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She's back Navratilova wins first match in comeback
Posted: Tuesday May 23, 2000 05:31 PM
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- It looked as if Martina Navratilova never retired. Back after 51/2 years, Navratilova made an impressive return to professional tennis Tuesday as she and South Africa's Mariaan de Swardt won their opening-round doubles match in the Madrid Open in straight sets. The winningest player in tennis history and her new partner beat Japan's Rika Hiraki and Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States, 6-3, 7-5, in 69 minutes. Afterward, the 43-year-old Navratilova said she had been "nerve-wracked. ... I expected to have more fun than I did." It was Navratilova's first preparation for a return to Wimbledon, where she has won 19 titles, one shy of the record. She also is scheduled to play doubles at the French Open next week. "I haven't come back. I decided to play Wimbledon and I wanted to prepare for it," Navratilova said. "I never said I would never play doubles again. I retired from singles." Prior to retiring, Navratilova won 167 singles titles, more than any man or woman, as well as 165 doubles. A victory in the doubles at Wimbledon this year would tie Navratilova with Billie Jean King for most championships won at the All England Club. Navratilova and De Swardt, playing their first tournament match, broke serve for 2-0 before Navratilova was broken, then swept the final three games for the first set. With Navratilova's mother in the crowd, Hiraki and Shaughnessy took a 3-0 in the second and built a 4-1 lead. But Navratilova and De Swardt rallied for the victory, breaking for 6-5 and wrapping up the match on Navratilova's serve. Navratilova said she was unhappy with her serve but more so with her return, which she described as "very iffy." "The serve is always worse if you haven't played for a while and I was tossing the ball. ... I was really fishing," she said. "The part that disappointed me most was my return. All in all, it's something to build on. Hopefully I'll get better." Navratilova said she has no plans for after Wimbledon, although she ruled out playing singles. "That's too much work," she said. "This is fun for a couple of months and then I'll go back to [ice] hockey. "I just wanted to be on that central court in Wimbledon again. ... That's a pretty special place. And when I get there I don't want to look foolish." Earlier in the day Ai Sugiyama of Japan put up with sweltering Madrid heat to beat Spain's Maria Antonia Sanchez 7-5, 7-5, while American Kristina Brandi downed Slovakia's Katarina Srebotnik 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Last year's runner-up Paola Suarez of Argentina won her first-round match against Erika De Lone of the United States, 6-2, 6-4.
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