Post by Taxigirl on May 26, 2004 9:34:50 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/3744315.stm
Martina Navratilova suffered a disappointing defeat in her singles comeback at the French Open and said she had no plans to play at Wimbledon.
The 47-year-old, playing her first Grand Slam singles match for 10 years, lost 6-1 6-3 to Gisela Dulko.
Dulko was not born when Navratilova won the last of her two French Open titles.
"I will see how the body holds up but I would need to win a few more matches at Eastbourne before I would consider playing at Wimbledon," she said.
The 18-times Grand Slam champion worked hard but was always a step slower than her 19-year-old opponent, the world number 64.
"If you look at the scoreline you would say it was a kill, but if you watched the match, I could have been 4-3 up in the first set," said Navratilova.
"I did not play the big points well. That was the problem."
Navratilova's day did not start well when she was forced to cut a sponsor's badge off her cap, and she went on to lose the first game.
She lost her serve on two more occasions as Dulko won the first set in 25 minutes.
Navratilova broke to lead 3-2 in the second set, but Dulko hit straight back and then hammered home her advantage to lead 5-3.
She clinched the match with a serve that the American could not return after 62 minutes on court.
The decision to give Navratilova a singles wildcard was heavily criticised by some, who believed it deprived young French players to compete at their home Grand Slam.
Despite the defeat, Navratilova insisted she could be competitive if she made a full return to the tour.
"I could make a living, definitely," she said. "I didn't play as well as I wanted to today but it wasn't about getting publicity or being on TV.
"It's about getting more practice for doubles, and it's already working."
Navratilova will now turn her attentions to the women's doubles, in which she partners Lisa Raymond.
Martina Navratilova suffered a disappointing defeat in her singles comeback at the French Open and said she had no plans to play at Wimbledon.
The 47-year-old, playing her first Grand Slam singles match for 10 years, lost 6-1 6-3 to Gisela Dulko.
Dulko was not born when Navratilova won the last of her two French Open titles.
"I will see how the body holds up but I would need to win a few more matches at Eastbourne before I would consider playing at Wimbledon," she said.
The 18-times Grand Slam champion worked hard but was always a step slower than her 19-year-old opponent, the world number 64.
"If you look at the scoreline you would say it was a kill, but if you watched the match, I could have been 4-3 up in the first set," said Navratilova.
"I did not play the big points well. That was the problem."
Navratilova's day did not start well when she was forced to cut a sponsor's badge off her cap, and she went on to lose the first game.
She lost her serve on two more occasions as Dulko won the first set in 25 minutes.
Navratilova broke to lead 3-2 in the second set, but Dulko hit straight back and then hammered home her advantage to lead 5-3.
She clinched the match with a serve that the American could not return after 62 minutes on court.
The decision to give Navratilova a singles wildcard was heavily criticised by some, who believed it deprived young French players to compete at their home Grand Slam.
Despite the defeat, Navratilova insisted she could be competitive if she made a full return to the tour.
"I could make a living, definitely," she said. "I didn't play as well as I wanted to today but it wasn't about getting publicity or being on TV.
"It's about getting more practice for doubles, and it's already working."
Navratilova will now turn her attentions to the women's doubles, in which she partners Lisa Raymond.