Martina Navratilova Archives

TENNIS

Emma Raducanu’s Grand Slam Glory Sees a Bizarre ‘Handicap’ Twist as Martina Navratilova Delves Into It

By Sheriff123 March 18, 2024

British tennis star Emma Raducanu is still looking to find back her rhythm and confidence after missing out most of the 2023 season due to surgeries on both wrists and one ankle. However, her performance against Aryna Sabalenka in the R32 of the Indian Wells forced the world number 2 to heap praise on the 21YO. Now, American tennis legend Martina Navratilova has come up with a bizarre take on Raducanu’s US Open glory.

Emma Raducanu made the headlines by winning the 2021 US Open at the age of just 18. But after that, there have been a series of failures, injuries, and frequent changes in her coaching team. This has resulted in a drastic fall in her performance curve. Martina Navratilova says it was a mix of good and bad news for the Brit in the years since her stellar victory at the US Open.

‘It wasn’t a fluke’ – Martina Navratilova on Emma Raducanu’s journey so far
Emma Raducanu is still yet to defeat a Top 10 opponent in her career. Martina Navratilova recently gave an interview to Gigi Salmon on Sky Sports. In the interview, she stated enormous pressure to be one of the reasons for Raducanu’s downfall. “It was amazing when she won but it’s become a handicap because the expectations have gone sky-high,“ said Martina Navratilova.

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She further went on to add, “It wasn’t a fluke because Emma has got that level. It wasn’t just she played great tennis and then all of a sudden she can’t play. But the pressure that’s been on her since then – particularly being a Brit – you can’t get away from it.“ Navratilova feels it to be a big burden to carry and hopes Emma Raducanu will soon make her way back to the top level yet again. But for that, she needs to stay fit.

The tennis legend said that winning matches will boost her confidence for the rest of the season. “It’s a nasty Catch-22 where you can win with confidence but you can’t have confidence without winning,“ added Navratilova. But what does Emma Raducanu think about her target for the 2024 season?

‘Patience is a big thing’ – Raducanu
Emma Raducanu is currently placed at the 288 spot in the women’s singles ranking. So the first target for her would surely be to get into the Top 100. She previously said, “If you would have said to me last year, Emma, what is your goal for the year? I’d be like, Okay, I want to win one round in the main draw of a Grand Slam.”

She reached the second round at the AO this year and she believes that this could’ve been a really big thing to even think for her last year. Especially after what she had gone through over the past few months.

She further added, “Yeah, what might be a poor result now in people’s eyes to me would have been a positive thing. I think I need to keep reminding yourself of that, not getting sucked in, I feel like now people are starting to realize it’s going to take some time for her to settle in. I feel like patience is a big thing.”

Emma Raducanu believes if she somehow manages to settle in and go through all these highs and lows, she’ll definitely find some sort of equilibrium to carry forward for the rest of the season. What are your thoughts on her journey so far?

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TENNIS

‘Novak Is a Well-Oiled Machine’ – Djokovic Earns a Peculiar Tag From Tennis Author For His ‘Unbelievable’ Multi-Generation Dominance

By Sheriff123 February 14, 2024

Novak Djokovic is currently not in the form of his life. Several questions were raised on the 36YO, after his recent loss at the semifinals of the Australian Open to Jannik Sinner. It also ended his 33-match unbeaten run in Melbourne. But the veteran tennis author Joel Drucker heaped praise on Djokovic’s ability to maintain his fitness and be a consistent performer even at this age.

A few days ago, Tim Henman praised the Serb stating he’s ‘still the player to beat.’ Now, the renowned author and legendary tennis historian joins the list with the Englishman during his recent appearance at the ‘Rock n Roll Tennis’ Podcast. He spoke about how Novak Djokovic has taken himself to another level by maintaining his body.

Joel Drucker says Novak Djokovic is like ‘he’s got freaking pit crew’
Although Novak Djokovic didn’t have a great start to his 2024 season, what he did in 2023 was truly exceptional. He won 7 titles last year including 3 Grand Slam titles. Despite his loss at the 2024 AO, he still remains the world number one in men’s singles tennis ranking, and Joel Drucker recognizes the same.

“Novak now is like he’s got freaking pit crew. I mean Novak is about as well-oiled machine if there’s ever been in tennis right. And, you John you were there at the at the start when this happened with people like Martina Navratilova and Ivan Lendl, they were the beginning of the of the scientific management of the game,” says Drucker.

He further added, “I associate Connors, McEnroe, even Borg a little bit with kind of the entrepreneur phase. You know, the startup. His body (Borg) was always, the swimmer’s body is amazing. But later, people like Lendl, Martina they created the template of how a plan you take it 40 years later. Novak’s Unbelievable.“

Despite several comments and analyses on his recent performance, what does the Serbian think about his chances for the rest of the season? Let’s have a look at it.

Djokovic feels there is still a lot of road to cover
Loss at the first Grand Slam of the season is perhaps a bit of warning to the rest of the Tour. Djokovic said, “Doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the beginning of the end, as some people like to call it. Yeah, let’s see what happens in the rest of the season.“

Novak Djokovic will now be traveling to the US in the coming weeks to participate in the ‘Sunshine Double’. Novak Djokovic had last appeared at the Indian Wells almost 5 years ago. Can he bring some fortune to his 2024 campaign by winning a title in California?

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TENNIS

“If Serena Williams started losing, she would give up the acting bit and fashion design”: When Martina Navratilova spoke on Williams’ tennis approach

By Sheriff123 January 19, 2024

Martina Navratilova had once spoken about how Serena Williams handled tennis despite her off-the-court commitments like endorsements.

Williams established herself as one of the world’s best players in the early 2000s and won three of the four Grand Slams in 2002. She successfully defended her Wimbledon title in 2003 by beating her sister Venus Williams in the final.

At the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, Martina Navratilova was asked about the American’s approach towards tennis that saw her play at an elite level while also being successful in her off-court endeavors, namely her acting in commercials and her fashion company.

The Czech-American responded by saying that it showed how talented Serena Williams was. She also said that Williams would give up her acting and fashion designing if she lost in tennis.

“Well, obviously, she can get away with it. You know, how long she can do that, I don’t know. But it just shows how talented she is. I mean, she is one of a kind, with her body. That’s her biggest asset, is getting to balls that nobody – most people wouldn’t even think about running down,” Navratilova said.

“She not only gets to them, but she does something with the ball. I think she’s committed enough. I think if she started losing, then she would probably give up the acting bit and the fashion design, whatever,” she added.

Navratilova expressed her admiration towards Serena Williams and Venus Williams stating that they approached tennis without making it the only thing in their lives.

“You can only do so much. I mean, it’s great to have a hobby and other interests, and I’m glad that both the Williams sisters are very broad-minded about things, that tennis is not, you know, the only thing in their life. But it needs to be the main thing in their life,” the former World No. 1 said.

“So you can do other things, but only up to a point. If they start taking away, ‘Well, I can’t practice today because I got to go design this house,’ whatever, that’s gonna get in the way eventually. You can only get away with that for so long. But so far, obviously, she can do it all. So more power to her,” she added.

Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles

Serena Williams enjoyed an extraordinary tennis career that saw her cement her status as one of the greatest players of all time.

The American won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, an Open Era record among women. Williams won seven titles each at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and her tally of six titles at the US Open is a joint-record in the Open Era. The American also won the French Open thrice.

Serena Williams also won the Olympic singles gold in 2012 by defeating Maria Sharapova in the final. She also enjoyed a highly successful doubles career with 16 Grand Slams to her name, including 14 women’s doubles titles along with her sister Venus Williams and two mixed doubles titles.

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