere who had beaten her at the same stage the year before. Martina was down an early break in the first set, but recovered to take the set in a tie-break. Manuela routed her in the second set, but Martina came back to close out the match 7-6 1-6 6-2. Next the quarterfinals against Arantxa - after losing the first set in a tie-break, Martina was just a game away from defeat but pulled to 5-5, then served for the set at 6-5, but was broken. She barely scraped through winning the tie-break 7-5 but then had a more comfortable third set, eventually taking the match 6-7 7-6 6-2. I'll never forget how happy Martina was after this victory. She jumped up and down, punching her racket in the air as she twirled around the court on her way to meet Arantxa at the net. The win set up the much anticipated semifinal against Steffi Graf, whom she hadn't played in almost two years. Martina and Steffi played some of their best matches at the Open and this one was no exception. With her service immaculate, a sharp Martina took the first set tie-break and then positioned herself well to serve out the match at 5-3 in the second. However, just when you thought it was over, the unthinkable happened - Martina choked the lead away, and Graf was back in the match, eventually going on to win that set in a tie-break 8-6 - Martina had been just two points away from the match at one point. But this would not be a case of 1989 redux - Martina broke Steffi immediately to begin the third set and stormed to a two-break 4-1 lead, but then Graf rallied. She broke Martina in the sixth game and closed to 4-3. Games then went on serve until Martina found herself serving for the match at 5-4 0-30. Perhaps in an earlier incarnation, Martina might have folded, but not this time. She regained her composure, serving beautifully and finished off the match with a service winner 7-6 6-7 6-4 - her first win over Steffi since 1987 and the #6 seed was in the finals again! Well, what happened afterwards is not much fun to remember (the entire match is available on Youtube, btw). Martina played a good first set, but then ran out of gas in the second. Monica was simply too tough. And she was bound to have had a letdown after that thrilling win over Steffi just the day before. Many a time I have wished Jennifer had been able to defeat Monica in their semifinal - she was so close, just two points away at one point and served for it twice. If Martina had been facing Jennifer in the finals, I think she would have been especially pumped up for revenge after Wimbledon. Winning U.S. Open #5 at the age of 34 would have been so sweet. But oh well, it was what it was but looking back, I can definitely say that 1991 remains my best memory of Martina at the Open.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Martina's return to the Open with Arantxa in 2000 </span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/uso1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 373px; height: 253px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/uso1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Ok, some of you are probably going, what? What's the significance of 2000? She didn't do that well - lost the third round in the doubles and second round of the mixed. But the match that is seared in my memory is the first round doubles match against Sabine Appelmans and Linda Harvey-Wild on the Grandstand court. We got to see the final set tie-break on tv and I just couldn't believe the crowds - they were so totally behind Martina, it was incredible! Up to that point, Martina had probably <span style="font-weight: bold;">never</span> had a crowd like that before. They were going crazy every time Martina and Arantxa won a point, it was enough to bring one to tears. This had not been an easy match, Appelmans and Harvey-Wild were ahead in the third set, they even served for the match at 6-5, but buoyed by the crowds, Martina and Arantxa somehow found a way to come back. What I remember the most from the tie-break is Arantxa serving up two crucial aces and Martina making an amazing forehand volley at the net, which had commentator Tracy Austin screaming, "That's incredible!" in admiration - the crowds were so loud, it even appeared Martina & Arantxa had to yell at each other to communicate, simply to get themselves heard. After the final point of the tie-break which capped off a 5-7 6-2 7-6 win, the entire stadium went ballistic with their cheers for Martina, it was truly the most amazing crowd reaction I have ever seen. This set the stage for the next 6 years, the crowds at the Open were always the best - and Martina fed off that support incredibly well most of the time.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Martina's & Sveta's run to the finals in 2003 </span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/03uso-18.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 357px; height: 225px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/03uso-18.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">I remember what it was like before the tournament began. News of Leander's illness and then Martina announced she was not going to play the mixed without Leander. Martina and Sveta had had a good summer, after unexpected losses in San Diego and Carson, they returned to triumph in Toronto and went into the Open as one of the favorites, helped by a #4 seeding following Davenport's withdrawal from the doubles. Martina & Sveta coasted through to the quarterfinals where they faced Liezel Huber and Magdalena Maleeva, their conquerors earlier in the year in Miami. But they got their revenge and how! In straight sets, 6-3 6-3. With Clijsters pulling out of the doubles, the first quarter of the draw had really opened up and just when it looked like the dreaded Vento-Kabchi and Widjaja would come through for another slug fest in the semis, they were shockingly upset by the unheralded pair of Marion Bartoli and Myriam Casanova. Clearly, Martina and Sveta were now the favorites to reach the finals which might have been a difficult adjustment for them and it showed - but in the end, they came through 6-4 7-6. I remember how hopeful I was - could they pull of a repeat of their amazing win in Miami against the second seeded Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez a.k.a. Suano? Up to that point, Martina had a relatively good record against them and it was natural to expect our team to cap off an amazing year with a Grand Slam title. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Martina & Sveta were never really in the match and despite a late rally, they were brushed aside in straight sets 6-2 6-3. Still, when the dust settled, it was clear that it had been a remarkable accomplishment for the ladies which did much to help them qualify for the season-ending Championships. In retrospect, in many ways, this was their last hurrah - they would win one more tournament in Leipzig a few weeks later, but by then, we knew that this partnership was soon to end. Martina was going to be playing with Lisa Raymond in 2004 in the hopes of qualifying for the Olympics. Reportedly, Sveta was upset at Martina's decision and didn't want to play doubles anymore but conveniently, Elena Likhovtseva had also split with her long-time partner, Cara Black, and convinced Sveta to play with her for a similar shot at Olympic glory. In the end, it was all moot - neither Martina nor Sveta left Athens with a medal and I've often wondered how different a year 2004 would have been had Martina & Sveta continued on... but oh well, hindsight is always 20/20, as they say. None of this should detract from the 2003 U.S. Open and what would be Martina's only final appearance in a Grand Slam womens doubles final during her comeback.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Special mentions </span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/012781597906800.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 367px; height: 206px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/012781597906800.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">The last U.S. Open mixed doubles win in 2006 with Bob Bryan; the last Grand Slam womens doubles title with Gigi in 1990; and her appearance at the Open in doubles in 1995 - the tournament didn't end well for her, but for one match at least, it was great to see her back on the court with Gabriela.<br /><br />P.S. Read an old article about the 2000 U.S. Open first round match <a title="here" target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/01/sports/us-open-notebook-still-a-fan-favorite.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss">here</a>. </span> </div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-81998308333437261202009-08-02T16:52:00.000-07:002009-08-02T17:11:47.529-07:00Bank of the West Classic - Part II<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So I said I would try to dig up a few pics and I came up with two. Here's one I scanned a few years ago from Ted Tinling's book "Love and Faults". It's Martina with the trophy after winning the Virginia Slims Championships for the first time in Oakland in 1978. At that time, the French & Australian Opens did not hold the same prestige as the other two Grand Slams, so the Virginia Slims/Avon Championships and the year-ending Colgate/Toyota Championships were their de facto replacements on the "Big 4" stage. Of course, everyone forgets about that now, but it was a huge win for Martina back in 1978.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/tt-vs.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 420px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/tt-vs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here's what Martina said after that match against Evonne: "I just want to scream and jump and do crazy things. I feel a lot of pressure has been taken off me - forever." Evonne, herself, was impressed with Martina's new form: "I can't believe the difference in Martina over the last year. Now that she has won a major, she will know she can do it again. That should make it interesting at Wimbledon, this year."</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Indeed, they would go on to play a memorable semifinal that summer, at Wimbledon , though it ended on an unfortunate note and Martina went on to win her first Grand Slam title beating Chris in the final.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here's the other photo from Oakland. It's Martina after her shocking 7-6 3-6 6-4 loss to Hana in the 1984 final. Always gracious in defeat, she said: "</span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I came down fighting. She (Hana) won the match; I didn't lose it... I gave it my best shot, she just blew me away." </span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/102400-m2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 409px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/102400-m2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-33538232066122532272009-07-31T19:02:00.000-07:002009-07-31T20:22:01.847-07:00Bank of the West Classic<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Bank of the West Classic, currently held on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, is taking place this week. It bills itself as the longest-running women-only tennis tournament on tour, dating back to 1971. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Today, the most prestigious Californian tournament on the WTA Tour calendar, in terms of categorization and ranking points, would probably be the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, a Premier Tournament (a new category introduced this year for what were formerly Tier I and II events). But in terms of history and tradition, the Bank of the West Classic is in a league of its own along with its Southern Californian cousin, the LA Women's Tennis Championships, currently held in Carson. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It began on the Virginia Slims Tour in 1971 as the British Motor Cars Invitation, an indoor event played at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. In 1974, with the merger of the Virginia Slims and USLTA tours, it was renamed the Virginia Slims of California. In 1978, the event was not played as the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships were held at the Coliseum Arena in Oakland, across the bay. The Oakland Coliseum Arena became the permanent home for the event beginning in 1979. For a brief period from 1979 to 1982, it was called the Avon Championships of California, a time which coincided with Avon's sponsorship of the women's tour. The name reverted to the Virginia Slims of California in 1983 and lasted until 1992, when Bank of the West took over.<br /><br />The event was always played at the beginning of the year, sometime between January and March but in 1990, it moved to November. 1996 was the last year it was held indoors and - for that year alone - at the Henry J Kaiser Arena. 1997 saw its most drastic change yet - it moved to Stanford, changed dates to July and changed surfaces to outdoor hardcourts. These changes have remained in effect to this date.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Martina didn't always have the best of success at this event, which is why I was surprised when I found out from Wikipedia that her five titles there remains a tournament record for most wins. For good measure, she also won the Virginia Slims Championships when it was played in Oakland in 1978. In doubles, she was the champion twice. Here's a look at her 8 wins in Oakland (all singles, unless otherwise noted):</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1978: Virginia Slims Championships</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>def. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley 7-6 6-4</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1979: Avon Championships of California</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>def. Chris Evert 7-5 7-5</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1980: Avon Championships of California</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>def. Goolagong-Cawley 6-1 7-6<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1984: Virginia Slims of California</span> (doubles, with Pam Shriver)<br />def. Rosie Casals & Alycia Moulton 6-2 6-3<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1988: Virginia Slims of California</span> (doubles, with Casals)<br />def. Hana Mandlikova & Jana Novotna 6-4 6-4</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1988: Virginia Slims of California</span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>def. Larisa Savchenko 6-1 6-2<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1993: Bank of the West Classic</span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>def. Zina Garrison-Jackson 6-2 7-6<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Despite the wins, this tournament is probably better known as the venue for a number of Martina's more spectacular "losses". At least that's how I always remember it. Some of those famous defeats in Oakland include - her loss to Hana Mandlikova in the 1984 final, which stopped her 54-straight match-winning streak, just one victory shy of Chris Evert's then record of 55; the only time Kathy Jordan ever beat her in singles was here in 1986, which was one of only 3 matches she lost all year; and then the heartbreaking loss to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the 1994 final, after being up 6-1 4-1 and serving for the match twice. There were other shocking upsets over the years - Terry Holladay in 1976, 17-year-old Claudia Kohde in 1981, Savchenko in 1989 - these are the ones that stick out in my mind. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I think I will have more to say this weekend. I might even try to dig up a few photos...<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-75181270647540708552009-07-29T15:05:00.000-07:002009-07-29T15:17:51.493-07:00I'm back?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ok, so the last time I updated this blog was more than 3 years ago. I'm not sure if I'm going to start doing it all over again - Martina has been retired for 2 1/2 years now and news is hard to come by. But perhaps, whenever I feel like it, I could post a few things - maybe a new article or a recollection of a long-forgotten tournament. Or anything I want to talk about - even if it's not about Martina. It's a blog after all so I should feel free to say what I think, right?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">We'll see how long I can keep this up...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">In the meantime, how about a nice pic to celebrate my first post of the year? Martina did win the Ladies Invitation doubles title at Wimbledon earlier this month with Helena Sukova. Congrats!</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/09wim-20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 373px; height: 247px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/09wim-20.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/zummi/09wim-20.jpg"><br /></a></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1147666616838842972006-05-14T21:10:00.000-07:002006-05-14T21:16:56.840-07:00When in Rome...<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/BannerAlice.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/BannerAlice.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Martina & Liezel are the #3 seeds at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome this week. They have received a first round bye and their opponents in the second round will be either Marta Domachowska and Emmanuelle Gagliardi or Dinara Safina and Roberta Vinci. For the complete draw, courtesy of the WTA Tour website, click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.wtatour.com/global/includes/TrackIt.asp?file=/global/Pdfs/events/2006/rome_draws.pdf">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">.</span></span> </div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1147665546683428092006-05-14T20:29:00.000-07:002006-05-14T21:28:40.900-07:00Prague wrap-up<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/ct_navratilova1.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/ct_navratilova1.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Well, as most of you know by now, Martina & Barbora lost their quarterfinal match in Prague on Thursday, 6-4 6-2 to Ashley Harkleroad and Bethanie Mattek. It is very sad that Martina's first WTA Tour event in her country of birth ended like this but perhaps she might have another chance next year. </span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For two English-language articles, click on the following links: </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060511/sp_wl_afp/tenniswtacze_060511182907">Agence France-Presse</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2006-05-11-prague-open_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA">Associated Press</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.praguemonitor.com/ctk/?story_id=w31660i20060512;story=Martina-Navratilova-eliminated-in-doubles">CTK</a>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There have been some great photos added to the gallery on the </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.pragueopen.cz/2006/gallery.php">tournament website</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. Check out pages 2 and 3 especially for the recent ones. Some of them can also be found on the <a href="http://www.wtatour.com/photogallery/Default.asp">WTA Tour website</a> with English captions (select Prague from the drop-down menu).</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For a few Czech articles, click on the following links: </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/navratilovou-prohra-mrzi-uz-kvuli-divakum-f2s-/tenis.asp?c=A060511_200347_tenis_ber">Mlada Fronta Dnes</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.ct24.cz/sport/tenis/index_view.php?id=168904">CTK</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.mojenoviny.cz/sport/ostatni_sporty/navratilova060511.html">Moje Noviny</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Radio Prague has a </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.radio.cz/en/article/78718">wonderful interview</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> with Martina on their website. You can also listen to the audio clip with Real Player. You can also listen to a <a href="http://www.radio.cz/cz/clanek/78764">Czech interview</a> with Martina on Radio Prague's website after Thursday's loss. It is always fascinating to hear Martina speak in her native language - even though I don't understand a single word!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">There's another interview with Martina on the Mlada Fronta Dnes website </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/navratilova-casto-se-peru-za-jine-dqu-/tenis.asp?c=A060513_103220_tenis_no">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Another early link that I had missed previously. Eurosport has a nice AFP article in French featuring a number of quotes from after Martina's first round victory </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.eurosport.fr/tennis/wta-prague/2006/sport_sto882092.shtml">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://lidovky.zpravy.cz/neumannova-si-s-navratilovou-notovala-dy3-/ln_noviny.asp?c=A060511_000149_ln_noviny_sko&klic=213112&mes=060511_0">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> for an article in Czech on Martina & Katerina Newmannova. From the photos on the tournament website, it looks like they had a joint autograph session together. It also appears that Martina played an exhibition match in Prague with Lucie Hradecka against up-and-coming Czech youngsters, the twins Karolina and Kristynia Pliskova per this </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/ctrnactileta-dvojcata-prohanela-navratilovou-fqg-/tenis.asp?c=A060510_212500_tenis_rou">article</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> in Czech from Mlada Fronta Dnes. The match score, I think, was 7-6 7-5 but I'm not sure who won! Martina also got to practice with old rival, Helena Sukova (see photo on tournament website).</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And you can read the transcripts of the chat with Martina on the Idnes.cz website </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/odpovedi.asp?t=martina2">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span></span><br /></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1147321478302217422006-05-10T21:15:00.000-07:002006-05-10T21:24:38.363-07:00Quarterfinal in Prague<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/pragueCZ2a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/pragueCZ2a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Martina & Barbora have a difficult quarterfinal match ahead of them tomorrow. They are scheduled to take on Ashley Harkleroad and Bethanie Mattek on CEZ Koloseum.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">A few Czech links from Mlada Fronta Dnes. </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/ctrnactileta-dvojcata-prohanela-navratilovou-fqg-/tenis.asp?c=A060510_212500_tenis_rou">Here's</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> one and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/martina-navratilova-odpovi-ve-ctvrtek-dh8-/tenis.asp?c=A060510_113614_tenis_ot">here's</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> another. And I think there's some sort of online chat planned with Martina sometime this week because of </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/odpovedi.asp?t=MARTINA2">this</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> link - there seems to be a list of questions submitted by fans to Martina, at least I think that's what it is. Martina was on the front page of the print edition of the newspaper and that was very nice to see. You can see a copy of the front page </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://data.idnes.cz/mfdnes/pdf/20060510.pdf">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> (pdf file).</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I found some photos of Martina on a website called Protennis. There are a few photos of Martina in that nice gallery.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">And </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="https://www.mworld.com/m/mw.asp?lp=GetStory&id=194340031">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> is an English translation to an earlier Czech article by the CTK. Some nice quotes by Martina there.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></strong></span> </div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1147237360349773972006-05-09T21:53:00.000-07:002006-05-09T22:02:40.373-07:00First round win in Prague<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/prague.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/prague.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Martina & Barbora won their first round match today, defeating Olga Blahotova and Ahsha Rolle 6-2 6-3. There was a lot of media coverage of today's historic match - Martina's first ever WTA tournament win in her country of birth. No doubt, it was a day of high emotions for her. For a few English-language articles, click on the following links: </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=tennisNews&storyID=2006-05-09T200245Z_01_L09226455_RTRIDST_0_SPORT-TENNIS-NAVRATILOVA.XML">Reuters</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=AoPnYH5Fi_cUU_ROFRw2Myw4v7YF?slug=ap-pragueopen&prov=ap&type=lgns">Associated Press</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/4756257.stm">BBC</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. </span></span> <br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For photos, check out the following links: Associated Press & Reuters photos on </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/search?p=navratilova&c=news_photos">Yahoo! News</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">; </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/FrameSet.aspx?s=ImagesSearchState%7c0%7c0%7c-1%7c28%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c1%7c%7c%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c7%7c%7cnavratilova%7c1125084063323127%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0&p=7&tag=2">Getty Images</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, the official </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.pragueopen.cz/2006/gallery.php">tournament website</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/foto.asp?c=A060509_153644_tenis_rou&r=tenis">Mlada Fronta Dnes</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span></span> <br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">For Czech articles, here are the links: </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/navratilova-zazitek-jaky-bych-za-nic-nevymenila-ftb-/tenis.asp?c=A060509_212157_tenis_ot">Mlada Fronta Dnes</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/navratilova-se-strycovou-zacaly-vitezne-f1f-/tenis.asp?c=A060509_153644_tenis_rou">CTK</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://lidovky.zpravy.cz/navratilova-po-letech-dobyla-stvanici-dxu-/ln_sport.asp?c=A060509_204300_ln_sport_fho">Lidove Noviny</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. </span></span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I was also able to locate an additional few interviews with Martina in the Czech media: </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://zpravy.idnes.cz/mfdnes.asp?v=107&r=sporto&c=494161">Mlada Fronta Dnes</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, the Czech tabloid </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.blesk.cz/Clanek51544.htm">Blesk</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.ihned.cz/1-10106650-18401180-004800_d-0b">Hospodarske Noviny</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://lidovky.zpravy.cz/navratilova-se-zlobi-na-bushe-i-na-klause-ff3-/ln_sport.asp?c=A060509_075759_ln_sport_hlm">Lidove Noviny</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. Again, if anyone can help with the translation, I would be most grateful. Thanks.</span></span></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1147150816245030422006-05-08T21:54:00.000-07:002006-05-08T22:00:56.590-07:00First round in Prague<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/pont-charles-prague.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/pont-charles-prague.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Martina & Barbora play their first round match tomorrow against Olga Blahotova and Ahsha Rolle. It's scheduled last on CEZ Koloseum.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">You can read a Czech article from the CTK <a href="http://www.ct24.cz/sport/tenis/index_view.php?id=168364">here</a>. And there's a new photo of Martina from a practice session today on the official website <a href="http://www.pragueopen.cz/2006/picture.php?pixid=313">here</a>.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Meanwhile, the Written Voices Radio website has added an interview with Martina to their site where she talks about her new book "Shape Your Self." You can check that out </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.writtenvoices.com/titlepage.asp?ISBN=1594862826">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. Click on "Audio Interview." My special thanks to Yolanda for alerting me to this link.</span></span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1147063160057650282006-05-07T21:25:00.000-07:002006-05-07T21:39:36.516-07:00Prague draw is out<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/prague.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/prague.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The draw for the ECM Prague Open was announced today. Martina & Barbora Strycova are the #1 seeds and will take on Olga Blahotova and Ahsha Rolle in their opening match. For the complete doubles draw, courtesy of the WTA Tour, click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.wtatour.com/global/includes/TrackIt.asp?file=/global/Pdfs/events/2006/prague_draws.pdf">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> (page 3).</span> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.usta.com/news/fullstory.sps?iType=841&inewsid=326740">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> for a nice article on Martina on the USTA website to help kick start National Tennis Month in the USA. Thanks to Andee for the link.</span></span></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1146972314426843252006-05-06T19:51:00.000-07:002006-05-06T21:00:02.526-07:00Martina in Prague!<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/martina_navratilova_03.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/martina_navratilova_03.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Martina is in Prague right now for next week's ECM Prague Open. This will be Martina's first ever WTA Tour-level event in the Czech Republic. Previously, she played the Federation Cup in Prague in 1986 and while she did play the Bratislava International in 1973, that was in current-day Slovakia. Click </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?ei=UTF-8&p=navratilova&c=&pstart=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;b=51&fr=&c=news_photos">here</a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > for some photos of Martina practicing from the Associated Press courtesy of Yahoo! News. More photos from Martina's practice session and press conference can also be found on the official </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.pragueopen.cz/2006/gallery.php">tournament website</a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">As to be expected, Mlada Fronta Dnes has excellent coverage of Martina this week. Unfortunately, all articles are in Czech so I would really, really appreciate it if someone could help me out with the translation. Thanks in advance! Click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/navratilova-laka-fanousky-na-stvanici-dxh-/tenis.asp?c=A060504_123414_tenis_ma">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> for an article from Thursday, </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/navratilova-ceka-fantasticky-zazitek-d85-/tenis.asp?c=A060505_143448_tenis_ma">here's</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> one on Martina's arrival and click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/vycini-navratilova-prezidentu-klausovi-ff2-/tenis.asp?c=A060506_164810_tenis_ma">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> for an interview with Martina today. I'm dying to know what Martina said in that interview, besides her comments on Czech President Vaclav Klaus - which have made the English-language news wires (more on that below). Click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://sport.idnes.cz/navratilova-v-praze-bez-ochranky-se-strycovou-fql-/tenis.asp?c=A060412_125845_tenis_ma">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> for an earlier article, announcing Martina's doubles partner for this week, Barbora Strycova.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">The </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.pragueopen.cz/2006/index.php">official tournament website</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> also has much on Martina, but again, it's all in Czech. And click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.ct24.cz/sport/tenis/index_view.php?id=168210">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.ct24.cz/sport/tenis/index_view.php?id=168097">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> for articles from the Ceska Televize website. And one brief piece from </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.deniksport.cz/Clanek458942.htm">Denik Sport</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">. All in Czech - help, please!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">More Czech articles - </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.sport.cz/tenis/84690-navratilova-mysli-na-ceske-obcanstvi--kritizovala-prezidenta.html">here's</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> one from Ceska Tiskova Kancelar (CTK - Czech News Agency) that basically appears to cover Martina's comments in her interview today with Mlada Fronta Dnes. But I like that photo of Martina at the airport. Earlier articles from the CTK can be found </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.sport.cz/tenis/84629-navratilova-je-v-praze--ocekava-fantasticky-zazitek.html">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.sport.cz/tenis/84524-listky-na-prague-open-diky-navratilove-rychle-mizi.html">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">. There's something about the Czech cross country skier, Katerina Newmannova in there but what it says exactly, I don't know. It's also in this </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.deniksport.cz/Clanek458826.htm">other article</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> from Denik Sport. Again, if you can help with the translation, please </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="mailto:martinawebsite@earthlink.net">czech with me</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> - ok, bad joke but I couldn't resist :-)</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Fortunately, I was able to find two articles in English! Click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2006/Art/0504/news1.php">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> for a nice article from the Prague Post and </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060506/en_afp/sportsczehomosexuality_060506194840">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> for one from the AFP on Martina's comments on Czech President Vaclav Klaus.</span></span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1146968512735802802006-05-06T18:56:00.000-07:002006-05-07T11:05:05.023-07:00Catching up...<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/logo.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/logo.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Ok, I have some catching up to do...<br /><br />First off, Martina was in Warsaw earlier this week for the J&S Cup. Unfortunately, the stay was brief. Martina & Liezel were upset in the first round by Ana Ivanovic and Maria Kirilenko 6-2 6-4. Martina's visit to Poland did receive a lot of media attention so that was nice. Lots of photos available on the <a href="http://www.jandscup.pl/eng/gal_2006.php?">official tournament website</a> (search by player) as well as the <a href="http://www.wtatour.com/photogallery/">WTA Tour gallery</a> and the Associated Press on <a href="http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?ei=UTF-8&p=navratilova&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;c=&fr=&c=news_photos">Yahoo! News</a>. Martina also appeared on Polish TV reading a passage from a children's book as part of a "Read to Your Children" initiative.<br /><br />There are a couple of interviews available online. One with the Polish daily, <a href="http://sport.gazeta.pl/sport/1,65025,3317510.html">Gazeta Wyborcza</a> and another with <a href="http://ww6.tvp.pl/View?Cat=349&id=336399">Telewizja Polska</a> (Poland's public television). And another short write-up from <a href="http://wiadomosci.o2.pl/?s=259&t=216838">Polska Angecja Prasowa</a> (scroll to the end). Unfortunately, all are in Polish. Could anyone help with the translation? Thanks in advance. And here are two brief articles, also in Polish, with photos from <a href="http://tvp.pl/349,20060503337124.strona">Telewizja Polska</a> and <a href="http://new.sports.pl/index.php?show=1&s=11&ns=67303&sid=9aa63c5750eb02c88088e8d25c29d56d">Polska Angencja Prasowa</a>.<br /><br />Now for some alarming news. Martina's <a href="http://lelands.com/bid.aspx?auctionid=603&lot=810">1979 Wimbledon doubles trophy</a> and her <a href="http://www.lelands.com/bid.aspx?lot=811&auctionid=603">1976 & 1980 Wimbledon semifinalist medals</a> were placed up for auction on Lelands.com, a sports memorabilia auction house and last week, they fetched more than $39,000 collectively. Needless to say, Martina is very upset over this; she did not authorize this auction and how her trophy ended up there remains a mystery. Lelands.com is refusing to publicly reveal the name of the thief who stole these treasured items from Martina but have provided the name to Martina's attorneys. Click <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2006-05-03-navratilova-trophies-sold_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA">here</a> for an article from USA Today to read what Martina had to say.</span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1144892087010805862006-04-12T18:24:00.000-07:002006-04-12T18:34:47.023-07:00Miscellaneous links<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Click <a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/sports2day/266266_martina11.html">here</a> for a Q&A with Martina from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The article mentions that Martina has returned to the Czech Republic to be with her mother who is gravely ill. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Click <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=2405528">here</a> for a nice article on Billie Jean King by the Associated Press. Martina is quoted in that piece. A clarification: the photo on ESPN accompanying the article is actually from 1975 and not 1970.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Finally, the World TeamTennis schedule for 2005 was announced yesterday. Martina is playing two matches for the Boston Lobsters this year, on July 14 and July 24, both in Boston. More details can be found on the <a href="http://www.wtt.com">WTT website</a>.</span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1144678960624700872006-04-10T07:19:00.000-07:002006-04-10T07:30:13.413-07:00All West Coast appearances cancelled<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Unfortunately, Martina had to cancel all West Coast appearances this week in the Bay Area & Seattle due to an illness in the family. Please ignore my entry from last night below. News on the rescheduling of some of the dates will be available soon. My special thanks to Jeremy for alerting me to this.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Our thoughts and prayers are with Martina and her family at this time. </span></span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1144648453296247132006-04-09T22:41:00.000-07:002006-04-09T22:54:13.313-07:00Martina goes West...<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/1594862826.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.0.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/1594862826.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.0.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Ok, I was almost done with the latest blog entry when my browser errored out on me and I had to close it, losing everything in the process; and now I have to start all over again. Grrrrr....</span></span> <br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Martina is on the West Coast this week. Today, she was at a book signing in Westlake Village, California. On Tuesday, she will be in San Francisco and on Wednesday, in Seattle. If you live nearby and can attend, please do so and share your reports with us on the message board.</span></span> <br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Tomorrow, Martina will be on Martha Stewart's show. Please check your local listings for timings. You can watch a short preview clip of Martina's appearance on Martha's website </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=learn-cat&id=cat20027&rsc=SC287206">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. </span></span> <br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This weekend, Martina also praticipated in the Pro/Celebrity race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach where she finished an impressive 3rd! Well done, Martina! I couldn't find any articles on the race with quotes but there are pictures available. Check out </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/FrameSet.aspx?s=ImagesSearchState%7c0%7c0%7c-1%7c28%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c1%7c%7c%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c7%7c%7cnavratilova%7c1125084063323127%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0&p=7&tag=1">Getty Images</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and two from Reuters and one from the Associated Press on </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=navratilova&c=&fr=&c=news_photos">Yahoo! News</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In other developments, Martina explained her renewed association with the Rainbow Card in </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/0-0&fp=44395d2e6c91a282&ei=9PE5RJruEJvSHKSAvcwE&url=http%3A//baywindows.com/ME2/dirmod.asp%3Fsid%3D008EC9FBCFF24AD18614290016BE1303%26nm%3DCurrent%2bIssue%26type%3DPublishing%26mod%3DPublications%253A%253AArticle%26mid%3D8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791%26tier%3D4%26id%3DE7D30E5E51DE463A8BF454E239C8D8D1&cid=0">this</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> article from the Bay Windows newspaper of Boston. You can visit the official website of the Rainbow Card </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.rainbowcard.com/">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.</span></span> <br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I just noticed this recently. The SPRI website has a </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.spriproducts.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=47">nice section on Martina</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and the products recommended by her.</span></span><br /><br /> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Martina's next tournament will be the J&S Cup in Warsaw which begins May 1. </span></span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1144198371055571172006-04-04T17:46:00.000-07:002006-04-04T17:52:51.076-07:00Martina on The Early Show<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >You can watch a clip of Martina's appearance on CBS' Early Show today at <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/04/earlyshow/leisure/books/main1469398.shtml">this</a> link.<br /><br />For the transcripts of her appearance on CNN's American Morning, click <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/04/ltm.05.html">here</a>.</span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1144115467443920722006-04-03T18:31:00.000-07:002006-04-03T18:52:55.646-07:00Martina on the Today Show<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/head_13.2.0.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/head_13.2.0.1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >You can watch Martina's appearance earlier today on the Today Show on the official website <a href="http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=388fe2d5-ffdb-4149-8ec5-836fe80c8f14&t=m5&p=Source_Today%20Show%20Entertainment">here</a>. You need to have Internet Explorer as your browser to watch the video. It doesn't work with Firefox...<br /><br />Martina is on CBS' <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/earlyshow/main500202.shtml">Early Show</a> tomorrow and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/american.morning/">American Morning</a> on CNN.</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Rodale, the publisher of Martina's new book, have the entire first chapter of the book, up on their website. Click <a href="http://images.rodale.com/wcpe/USRodaleStore/pdf/056640/1594862826CHP.pdf">here</a> to read it.</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Once again, click <a href="http://www.geocities.com/lenglen.geo/MEDIAUPDATE3-16.doc">here</a> for the comprehensive listing of Martina's upcoming appearances to promote "Shape Your Self".</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Oh and by the way, Martina and Liezel lost their final match in Miami yesterday at the Nasdaq-100 Open, losing 6-4 7-5 to Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur. Martina and Liezel were up 5-2 in the second set but inexplicably lost 5 games in a row. For the transcripts of the post-match press conference, click <a href="http://www.asapsports.com/tennis/2006nasdaq/040206LH.html">here</a>. And there are a few photos available on </span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/FrameSet.aspx?s=ImagesSearchState%7c0%7c0%7c-1%7c28%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c1%7c%7c%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c7%7c%7cnavratilova%7c1125084063323127%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0&p=7&tag=1">Getty Images</a></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > and two from the </span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=navratilova&amp;c=&fr=&c=news_photos">Associated Press</a>. </span></div> <span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ></span>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1143957405613958012006-04-01T21:53:00.000-08:002006-04-01T21:56:45.633-08:00Semis in Miami<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/head_13.3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/head_13.3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Martina & Liezel won their semifinal match yesterday, coming back from behind to defeat the #8 seeds, Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik 6-7 6-1 6-3. Martina & Liezel wasted three set points in the opening set but turned things around after that. This is Martina's first final in Miami in 19 years. They next face the ultimate test in the final against the #1 doubles team in the world, the top seeds, Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1143771091387832142006-03-30T18:00:00.000-08:002006-03-30T18:11:31.403-08:00Miami update<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/head_13.2.0.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/head_13.2.0.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Click </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/columnists/linda_robertson/14219484.htm">here</a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > for an article in today's Miami Herald, purportedly about Martina agreeing with Chris Evert's recent </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/14211280.htm">open letter</a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > to tennis great Serena Williams. However, only 2 direct quotes attributed to Martina can be found in the article, the rest is just useless fluff. If Martina sounds harsh in her comments, she could very well have been taken out of context - not the first time that's happened. Anyway, read it with a grain of salt. And there's a nice photo on that page from yesterday's match. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /> </span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><br />Martina & Liezel's semifinal tomorrow will be a night match on Stadium court. There have been no easy matches this week and tomorrow is no exception - they take on the #8 seeds, Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik.</span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1143685482696543942006-03-29T18:18:00.000-08:002006-03-29T18:24:42.700-08:00Win in Miami<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/head_13.2.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/head_13.2.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Martina & Liezel won their quarterfinal match at the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami today, defeating Ting Li and Tian Tian Sun of China 7-6(3) 6-4. There are a few pics from the match on </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://editorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/FrameSet.aspx?s=ImagesSearchState%7c0%7c0%7c-1%7c28%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c1%7c%7c%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c7%7c%7cnavratilova%7c1125084063323127%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0&p=7&tag=1">Getty Images</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">.</span></span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1143685110687499892006-03-29T18:09:00.000-08:002006-03-29T18:18:30.703-08:00WTT draft<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/Boston-Lobsters-lg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/Boston-Lobsters-lg.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >The 2006 World TeamTennis <a href="http://www.wtt.com/draft_players.asp">draft</a> was done yesterday. No surprise, Martina is playing WTT again this year for the <a href="http://www.bostonlobsters.net/">Boston Lobsters</a>. The WTT <a href="http://www.worldteamtennis.com/news/news_info.asp?news_id=226">press release</a> indicates this will be Martina's 18th WTT season but I think it is actually her 19th - 1976-78, 1981, 1991-96, 1998-present.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Martina's teammates on the Lobsters roster will be Todd Martin, Nicole Pratt, Amir Hadad, Kristin Schlukebir and Thomas Blake. Schlukebir & Blake are returning members from last season as is the Lobsters coach, Dr. Anne Smith.</span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1143598334118377162006-03-28T17:56:00.000-08:002006-03-28T18:12:14.133-08:00More Martina...<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">More good news. Click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.geocities.com/lenglen.geo/MEDIAUPDATE3-16.doc">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> for a comprehensive list of all Martina's upcoming promotion activities for "Shape Your Self" - the file is in Microsoft Word format. Once again, I have to thank Martina's agent, Jeremy, for compiling this excellent list for us!</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Looks like Martina is going to be all over the airwaves next week on shows like <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/">The Today Show</a>, <a href="http://www.charlierose.com/">The Charlie Rose Show</a>, <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/bestdamn">Best Damn Sports Show Period</a>, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/earlyshow/main500202.shtml">The Early Show</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/american.morning/">American Morning</a>, <a href="http://www.coldpizza.tv/">Cold Pizza</a>, <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=learn-cat&id=cat20027&_requestid=260003&rsc=SC287206">Martha</a> and many more; in addition to numerous radio appearances. That is just wonderful...</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.nasdaq-100open.com/news/2006/interviews/0327h.html">here</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> for transcripts from Martina's press conference at the Nasdaq-100 Open yesterday. Martina & Liezel play their quarterfinal match on Stadium Court tomorrow!</span></span></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1143515507183607332006-03-27T18:55:00.000-08:002006-03-27T19:11:47.200-08:00More "Shape Your Self" updates...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/1594862826.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/1594862826.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">First off, click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/0-0&fp=442843fd89d58ab4&ei=jaUoRNSrH8rIaL_EgagK&url=http%3A//www.time.com/time/generations/article/0%2C9171%2C1176996%2C00.html&cid=0">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> for a great article from the latest issue of Time magazine.</span> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And good news for the Bay Area fans - Martina will be in San Francisco on April 11 for a book signing at 12:00 noon at '</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.bookstore.com/2006-04.html">A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">' (yes, that really is the name of the bookstore!)</span> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Click </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.geocities.com/lenglen.geo/ListofSigningsandlectures.doc">here</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> for a Microsoft Word document summarizing the dates, places & times of Martina's book signings starting next week. My special thanks go out to Martina's agent, Jeremy, for compiling this list for us.</span> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And finally, many of you have probably already gotten your copy of "Shape Your Self" by now or will be getting it soon. I am looking for fans to write your own book reviews to post on my website. It doesn't matter if its just a few lines; I just feel it would be great to get some fan reaction to help spread the work about Martina's new book. Please feel free to </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="mailto:martinawebsite@earthlink.net">e-mail</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> me your thoughts and opinions. Thanks!</span></span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1143514173757632362006-03-27T18:38:00.000-08:002006-03-27T18:49:33.780-08:00Another win in Miami<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/1600/head_13.2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3205/717/320/head_13.2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Martina & Liezel won their second round match at the Nasdaq-100 Open today, an impressive 6-3 7-6(2) victory over Iveta Benesova and Barbora Strycova. They have another difficult match ahead in the quarterfinals against the reigning Olympic champions, Ting Li and Tian Tian Sun of China.</span></span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9693140.post-1143423000246656622006-03-26T17:13:00.000-08:002006-03-26T17:30:00.263-08:00Free tickets to see Martina!<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Some great news here for fans in the New York City/tri-state area. Martina will be appearing on </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://espn.go.com/eoe/qf/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, a sports talk show on ESPN2, live, on Monday, April 3, at 4:00 p.m. The studio is located in the heart of New York City, across the street from Madison Square Garden.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The audience producer of the show has been generous enough to offer all interested Martina fans </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >FREE</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> tickets to attend the show! If any of you are interested and would like to attend, please </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="mailto:martinawebsite@earthlink.net">e-mail</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> me and I will send you the contact information.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Also, don't forget Martina's appearance the same day at the </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >New York Times</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">' </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/marketing/timestalks/">TimesTalks</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> event.</span></span><br /></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04165271951879107289noreply@blogger.com1