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Navratilova has still got it
Posted: Monday June 05, 2000 05:49 PM By Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated
Yet a week into the French Open, Navratilova's done nothing of the sort. Though Navratilova and her doubles partner, Mariaan de Swardt, may well lose their next match to the sixth-seeded team, Alex Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat, the oldest player in the draw by more than a decade has acquitted herself just fine. The serve may have lost some zip -- "Jeez, that's a pathetic serve," she barked to herself after a first-round fault -- and the reflexes may have slowed, but, otherwise, you'd never guess she'd come out of retirement. She still has the überathlete's body, her arms covered with vines of veins, she covers her court just fine and her volley still packs a mean punch. More important, Navratilova is handling her return -- "It's not a comeback" -- with her usual aplomb. There are no bold pronouncements about still competing in singles, she's not stealing the limelight from the game's current stars and she's not groping for attention. True to her word, she appears simply to be playing for enjoyment, because she found the motivation, because, hey, why the hell not? For her, this is less a serious reunion tour than a few weeks at fantasy camp. "It was a blast to be out there, a total blast," she gushed after the first-round win over Sabine Appelmans and Rita Grande. "I still managed to get the competitive juices going and have fun at the same time." If Navratilova's game has lost a little sting, her personality is still industrial strength. Her post-match press conferences are wildly entertaining, more "state of the game" addresses than Q&A sessions. And now, Heeeeere's Martina! Half volleysPerhaps the points system doesn't lie. Magnus Norman, the current frontrunner in the race, breezed into the quarters Monday, outlasting the rain and 1999 finalist Andrei Medvedev. In four matches, Norman has yet to drop a set. ... Speaking of Norman, he is a dead ringer for Lisa Raymond's kid brother. ... Let's not exaggerate the depth in women's tennis; six of the top eight seeds are in the quarters. In addition to Lindsay Davenport, the other seed to lose was Nathalie Tauziat, no one's clay-court impresario, who fell to former top-five player Chanda Rubin. ... It's not just ugly Americans who give Kournikova disproportionate attention. Her doubles match Monday was scheduled for Court Suzanne Lenglen while a match featuring Martina Hingis, Mary Pierce, Jelena Dokic and Jennifer Capriati was banished to Court 1. ... Paul Annacone, Pete Sampras's coach, is now also working for player agent Jeff Schwartz. Annacone has been on site watching a new client, American prospect Ashley Harkleroad.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Jon Wertheim is covering the French Open for the magazine. Check back each day for a new report from Paris.
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