A blog about Martina Navratilova

My Favorite Memories of Martina from the U.S. Open

2009-09-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

I 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:

1. Martina's run to the finals in 1991

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.

2. Martina's return to the Open with Arantxa in 2000

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 never 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.

3. Martina's & Sveta's run to the finals in 2003

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.

Special mentions

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.

P.S. Read an old article about the 2000 U.S. Open first round match here.

Bank of the West Classic - Part II

2009-08-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

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.

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."

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.

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: "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."

Bank of the West Classic

2009-07-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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):

1978: Virginia Slims Championships
def. Evonne Goolagong-Cawley 7-6 6-4

1979: Avon Championships of California
def. Chris Evert 7-5 7-5

1980: Avon Championships of California
def. Goolagong-Cawley 6-1 7-6

1984: Virginia Slims of California (doubles, with Pam Shriver)
def. Rosie Casals & Alycia Moulton 6-2 6-3

1988: Virginia Slims of California (doubles, with Casals)
def. Hana Mandlikova & Jana Novotna 6-4 6-4

1988: Virginia Slims of California
def. Larisa Savchenko 6-1 6-2

1993: Bank of the West Classic
def. Zina Garrison-Jackson 6-2 7-6

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.

I think I will have more to say this weekend. I might even try to dig up a few photos...

I'm back?

2009-07-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

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?

We'll see how long I can keep this up...

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!

When in Rome...

2006-05-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

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 here.

Prague wrap-up

2006-05-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

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.

For two English-language articles, click on the following links: Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, CTK.

There have been some great photos added to the gallery on the tournament website. Check out pages 2 and 3 especially for the recent ones. Some of them can also be found on the WTA Tour website with English captions (select Prague from the drop-down menu).

For a few Czech articles, click on the following links: Mlada Fronta Dnes, CTK, Moje Noviny.

Radio Prague has a wonderful interview with Martina on their website. You can also listen to the audio clip with Real Player. You can also listen to a Czech interview 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!

There's another interview with Martina on the Mlada Fronta Dnes website here.

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 here.

Click here 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 article 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).

And you can read the transcripts of the chat with Martina on the Idnes.cz website here.

Quarterfinal in Prague

2006-05-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

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.

A few Czech links from Mlada Fronta Dnes. Here's one and here's another. And I think there's some sort of online chat planned with Martina sometime this week because of this 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 here (pdf file).

I found some photos of Martina on a website called Protennis. There are a few photos of Martina in that nice gallery.

And here is an English translation to an earlier Czech article by the CTK. Some nice quotes by Martina there.

First round win in Prague

2006-05-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

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: Reuters, Associated Press, BBC.

For photos, check out the following links: Associated Press & Reuters photos on Yahoo! News; Getty Images, the official tournament website and Mlada Fronta Dnes.

For Czech articles, here are the links: Mlada Fronta Dnes, CTK, Lidove Noviny. I was also able to locate an additional few interviews with Martina in the Czech media: Mlada Fronta Dnes, the Czech tabloid Blesk, Hospodarske Noviny and Lidove Noviny. Again, if anyone can help with the translation, I would be most grateful. Thanks.

First round in Prague

2006-05-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

Martina & Barbora play their first round match tomorrow against Olga Blahotova and Ahsha Rolle. It's scheduled last on CEZ Koloseum. You can read a Czech article from the CTK here. And there's a new photo of Martina from a practice session today on the official website here.

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 here. Click on "Audio Interview." My special thanks to Yolanda for alerting me to this link.

Prague draw is out

2006-05-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

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 here (page 3).

And click here 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.

Martina in Prague!

2006-05-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

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 here 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 tournament website.

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 here for an article from Thursday, here's one on Martina's arrival and click here 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 here for an earlier article, announcing Martina's doubles partner for this week, Barbora Strycova.

The official tournament website also has much on Martina, but again, it's all in Czech. And click here and here for articles from the Ceska Televize website. And one brief piece from Denik Sport. All in Czech - help, please!

More Czech articles - here's 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 here and here. 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 other article from Denik Sport. Again, if you can help with the translation, please czech with me - ok, bad joke but I couldn't resist :-)

Fortunately, I was able to find two articles in English! Click here for a nice article from the Prague Post and here for one from the AFP on Martina's comments on Czech President Vaclav Klaus.

Catching up...

2006-05-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have some catching up to do...

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 official tournament website (search by player) as well as the WTA Tour gallery and the Associated Press on Yahoo! News. Martina also appeared on Polish TV reading a passage from a children's book as part of a "Read to Your Children" initiative.

There are a couple of interviews available online. One with the Polish daily, Gazeta Wyborcza and another with Telewizja Polska (Poland's public television). And another short write-up from Polska Angecja Prasowa (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 Telewizja Polska and Polska Angencja Prasowa.

Now for some alarming news. Martina's 1979 Wimbledon doubles trophy and her 1976 & 1980 Wimbledon semifinalist medals 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 here for an article from USA Today to read what Martina had to say.

Miscellaneous links

2006-04-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

Click here 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.

Click here 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.

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 WTT website.

All West Coast appearances cancelled

2006-04-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

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.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Martina and her family at this time.

Martina goes West...

2006-04-09T22:41:00.000-07:00

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....

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.

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 here.

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 Getty Images and two from Reuters and one from the Associated Press on Yahoo! News.

In other developments, Martina explained her renewed association with the Rainbow Card in this article from the Bay Windows newspaper of Boston. You can visit the official website of the Rainbow Card here.

I just noticed this recently. The SPRI website has a nice section on Martina and the products recommended by her.

Martina's next tournament will be the J&S Cup in Warsaw which begins May 1.

Martina on The Early Show

2006-04-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

You can watch a clip of Martina's appearance on CBS' Early Show today at this link.

For the transcripts of her appearance on CNN's American Morning, click here.

Martina on the Today Show

2006-04-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

You can watch Martina's appearance earlier today on the Today Show on the official website here. You need to have Internet Explorer as your browser to watch the video. It doesn't work with Firefox...

Martina is on CBS' Early Show tomorrow and American Morning on CNN.

Rodale, the publisher of Martina's new book, have the entire first chapter of the book, up on their website. Click here to read it.

Once again, click here for the comprehensive listing of Martina's upcoming appearances to promote "Shape Your Self".

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 here. And there are a few photos available on Getty Images and two from the Associated Press.

Semis in Miami

2006-04-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

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.

Miami update

2006-03-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Click here for an article in today's Miami Herald, purportedly about Martina agreeing with Chris Evert's recent open letter 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.

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.

Win in Miami

2006-03-29T18:18:00.000-08:00

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 Getty Images.

WTT draft

2006-03-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

The 2006 World TeamTennis draft was done yesterday. No surprise, Martina is playing WTT again this year for the Boston Lobsters. The WTT press release indicates this will be Martina's 18th WTT season but I think it is actually her 19th - 1976-78, 1981, 1991-96, 1998-present.

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.

More Martina...

2006-03-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

More good news. Click here 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!

Looks like Martina is going to be all over the airwaves next week on shows like The Today Show, The Charlie Rose Show, Best Damn Sports Show Period, The Early Show, American Morning, Cold Pizza, Martha and many more; in addition to numerous radio appearances. That is just wonderful...

Click here for transcripts from Martina's press conference at the Nasdaq-100 Open yesterday. Martina & Liezel play their quarterfinal match on Stadium Court tomorrow!

More "Shape Your Self" updates...

2006-03-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

First off, click here for a great article from the latest issue of Time magazine.

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 'A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books' (yes, that really is the name of the bookstore!)

Click here 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.

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 e-mail me your thoughts and opinions. Thanks!

Another win in Miami

2006-03-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

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.

Free tickets to see Martina!

2006-03-26T17:13:00.000-08:00

Some great news here for fans in the New York City/tri-state area. Martina will be appearing on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, 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.

The audience producer of the show has been generous enough to offer all interested Martina fans FREE tickets to attend the show! If any of you are interested and would like to attend, please e-mail me and I will send you the contact information.

Also, don't forget Martina's appearance the same day at the New York Times' TimesTalks event.

First Round Win in Miami

2006-03-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

Martina & Liezel won their first round match in Miami yesterday at the Nasdaq-100 Open, with an impressive 5-7 6-2 6-2 victory over Nadia Petrova and Patty Schnyder. This was Martina's first match win of the year. They have another difficult match ahead of them in Round 2, against the Czech team of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Strycova.

Nasdaq-100 Open draw

2006-03-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

The draw for the Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami was done on Tuesday. Martina is playing with Liezel Horn-Huber again and they are seeded #7. They have a difficult first round match against Nadia Petrova & Patty Schnyder. For the complete doubles draw, click here.

"Shape Your Self" updates...

2006-03-19T22:34:00.000-08:00

A couple of updates on "Shape Your Self"...

First, you can read an excerpt from the book on the website of Written Voices Radio. If that excerpt is anything to go by, I think it is safe to say we are really going to enjoy this book...

Depending on where you live, I have good news on Martina's upcoming book tour for "Shape Your Self". Here are a few more dates...

Martina will be in New York City on April 4 for a free book reading at 1:00 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue.

That same day, she will also make an appearance in Huntington, Long Island, New York at the Book Revue for another signing at 8:00 p.m.

Moving out west, Martina will be in the Los Angeles area on April 9 for a book signing at Costco in Westlake Village at 3:00 p.m.

And on April 12, she will be in Seattle, Washington at Borders on Fourth Avenue at 12:00 p.m.

This is all I am aware of at the moment. Once again, if any of you are aware of other stops on Martina's book tour, please let me know. At present, we are aware of five appearances - the above four and Madison, Connecticut on April 5. Thanks!

In addition to her appearances on NBC's Today Show and CNN's American Morning, Martina will also be appearing on CBS's Early Show. Exact dates are not available at the moment, but I will keep you posted...

Magazine interviews

2006-03-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

Just a brief heads up... an interview with Martina is featured in the latest issue of Tennis Week. And you can catch another interview in the May edition of Shape magazine.

Martina on the Today Show! (and much, much more...)

2006-03-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, I've got a lot to report on Martina's new book coming out within the next few weeks, but her upcoming Today Show appearance is certainly something to look forward to. It's scheduled for April 3; she will be there to promote "Shape Your Self." So North American fans, make sure you don't miss this.

In addition to the Today Show, Martina will also promote her book on CNN's American Morning (probably the same day?) and the New York Times' "Times Talk" - tickets are available to the latter, check their site here. I love that picture of Martina they have on that page.

To those of you who get "Fit TV", their "Art of the Athlete" series will feature Martina on April 6 at 8:00 p.m., Eastern time. It's an hour-long program.

We don't know the details of Martina's upcoming book tour just yet, but here is one stop that has been confirmed. She will be in Madison, Connecticut on April 5 at R.J. Julia Booksellers. Check the site for ticket information.

Here's a link to an interview Martina did for the Washington Flyer. My thanks to Sam for posting this interivew on the message boards.

And here's some more good news. Martina has come up with a comprehensive exercise program to accompany her book and has teamed with SPRI to develop retail packages of fitness products used for the various exercises. You can read more about that in this SPRI press release.

Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race

2006-03-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

Martina will be in Long Beach, California next month for the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race (car race, that is!) to be held in conjuction with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the first race of the Champ Car World Series. For those unfamiliar with the Champ Car Series, check out their Wikipedia entry.

Check out the press release announcing the participants, including Martina. Qualifying begins April 7 with the real thing the following day.

This sounds like a fun event and it is for a good cause, but PLEASE BE CAREFUL, MARTINA!

Another first round loss

2006-02-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

Martina & Liezel lost their first round match in Doha today, knocked out 5-7 6-3 7-5 by Eleni Daniilidou and Anabel Medina Garrigues.

!@#$!%#@$^@#$!!!

Doha: Tuesday order of play

2006-02-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Order of Play for Doha tomorrow is out. Good luck, Martina & Liezel!

Doha draw

2006-02-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

The doubles draw for Doha is out. Martina & Liezel are the #4 seeds again and have another difficult first round match on their hands, this one against Eleni Daniilidou and Anabel Medina Garrigues. For the complete doubles draw, click here.

Tennis - Give it a shot!

2006-02-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, Martina participated in a press conference in Dubai to announce tour sponsor Sony Ericsson's support of a tennis initiative for children called "Tennis - Give it a Shot!" Martina & Lucie Safarova engaged in a few mini-tennis drills with children at the City Centre Mall in Deira (north Dubai) and posed for pictures afterwards. Click here for a short article on the program from the Khaleej Times. And here to visit the WTA Tour's photo gallery for pics (select gallery Dubai2).

1st World Outgames in Montréal

2006-02-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

Martina will be involved with the World Outgames to be held in Montréal this summer. The Outgames is a new event on the LGBT scene and comprises of 35 sporting disciplines and 4 cultural activities, to be held July 29 to August 5. Prior to the Games, Martina will participate in the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights. The conference is expected to adopt a final resolution affirming LGBT rights entitled the 'Declaration of Montréal.' Martina will read this declaration at the Games' opening ceremony.

You can read more in the press release on the Outgames website here. For more information on the origins of the Outgames which arose after a dispute with the Gay Games license holders, check out this Wikipedia entry. The Gay Games will be held a week earlier in Chicago. More information on the conflict and the two competing Games can be found here. FYI, Billie Jean King serves as an ambassador to the Gay Games along with Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, Rudy Galindo and others.

Looking at the tennis calendar, Martina's participation at the Outgames means she will definitely not be able to play the Bank of the West Classic in Palo Alto, California that week. Which ordinarily shouldn't be a surprise given that she hasn't played there since it moved from Oakland 10 years ago; but then she told Out Traveler last year, it was one of her favorite tournaments!!????

Upcoming schedule

2006-02-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm back, I think I need to summarize Martina's upcoming schedule for those who might not be in the know as yet...

Like I said earlier, she is playing Doha next week with Liezel Horn-Huber.

Martina will not be playing Indian Wells this year...

She will be in Miami next for the Nasdaq-100 Open. Martina has not missed this event since 2001.

She is definitely not playing Amelia Island or Charleston this year.

There is a possibility Martina will make her claycourt season debut in Warsaw in May for the J&S Cup. This would mark her first tour appearance in Poland since winning the European Amateur Championships as a 17-year-old in 1974 in Wrclaw - a result that has since been carelessly omitted from her WTA Tour record.

Martina will be making a return to Prague in May for the ECM Prague Open. This will be her first-ever WTA Tour event in Prague. The news attracted a lot of media attention as the following sources will attest: Reuters, AFP, The Prague Daily Monitor. The original articles in Czech from Mlada Fronta Dnes can be read here and here. Martina last played competitively in the Czech Republic in 1999 in Prague, an exhibition mixed doubles match with Jan Kodes against Helena Sukova & Jiri Hrebec. Martina & Jan won the pro-set match, 9-6.

Rome follows with the Italian Open. Martina has never skipped this event since her return to the tour in May 2000.

Roland Garros, of course, is next.

Martina confirms she will be returning to Eastbourne this year. Last year, she opted to skip Eastbourne for 's-Hertogenbosch.

To be following, naturally, by Wimbledon...

Besides Doha - and perhaps Prague where she might play with Kveta Hrdlickova-Peschke - we don't know who Martina's doubles partner is going to be at the remaining events. She has indicated that she would like to play a few events with Martina Hingis...

Disappointment in Dubai

2006-02-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

First post of the year!

Martina made her 2006 debut this week in Dubai at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She was seeded #4 with the South African Liezel Horn-Huber. Unfortunately, they were upset in their opening round match, going down to the wildcard pair of Jelena Jankovic of Serbia & Montenegro and Na Li of China 1-6 5-7. Martina & Liezel served for the second set at 5-4 and had two set points but failed to capitalize.

Information on yesterday's match can be found in the following articles from the Emirati media: Khaleej Times, The Gulf Today. Scroll down a bit to get to the relevant news. Check out Getty Images for photos from yesterday's match and a pic of Martina from the tournament's player party in Dubai.

Martina next heads to Doha, Qatar for the Qatar Total Open where she is also expected to play with Liezel.

WTT disappointment

2005-09-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

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...

2005-08-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

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

2005-07-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

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

2005-07-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

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

2005-07-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

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 Pos t 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

2005-06-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

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!

2005-05-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

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

2005-05-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

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...

2005-05-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

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!

2005-05-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-11T20:38:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

"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

2005-03-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-26T23:00:00.000-08:00

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...

2005-03-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2005-03-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

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.

Victory in Auckland

2005-02-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

Good news out of Auckland earlier today. Martina scored a straight sets win over Monica, winning 6-4 6-4. The two were also involved in a hit-and-giggle mixed doubles match afterwards with Martina partnering Xavier Rush & Monica with Carlos Spencer - both New Zealand All Blacks rugby players. Not sure how that one turned out. For a nice article from 'The New Zealand Herald,' click here. There have also been a few articles the last couple of days on the TV One website: One, Two, Three. For photos, here're two by the Associated Press: Photo One, Photo Two. Getty Images and Fotopress also have many photos from last night's action, albeit watermarked. The ladies get today off before their second and final match in Christchurch on Thursday.

I never was a big fan of Sports Illustrated's L. Jon Wertheim, but of late, I must admit I have been enjoying his weekly online columns. His latest - a round-up of the just-concluded Australian Open - is no exception. I'm so glad Martina said what she did about the annoying Lleyton "C'mawwwwwn" Hewitt and would I have loved to have heard Martina try plug Desperate Housewives on Australian TV. Hehehe!

Meanwhile in India, Mahesh Bhupathi spoke to the press about Martina playing in Hyderabad next week - his father, Krishna, is the tournament director. In another article, Mahesh describes Martina as "the ultimate champion and ambassadress of the sport." Hmmm... has he been reading another website I know quite well ;-)

Hyderabad it is...

2005-01-31T17:17:00.000-08:00

It was confirmed today. Martina will be playing in Hyderabad next week, the only question that remains is who will her partner be? She will make her decision after arriving at this Southern Indian city later in the week. Apparently the organizers are trying to get her to play with the top-ranked Indian player, Sania Mirza, but I hope Martina will get to play with a more experienced partner - Meghann Shaughnessy & Roberta Vinci are both playing here. For an "Indian Express" article, click here.

Just another couple of hours for the Auckland match against Monica to begin. All the best to Martina. Both ladies held a press conference earlier today in Auckland and you can read more about that in the New Zealand Herald and watch a video here (thanks, Andee!) And for details on a celebrity mixed doubles match scheduled in Christchurch on Thursday, click here.

Martina vs Monica - online!

2005-01-31T11:18:00.000-08:00

Martina & Monica will meet tomorrow in the first of two exhibition matches in New Zealand as part of the ASB Navratilova Seles Classic (love the sound of that one!) It turns out tomorrow's match in Auckland will be broadcast live over the Internet by zcamtennis.net The cost to view the match online is $5.85. Check out their website for more information.

Some FYI for the North American residents, Auckland is 19 hours ahead of the Central Standard Time zone. So you CST people can catch the match at midnight tonight.

I hate super tie-breaks...

2005-01-29T06:41:00.000-08:00

For the second straight Grand Slam event, Martina has fallen victim to the cursed super tie-break, played in place of third sets at the U.S. & Australian Opens. Earlier today, Max & she lost their semifinal match to Ullyett/Huber 6-2 3-6 10-8. That's 10-8 as in 18-points-played and not some epic third-set thriller. It's a shame really for Martina to have it all end like this; we have no idea at this point if she will be back again at the Australian Open as a player and while I'm sure there is a silver lining in all of this, at this point, I'm too pissed off to care...

Meanwhile, the organizers of the Hyderabad Open in India next month are reportedly in talks with Martina to play there. I had thought Martina was planning to take most of the month off after her exhibitions with Monica in New Zealand next week, but it appears the Hyderabad tournament organizers are hoping she will make her Indian debut this year.

Into the semis

2005-01-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

Martina & Max won their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open earlier today, upsetting the #2 seeds, Wayne & Cara Black 7-5 6-4. I must confess I really did not think they'd be able to do it, but they certainly surprised me with this result... it was a most welcome surprise though, I hasten to add :-) Up next, it's another higher seeded team, Kevin Ullyett & Liezel Huber in the semis tomorrow. Once again, the match could go either way; all the best to our team.

Now for a follow-up on yesterday's news regarding Martina's anti-mulesing campaign. This has provoked a direct response from none other than the Reverend Margaret Court, she of "Martina-is-a-poor-role-model" fame. It had started to seem like the only times we hear about the good Reverend is when she's bashing gays but it turns out she has plenty to say about the sheep too - Baaaaa!

And finally, as a former compatriot & doubles partner of Martina's, Anne Smith, makes her tour comeback next month at the comparitively youthful age of 46, she credits Martina for being an inspiration to her & other older players. You can read the complete article here. Good luck, Dr. Anne!

Martina takes a stand

2005-01-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

Martina has lent her support to PETA against the horrific Australian practice of "mulesing," performed on young lambs. To this effect, she has written a letter to the conservative Australian prime-minister John Howard imploring him to ban the practice - some good that will do! - but hopefully at the very least it will bring more world-wide attention to this noble cause.

You can read more on SavetheSheep.com which also has a copy of Martina's letter up. PETA's press release can be read here.

Meanwhile, today's mixed doubles match was postponed to tomorrow. Martina & Max will take on the Black siblings, hoping for a place in the semis.

Mixed Doubles Quarterfinal

2005-01-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

Martina & Max are scheduled to take on the second seeds, Wayne & Cara Black in their quarterfinal tomorrow. Max has a men's doubles semifinal to play earlier in the day as does Wayne Black. Don't have much hopes for this match; it's the mixed so anything is possible. All the best to our team.

The Australian Open website features a nice video clip of that photo shoot with Martina and the horses, including an interview with Andrew Florent. Thanks to Andee for alerting me to this link. I can't believe I missed it earlier. I must be losing my touch...