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Reactions: Martina Navratilova Can the 43-year-old still play after a 5 1/2-year layoff?Posted: Thursday May 04, 2000 02:15 PM
Martina Navratilova will end her 5 1/2-year retirement when she plays doubles at the Madrid Open in Spain with partner Mariaan de Swardt of South Africa. The tournament will be a first step in Navratilova's belated bid for a record-tying 20th Wimbledon title. The 43-year-old tennis great previously announced she would play at the All-England Club and at Eastbourne, a Wimbledon tuneup. She and de Swardt also will play the French Open. The appearance in Madrid comes less than two months before Navratilova is inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. CNNSI.com users have mixed emotions as to whether Navratilova still has what it takes to break the record for wins at Wimbledon. Here is a sample of responses to the following questions: Can Martina Navratilova still win? Can she play against the best players today? Martina Navratilova was no doubt the best player in her era. But now, even in women's tennis, the power players are the main threat on the tour. But with Martina's age and fitness level, she can't keep up with the players and will get dominated by their power game.
I don't think so. Though she may be in shape, there are a lot of power players that choose to play doubles, like Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters. Though I agree with her that people underestimate her and even with her "I can still hit the ball" comment, I don't think she will stand up well against the younger power players. Also, why is she playing with Mariaan de Swardt? She cannot possibly help her chances of winning.
I don't think that she still can win. I think she should have picked a better partner. I Think that Davenport would have been a great choice, or even Novatna. When it comes down to it though she is mentally tough and I think it was smart of her to play the warm ups. That should give her some mental power back. Although I guess she has been playing the team tennis which keeps you sharp.
Without a doubt she can still win in doubles -- and could undoubtedly hold her hold against most of today's players in singles. Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and the pre-stabbing Monica Seles are the greatest players of all time -- and it will be fun to watch Martina show today's kids what's she's made of.
Why wouldn't the best woman athlete ever to play the game be able to keep it up at 43? Arguably the finest volleyer ever while playing, who could challenge her now? What a treat to get to see this great champion on the court again!
I think Martina may find it tough to win a big title like Wimbledon, though she may have some success, as court speed is not quite as relevant in doubles, and I doubt her silky net skills have diminished. If she was playing with a top player her chances would be greater, it will be certainly very interesting to see how she gets on. I think it's fabulous that she is having a go, and should encourage the ladies to play veteran singles events, like the men.
With a few warm-up tournaments to get back into match shape and to get used to a new partner, I think you have to consider a 20th Wimbledon title a good possibility. I wish I could be there to put money on her to do just that.
Sure, Martina can win in doubles again. Is our memory so short that we don't remember Darlene Hard picking up Frankie Durr as a partner and winning the U.S. Open doubles in the late 60's? Furthermore, Hard and Durr won when there were a lot more women players with good volleys than there are today. Who on the current tour is a better volleyer than Navratilova? As for singles, it depends on the surface. On grass, Martina is still top 10. On other surfaces it's a different story. Current players would have just enough time on hard courts or clay courts to whale on Martina's serve.
I believe that as strong as Martina is/was she could compete against Davenport, Hingis and or the Williams sisters at any time as long as she is keeping up her strength. She always had the mental game and she'll always have that as long as she lives. She is a great athlete, even after 5 1/2 years of retirement I bet that she could compete on any given day. Go Martina!!!
Martina + Wimbledon + Grass = Victory
There are a lot of young players who are very capable of winning the women's doubles Hingis/Pierce, Davenport/Morariu and the Williams sisters. She and her partner, De Swardt, haven't played together much. I think they'll make it up to the semis.
Martina has proven herself over and over. She is like a fine wine, she only gets better with time!
I truly believe Martina can win in doubles. She had/has the best volleying hands of all time, besides John McEnroe. The only problem she may have is a loss of velocity on her serve. If she practices against "quality" players, she can gain back her timing and confidence in a few weeks. By the way, I know her goal is to break Billie Jean's all time Wimbledon record of 20 titles, why doesn't she play mixed doubles along with doubles. Why doesn't she find out if McEnroe would like to play, they would be awesome together.
My first thoughts on the situation were great idea followed by some anxiety. There is the chance that she and Mariaan will regally collect another Wimbledon Crown but there is a much greater chance that they will not and she will only be disappointed. What if they just string together a line of mediocre wins with confidence shattering losses. Is that what Martina wants to remember as her final contribution to the women's game which she dominated so many years ago? In my opinion it will be difficult for any player out of the game for as long as she to come back and start winning again, especially with the women's game at the high level it is at today. So yes it will be difficult and cn any woman in her forties just waltz back into the game and start winning again? Well if anyone and Martina Navratilova can.
The thought of Navratilova competing against today's top players is exciting. She's the greatest volleyer the women's game has ever seen, and perhaps the greatest doubles player as well (except for possibly Billie Jean King). At age 43, I doubt she will be able to capture the twentieth title. She would need I think a better partner, possibly Zvereva or Novotna. Perhaps she would have a better chance in the mixed doubles with a McEnroe or Edberg. But it would be great to see her take Hingis or Kournikova's head off in an exchange at the net.
Martina's competitiveness is second to none. Her hunger to succeed and be no.1 in the past was a joy to witness. There is no way she would be entering just to make up the numbers. She feels she can beat the current pros. or else she would enter the over 35s. It will be great to see how the 'youngsters' play her. I don't think many will be in awe but I hope the respect will be there.
If Navratilova has been playing and has kept herself fit, I can see her being a top ten doubles player. However, I am not so sure she will have the quickness and sharpness it will take to beat Hingis, Davenport, Kournikova and the other top doubles players.
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