October 1956: Around The World In 80 Days, based on Jules Verne's 1872 book, premiered on the big screen. In music, Don't Be Cruel by Elvis Presley was the most popular song. On TV, I Love Lucy returned for its 6th season on the air. And Martina Navratilova was born.
Growing up, Martina recalled in 1994, "I had a normal childhood. I did play a lot of tennis, but I would look for frogs in the stream and go mushroom-hunting with my father and ski up and down my backyard."
Martina's tennis career began in 1973. "While tennis these days," Martina observed in 1994, "is 99% of those kids' lives, for me it was...30 or 40%."
She won her first Grand Slam title in 1978. Martina's 167th and last singles title was won in 1994.
"The years all start running together. I can't remember the decade, I can’t remember the year. That just means that I've been playing a long time," Martina made the remark in 1994. "It's all a blink when you think about it, the last 20 years."
September 7, 1975: Martina made the headlines when she sought political asylum in America on the last day of the U.S Open Championship.
Of her decision to defect from the former Czechoslovakia, Martina maintained, "Politics had nothing to do with my decision. It was strictly a tennis matter....My Federation wanted to have the control over which tournaments I played in..."
Of tennis, Martina made the comment in 1989, "I don’t think it makes any difference what happened last year, 2 years ago or 10 years ago....But it's what you do tomorrow or the next day. You are only as good as your last match."
In 1979, Martina made the prediction, "You won't see many players in their 30s anymore. The young wave of tennis players today is a much younger wave than there used to be."
Two days before Martina turned 30 in 1986, she won her 1,000th singles tennis match. "I haven’t really been counting my victories," Martina told the 2,800 spectators in Filderstadt, Germany. "It is very satisfying to have won for the 1,000th time."
There was no doubt in anyone's mind Steffi Graf marked the turning point in women's tennis. "There is something there that is special," Pam Shriver acknowledged in 1987.
Martina conceded in 1989, "This is how it should happen. I lost to a better player on the final day. This is the end of a chapter, passing the torch if you want to call it that."
Growing up, Martina recalled in 1994, "I had a normal childhood. I did play a lot of tennis, but I would look for frogs in the stream and go mushroom-hunting with my father and ski up and down my backyard."
Martina's tennis career began in 1973. "While tennis these days," Martina observed in 1994, "is 99% of those kids' lives, for me it was...30 or 40%."
She won her first Grand Slam title in 1978. Martina's 167th and last singles title was won in 1994.
"The years all start running together. I can't remember the decade, I can’t remember the year. That just means that I've been playing a long time," Martina made the remark in 1994. "It's all a blink when you think about it, the last 20 years."
September 7, 1975: Martina made the headlines when she sought political asylum in America on the last day of the U.S Open Championship.
Of her decision to defect from the former Czechoslovakia, Martina maintained, "Politics had nothing to do with my decision. It was strictly a tennis matter....My Federation wanted to have the control over which tournaments I played in..."
Of tennis, Martina made the comment in 1989, "I don’t think it makes any difference what happened last year, 2 years ago or 10 years ago....But it's what you do tomorrow or the next day. You are only as good as your last match."
In 1979, Martina made the prediction, "You won't see many players in their 30s anymore. The young wave of tennis players today is a much younger wave than there used to be."
Two days before Martina turned 30 in 1986, she won her 1,000th singles tennis match. "I haven’t really been counting my victories," Martina told the 2,800 spectators in Filderstadt, Germany. "It is very satisfying to have won for the 1,000th time."
There was no doubt in anyone's mind Steffi Graf marked the turning point in women's tennis. "There is something there that is special," Pam Shriver acknowledged in 1987.
Martina conceded in 1989, "This is how it should happen. I lost to a better player on the final day. This is the end of a chapter, passing the torch if you want to call it that."
