Wimbledon Day Ten

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

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

Wimbledon Day Nine

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

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

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

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

Wimbledon Day Eight

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

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

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

Wimbledon Day Seven

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

Wimbledon Day Six

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

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

Wimbledon Day Five

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

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

Wimbledon Day Four

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

Wimbledon Day Three

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

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

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

Wimbledon Day Two

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

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

Wimbledon Day One

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

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

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

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

Wimbledon draw

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

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

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

Martina in Bratislava

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

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

Semifinal end in 's-Hertogenbosch

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

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

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

You win some, you lose some

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

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

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

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

Doubles draw

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

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

Singles against Claudine Schaul

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

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

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

Two for two in Liverpool

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

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

Leander out of Wimbledon

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

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

Roland Garros roundup

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

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

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

Liverpool news

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

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

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

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

Roland Garros with Arantxa!

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

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

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

Laureus World Sports Awards

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

Disappointment in Rome...

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

Finally... Rome!

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

2005 WTT schedule

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

July 6 (Wednesday): Wilmington, Delaware

July 7 (Thursday): Cambridge, Massachusetts

July 9 (Saturday): Houston, Texas

July 19 (Tuesday): Mamaroneck, New York

July 20 (Wednesday): Avon, Connecticut

July 21 (Thursday): Cambridge, Massachusetts

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

Disappointment in Charleston

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

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

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

Martina in Charleston

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

Martina in the Bay Area

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

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

2005 WTT season

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

Amelia Island roundup

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

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

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

Amelia Island with Alicia

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

Martina returns to Boston

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

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

2005 nightmare continues

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

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

Martina signs with Olivia

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

Miami draw, Indian Wells disaster...

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

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

First Round

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

Indian Wells surprise!

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

Liverpool update

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

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

Off to California

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

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

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

No Dubai

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

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

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

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

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

Hyderabad Round-up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First Round win

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

Ceremonies in Hyderabad

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

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

Martina in Hyderabad

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

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

Hyderabad with Anna-Lena

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

Victory in Christchurch

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

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

Victory in Auckland

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...

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!

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...

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

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

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

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...

Doubles defeat

Well, our fears were realized. Only I was hoping it wouldn't be as bad as it turned out to be. Martina & Daniela lost to Kuznetsova & Molik earlier today 6-3 6-0. The less said about this result the better.

We still have the mixed though. Martina & Max are not on schedule for tomorrow; most likely on Thursday then.

Mixed doubles walkover

Martina & Max have apparently received a walkover into the mixed doubles quarterfinals over Pavel Vizner & Nicole Pratt. Vizner pulled out with a sore arm.

Yesterday, Martina attended a photo shoot outside the Rod Laver Arena where she got to meet a group of Australian stockmen. I think this was part of the day's "Celebrate Community Harmony" theme. For photos, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five, Photo Six.

Click here for a nice 'Associated Press' article on Martina. I love these puff pieces :-)

Today might be the end of the road for Martina's & Daniela's Australian Open march. They're up against the #5 seeds, the formidable Svetlana Kuznetsova & Alicia Molik and hopefully they will be able to keep the match competitive and put up a good fight.

Czech interview

There's a new interview with Martina in the Czech daily, Mlada Fronta Dnes. Unfortunately for me, it's in Czech which I do not understand. Any Czech readers out there who can help with the translation? I'd be much obliged to you for any help. Thanks!

Third Round win

Martina & Daniela continued to surprise yesterday as their 2005 Australian Open campaign continued with a 6-4 6-4 upset of the #14 seeds, Shinobu Asagoe & Katarina Srebotnik. Our team found themselves staring down the barrel of the gun, so to speak, at 1-4 15-40 double break-point, in set one, but proceeded to bounce right back winning 5 straight games for the set and then coming back from 1-3 down in the second to close out the win. For two photos from the match, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two.

Martina gets today off and will likely be back Monday, either with the mixed or the doubles, hopefully, not both.

Doubles & Mixed

Oops, I've been slacking off again but there's only good news to report. Martina & Daniela won their second round doubles match on Thursday, 6-2 6-0 over Trudi Musgrave & Christina Wheeler. Yesterday night, Martina & Max opened their campaign with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Todd Woddbridge & Eleni Daniilidou.

For a few photos from the women's doubles, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four; and here's one from the mixed.

I'm not sure if Martina held a press conference on Friday or not - if she did, the transcripts are not available on the tournament website. But she was quoted, talking about Justine Henin-Hardenne's injury and the need for a longer off season in this article.

Martina & Daniela return today for their third round match against the #14 seeds, Shinobu Asagoe & Katarina Srebotnik. It's not going to be easy but we hope for the best.

First Round Doubles

Martina & Daniela received a nice surprise yesterday when their scheduled opponents, top seeds Nadia Petrova & Meghann Shaughnessy, withdrew from the tournament due to Meghann's right shin injury. They were replaced by Maria Fernanda Alves & Vanessa Henke - they proved to be easier opposition for our team who won 6-1 6-3 for their first win of the season. For two articles on the match, click on the following links: The Age, The Melbourne Sun.

Our team returns to court tomorrow for their second round encounter against Trudi Musgrave & Christina Wheeler.

Mixed + Doubles First Round

Yesterday, we learned the sad news that Leander had withdrawn from the Australian Open due to his ankle injury. Our best wishes to him for a speedy recovery. The mixed doubles draw came out today and Martina is playing with Max Mirnyi. They are the #7 seeds and have drawn Todd Woodbridge & Eleni Daniilidou in their opening match. Martina & Max have not played together since the 2001 U.S. Open - they played 3 events that year and compiled a losing 2-3 record. We hope for better things here in Melbourne. For the complete mixed doubles draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.

Meanwhile, Martina & Daniela take to the courts today for their daunting first round encounter against the top seeds, Nadia Petrova & Meghann Shaughnessy. Their match has been scheduled last on Court 2.

This is Martina's 13th appearance at the Australian Open and you can read a few quotes in this article from 'The Melbourne Sun.'

Australian Open doubles draw

Martina & Daniela got the draw from hell at the Australian Open today. They're unseeded and will take on the top seeds, Nadia Petrova & Meghann Shaughnessy in the opening round. Our hopes rest with the mixed doubles now since in all likelihood, Martina's run in the women's doubles will be a very short one. Not sure when the mixed draw comes out but in the meantime, here's the complete doubles draw courtesy of the tournament website.

I apologize for not mentioning this earlier... but as most of you know by now, Leander twisted his ankle in Sydney earlier this week, during a quarterfinal doubles match with Zimonjic against Bhupathi/Woodbridge and had to be taken off court in a wheelchair. His participation status for the Australian Open is still unclear though the good news is that the cast put on his foot is off and tests showed there was no fracture or ligament tear. A final decision on his participation in Melbourne will be made Tuesday. Our thoughts & prayers are with Leander at this time.

The Shape of Your Life

Rodale Press recently announced they had acquired the North American rights to Martina's upcoming diet & fitness book 'The Shape of Your Life.' You can read the press release on their website here. It's scheduled for a Winter 2006 release.

I'm not sure if this is the same as another alleged upcoming book 'The Ball Doesn't Know Your Age' which is scheduled for a June 1 release this year. At least per Amazon.co.uk. If this is the same book, I find it very surprising that there would be such an extended time lag between the British and the North American publication. But then again, I'm not too familiar with how these things work in the publishing world. Anyone have any thoughts to share?

First Round loss

Martina & Daniela crashed out of the Medibank International in Sydney earlier today, beaten by Liezel Huber & Lisa McShea 6-3 6-4. A most unfortunate loss, I'm not sure what went wrong out there. I knew it was a mistake to play this event instead of lower tier events taking place this week in Hobart & Canberra. But oh well, all that is now in the past. Hopefully they will have better luck at the Australian Open next week.

"Getty Images" has a few photos from today's match as well as from an earlier practice session. I think it's time Martina ditched the red shorts - they haven't brought her any luck so far this year ;-)

More photos: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. I must confess that last photo just breaks my heart...

Sydney draw

The draw for the Medibank International in Sydney is out. Martina & Daniela, unseeded, make their 2005 debut against Liezel Huber & Lisa McShea. For the complete draw, courtesy of the WTA Tour, click here. Daniela is just coming off a great week in Perth, where along with Dominik Hrbaty, she led Slovakia to its second Hopman Cup victory. There's a nice article on her in 'The Melbourne Age.' Hopefully, her recent good form bodes well for this new partnership with Martina. Our fingers are crossed for the two of them...

Meanwhile, in Chennai, Leander, paired by his new doubles partner Nenad Zimonjic, lost in the semifinals but had some nice things to say about Martina afterwards, including the possibility that she might play in India this year. For more on that from 'The Calcutta Telegraph, click here.

Defeat in the Quarterfinals

Bad news today. Martina & Nathalie went down tamely to the #2 seeds, Elena Likhovtseva & Magdalena Maleeva in Gold Coast 6-2 6-4. Again, not much coverage of this result by the press. The "Getty Images" site does have a few photos though.

Martina next moves on to Sydney for the Medibank International where she is expected to be partnered by Daniela Hantuchova.

First Round victory

Martina & Nathalie won their first round match today, defeating Casey Dellacqua & Nicole Sewell 7-6(0) 6-3 in Gold Coast. There doesn't seem to be much coverage of this result in the press. Perhaps the match got over too late, after all news reports had already been filed... I don't know. Anyway, "Getty Images" does have a few good pictures from today's match...

Martina & Nathalie do not get a break tomorrow. They are back on court for their tough quarterfinal against the #2 seeds, Elena Likhovtseva of Russia & Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria. Again, they play last on Centre Court.

First Round doubles

Martina & Nathalie are scheduled to play their first round match in Gold Coast tomorrow. They take on Casey Dellacqua & Nicole Sewell in the last match on Centre Court.

Gold Coast draw

The Gold Coast draw was announced yesterday. Martina & Nathalie are unseeded and will take on the Australian team of Casey Dellacqua and Nicole Sewell in their opening match. For the complete draw, courtesy of the 'Tennis Australia' website, click here. They are not scheduled to play Monday so my best guess is they get to play that first match Tuesday.

Nathalie lost her opening singles match today to Flavia Pennetta of Italy. This is what she had to say after the loss: "I would have for sure loved playing more matches here on the Gold Coast, but I still have doubles here, so I’ll try to play more matches in that one and try to get into rhythm." We're with you there, Nat! We want more matches too...

Meanwhile in Chennai, India, Leander who is there for the Chennai Open Tennis Championships confirmed what we already knew. He's playing mixed with Martina this year. Said he: "Of course, I will continue my partnership with Martina for mixed doubles. It is awesome to play with her." He's also donating all his prize money this week to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami victims. You can read the complete article here.