Martina rolls back the years
2004-06-21 15:05
London - Martina Navratilova's Wimbledon farewell got off to a magical start on Monday when the 47-year-old American, playing her first singles match here for ten years, defeated Catalina Castano, 23 years her junior, 6-0 6-1 in the first round.
Wildcard Navratilova, nine-times a champion here, was playing her first singles at the All England Club since 1994 when she lost to Spain's Conchita Martinez in the final.
The veteran star, who made her debut here in 1973 and is now ranked at 700 in the world compared to her opponent's 102, broke serve twice in the opening set to take control of the tie before rain sent them dashing for cover.
When they returned to Court 2, Navratilova broke again to take the set after just 17 minutes.
Castano, who had only played four career matches on grass, had neither the heart or ability to cope with Navratilova's graceful, classic serve-and-volley game.
She quickly slipped 2-0 down and then 4-0 before finally managing to win a game at 5-1.
The Colombian girl saved three match points before she eventually capitulated after just 46 minutes.
Navratilova now plays either 23rd seeded Serbian Jelena Dokic or Argentina's Gisela Dulko, the player who beat her in the first round of the French Open.