Leander Paes : definition of Leander Paes and synonyms of Leander Paes (English) 2002 Busan Mixed doubles Leander Adrian Paes ( Bengali : লিয়েন্ডার পেজ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament. He is the sports ambassador of Haryana . Paes completed the career grand slam in men's doubles after winning the Australian Open in 2012. Having won seven doubles and six mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and finishing as runner up in numerous other Grand Slam finals, he is considered to be one of the greatest and most respected contemporary doubles and mixed doubles players in the world. He is among the most successful professional Indian tennis players and is also the former captain of the Indian Davis Cup team.

He is the recipient of India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, in 1996–1997; the Arjuna Award in 1990; and the Padma Shri award in 2001 for his outstanding contribution to tennis in India. Paes is the great-grandson of the Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt . Apart from his thirteen Grand Slam victories in doubles and mixed doubles events, he is famous for his several memorable Davis Cup performances playing for India and also for winning a bronze medal for India in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games . He also achieved the rare men's doubles/mixed doubles double in the 1999 Wimbledon . His consecutive Olympic appearances from 1992 to 2008 [1] make him the third Indian, after shooters Karni Singh and Randhir Singh , to compete at five Olympic Games . After winning the mixed doubles Wimbledon title in 2010, Paes became only the second man (after Rod Laver) to win Wimbledon titles in three different decades.

[2] In 2010, he joined the Board of Directors of Olympic Gold Quest , [3] a foundation co-founded by Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone to support talented athletes from India in winning Olympic medals. [4] Apart from the ATP circuit, he also plays in the World TeamTennis competition for Washington Kastles , the team which won the 2009 and 2011 season contest, the latter of which being the first team to complete an undefeated season at 16–0. He was named as MVP of the tournament for the years 2009 and 2011. [5] Contents 8 External links Early life Leander was born in Goa, India on 17 June 1973. He was born to Vece Paes and Jennifer Paes and was raised in Kolkata. He was educated at La Martiniere Calcutta , Madras Christian College Hr Sec School , Chennai , and the Loyola College, Chennai of the University of Madras . His parents were both sportspersons.

His father Vece Paes was a midfielder in the bronze medal-winning Indian field hockey team at the 1972 Munich Olympics . [6] His mother captained the Indian basketball team in the 1980 Asian basketball championship. Paes enrolled with the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy in Madras (Chennai) in 1985, where he was coached by Dave O'Meara. [7] The academy played a key role in his early development. Leander shot into international fame when he won the 1990 Wimbledon Junior title and rose to no. 1 in the junior world rankings. Even from a very young age, Leander was a very coordinated child. Hence, his parents put him to whatever sports they wanted. His sporting abilities were observed right from the beginning by his parents, allowed them to scientifically groom it and develop till such time Leander was enough old to take care of himself. According to his mother, "His appetite for sports was so much that he could not concrete on anything else. He was quite naughty too,". Stories of Leander's naughtiness and an impish sense of humour abound, as this one from his mother would show.

"I used to take the three children then to Kolkata School of Music for piano lessons. The teacher there would give homework to do, and once she checked Leander's excercise book to find that he hasn't done his work", Jennifer stopped at this for a dramatic pause. The next few lines of conversation went somewhat like this: Teacher: Where is your homework? Leander: I have done it Madam. Teacher: (pauses, checks the book again) But why can't I find it? Leander: No Madam, I did it, but my ayah rubbed it off. Thus life went on for Leander – school, alternating between one sport to another and teasing and tormenting his elder sisters. He would often accompany his father to the Mohun Bagan ground and try his hand at hockey with an oversized stick or visit the basketball tent and cheer lustily from the sidelines as his mother strode the courts. It was tennis where the eight year old Leander took his first steps at the Calcutta (Kolkata) South Club courts under Anwar Ali, brother of former Davis Cupper and national coach Akhtar Ali.

As he grew up with everybody, including Akhtar, Jaidip Mukherjee and even Akhtar's son Zeeshan, a few seniors to him who later went to play the Davis Cup. However, Kolkata did not have any proper coaching system then where the Paes couple could enroll their Lee or Leander. So, Paes was taken to the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy. Career Early career (1991–1997) Paes showed promise early in his career by winning titles at the Junior US Open and the Junior Wimbledon. He turned professional in 1991. [8] He rose to the number 1 in the world in the junior rankings. [9] In 1992, he reached the quarter finals of the doubles event in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with Ramesh Krishnan . [10] He went one better at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics , where he beat Fernando Meligeni to win the bronze medal , thus becoming the first Indian to win an individual medal since KD Jadhav won bronze at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics more than four decades earlier.

[11] Paes cited the match as one of his greatest performances on the court, in part because his wrist was severely injured. [12] He was awarded the highest sporting honour by the government of India, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1996. [13] His first successful year in the ATP circuit came in 1993, when he partnered Sébastien Lareau to reach the US Open doubles semifinal. After having a moderate season in 1994, he reached the quarterfinals of the 1995 Australian Open doubles with Kevin Ullyett . From 1996, he partnered with fellow-Indian Mahesh Bhupathi , which would prove to be a winning combination. Their first year was not a very successful one, especially in the Grand Slams, with a round of 32 finish at Wimbledon being the best. 1997 proved a much better year for the team of Paes and Bhupathi, with the semifinals of the US Open their best Grand Slam result. Paes climbed the doubles ranking from no. 89 at the beginning of the year to no. 14 at the end of the year.

[14] Rise in doubles (1998–2002) The doubles team of Paes and Bhupathi grew stronger in 1998, reaching the semifinals of three Grand Slams, the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. In the same year, Paes had two of his biggest singles results in the ATP tour. The first one came by winning an ATP singles title at Newport, and the second was beating Pete Sampras , 6–3, 6–4, at the New Haven ATP tournament. [15] [16] [17] [18] In 1999, the duo reached the finals of all four Grand Slams, winning Wimbledon and the French Open, thus becoming the first Indian pair to win a doubles event at a Grand Slam. Paes also teamed up with Lisa Raymond to win the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon. The year also marked his ascent to the no. 1 ranking in doubles. [19] The following year, Paes partnered with Sébastien Lareau for the Australian Open and Jan Siemerink for the French Open, losing in the first round on both occasions.

Paes teamed up again with Bhupathi for the US Open, but lost in the first round again. The duo had a disappointing second -ound exit to Australian duo of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde at the Sydney Olympics , despite high hopes. [20] Paes was given the honour of carrying the Indian Flag at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. [21] In spite of a winning the French Open in 2001, the team of Bhupathi and Paes had first-round exits in the other three Grand Slams. Paes was awarded the Padmashri by the Government of India in 2001. [22] The duo of Paes and Bhupathi won the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. [23] In 2002, Leander paired up with Michael Hill for a number of tournaments, with moderate success. Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova pairing up in a mixed doubles event 2003–present Between 2003 and the present, Paes has increasingly focused on his doubles and mixed doubles game.

Leander won the mixed doubles events at the Australian Open and Wimbledon with Martina Navaratilova , both in 2003. Weeks after the win at Wimbledon, Paes was admitted to the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando for a suspected brain tumor that was later found to be neurocysticercosis , a parasitic brain infection. While being treated, he had to miss the US Open, but he recovered by the end of that year. [24] In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games , he paired up with Bhupathi, failing again at the semifinals stage. His next Grand Slam success was in the US Open doubles event in 2006 with Martin Damm . Paes led the Indian tennis team at the Doha Asian Games in 2006 and won two golds in the men's doubles (partnering Bhupathi) and mixed doubles (partnering Sania Mirza ). [25] [26] Paes has maintained his doubles ranking in the top 20 in the world between 2005 and 2007.

[27] [28] With wins in the Rotterdam and Indian Wells, Paes took his doubles tally to 38. [29] [30] [31] Paes and Bhupathi took part in the men's doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics . They were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka , [32] who went on to win the men's doubles gold medal. [33] Later in 2008, with Cara Black , he won the 2008 US Open mixed doubles title. In 2009, he won the French Open and US Open Men's doubles titles with Lukáš Dlouhý and was the runner-up in mixed doubles at the US Open. He began the 2010 season in good form, again winning the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Cara Black . This was the pair's third consecutive Grand Slam final and the fourth overall. The 2010 Wimbledon win with Black made Paes India's leading Grand Slam winner, ahead of his ex-doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi , with a total of 12 grand slam titles.

Davis Cup career Leander Paes started his Davis Cup career in 1990 at the young age of 16, when he partnered Zeeshan Ali in doubles to beat the Japanese team in a gruelling five-set encounter. He is considered one of the top Davis cup players for his country, with a record of 86–31 overall, as of January 2012. [34] [35] He played an important role in the Indian Davis cup team that reached the World Group from 1991–1998. He was part of the Indian Davis Cup team that reached the semifinals of the 1993 Davis Cup with wins against Switzerland and France, eventually losing to Australia. In singles, his major wins came against French duo of Arnaud Boetsch and Henri Leconte in Frejus, France in 1993, Wayne Ferreira in 1994, and Goran Ivanišević in 1995 when India defeated Croatia, Jan Siemerink in 1995 to defeat Netherlands, and Jiří Novák in 1997.

[36] [37] He teamed up with Bhupathi to beat Hirszon and Ivanisevic of Croatia in 1995, Martin Damm and Petr Korda of the Czech Republic in 1997, Nicolás Massú and Marcelo Ríos of Chile in 1997, Broad and Tim Henman in 1998, and Simon Aspelin and Jonas Björkman of Sweden in 2005. In 2007, Leander has three wins (two doubles and one singles) and no losses in the Davis Cup. Year-end finals [38] Paes appeared with Bhupathi in six season finales. In 2011, they appeared, for the first time since 2002, after securing qualification in mid-October. They were eliminated in the semifinals. Paes played at the year-end championships with Bhupathi from 1997–2000 and in 2002, reaching three finals. In 1997, they lost the final to Rick Leach and Jonathan Stark .

They lost the 1999 final to Sébastien Lareau and Alex O’Brien . In 2000, they lost the final to Donald Johnson and Pieter Norval . Major career wins 8 Partnerships Leander Paes is known for changing partnerships and experimenting with it. Kevin Anderson will be the 89th men's doubles partner of Paes' career when the two men team up at the 2012 French Open. Paes has also teamed with 19 players in Mixed Doubles. Martina Navratilova , Cara Black , Lisa Raymond are few to name. He's currently playing with Elena Vesnina in Mixed Doubles. "I would especially like to thank Leander Paes ... he doesn't play for money, but for the sheer love of game." Martina Navratilova ...while bringing down curtains on her illustrious three-decade long career after US Open 2006 [39] Partners in men's doubles 2012 Personal life Paes is the great-grandson of the Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt .

Previously having dated Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhary , he is now married to Rhea Pillai (ex-wife of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt ) and has a daughter Aiyana. Partnership with Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes and his doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi The duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were nicknamed as "Indian Express". Leander Paes' off-and-on partnership with Bhupathi draws constant media attention in his home country, India. [40] [41] [42] In the 2006 Asian Games , a loss to the Chinese Taipei team in the team event led Leander to question Bhupathi's commitment to Team India. [43] He once stated in an interview that although he and Bhupathi are friends, he did not consider pairing with his former team-mate. [44] However, for the 2008 Beijing Olympics , they decided to play together for their country, [45] and lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champions Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka .

[46] In 2011, the "Indian Express" pair won the doubles title at Chennai Open . They reunited to play in a Grand Slam Tournament after nine years and claimed runners-up in the 2011 Australian Open and reached the semifinals in the year-end championships. [47] The Indian Duo has a 303–103 career record together. They have higher success rate against various top teams. [48] They have a Davis Cup record of longest winning streak in doubles, with 23 straight wins. [49] Leander Peas was paired with Vishnu Vardhan at the London Olympics 2012, following the refusal of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna to partner him at the Olympics. [50] On 20th June 2012, Paes threatened to withdraw from London Olympics rather than play with Vardhan whose world ranking is 328 [51] References Margaret Court : Wikis (The Full Wiki) The Full Wiki More info on Margaret Court Wikis Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article!

This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For this tennis players detailed statistics, records, and other achievements, see Margaret Court career statistics . Margaret Court 16 July 1842 (1842-07-16) (age 167) aged 168 years Place of birth 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Weight W (5) (1962, 1965, 1969 , 1970 , 1973 ) Doubles - Last updated on: 27 January 2007. Margaret Court, AO MBE , (born 16 July 1942, also known as Margaret Smith Court) is a retired former World number one -ranked tennis player from Australia . In 1970, she became the first woman during the open era and the second woman in history to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in the same calendar year. Court won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, a feat no other player has achieved.

She also had a successful doubles career, winning 24 women's and 19 mixed doubles titles, taking Court's overall Grand Slam titles to a record 62. The International Tennis Hall of Fame states, "For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment there has never been a tennis player to match (her)." [1] Contents 8 External links Biography Born Margaret Smith in 1942, in Albury, New South Wales , she was the youngest of the four children of Lawrence Smith and Catherine Smith (née Beaufort). She has two older brothers, Kevin and Vincent, and a sister, June. She is a natural left hander who was persuaded to change to a right hand grip. Margaret began playing tennis when she was eight years old and was 17 when she won the first of seven consecutive singles titles at the 1960 Australian Championships . After Wimbledon in 1966, Court temporarily retired from tennis. She married Barrymore Court in 1967 and became known as Margaret Smith Court or Margaret Court. She returned to tennis in 1968 and won all four Grand Slam singles titles in 1970.

The next year, Court lost the Wimbledon singles final to Evonne Goolagong Cawley while pregnant with her first child, Daniel, who was born in March 1972. Court made a comeback the same year and played in the US Open . Her second child, Marika, was born in 1974. Court started playing again but retired permanently in 1977 when she learned she was expecting the third of her four children. Court is one of only three players to have achieved a career "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles, winning every possible Grand Slam title – singles, same-sex doubles and mixed doubles – at all four Grand Slam events. The others are Maureen Connolly and Martina Navrátilová . Court, however, is the only person to have won all 12 Grand Slam events at least twice. She also is unique in having completed a boxed set before the start of the open era in 1968 and a separate boxed set after the start of the open era. Court is widely remembered for having lost a heavily publicized and U.S.–televised challenge match to a former World No.

1 male tennis player, the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs , on Mother's Day, 13 May 1973, in Ramona, California . Court was the top-ranked women's player at the time, and it has been written that she did not take the match seriously, assuming that she would win without difficulty. Using a mixture of lobs and drop shots, however, Riggs beat her 6–2, 6–1. Four months later, Billie Jean King beat Riggs in the even more famous Battle of the Sexes match in the Houston Astrodome . In 1979, Court was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame . In January 2003, Show Court One at Melbourne Park was renamed Margaret Court Arena . Also in 2003, Australia Post honoured her and fellow Australian tennis Rod Laver by putting their images on postage stamps . As of October 2008, Court lives in Perth, Western Australia . Her father-in-law, Sir Charles Court , and brother-in-law, Richard Court , were Liberal premiers of Western Australia .

Views on homosexuality In 1990, Court said that Martina Navrátilová and other lesbian and bisexual players were ruining the sport of tennis and setting a bad example for younger players. [2] [3] [4] In November 1994, when delivering a speech at Parliament House in Canberra , Court exclaimed that "Homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord! Abortion is an abomination to the Lord!" [5] In 2002, Court said that homosexuals commit "sins of the flesh" and can be "changed". [6] She stated that when the open era started, "there was quite a lot of [homosexuality] in there" and added that "a few of the older ones ... were [homosexual]", with younger players being "sort of snared in with it". [6] These comments were made in the context of Damir Dokić's claim that he would kill himself if his high-profile professional tennis-playing daughter, Jelena , became a lesbian. [7] Court campaigned against laws proposed and eventually passed by the Government of Western Australia in 2002 that gave gay people and lesbians equal legal rights as de facto couples.

[6] In an interview she gave on Australian television concerning the laws, she expressed a belief that homosexuality could destroy families. [8] Career timeline 1960 - Won her first singles title at the Australian Championships but lost the junior girls final there to Lesley Turner Bowrey . 1962 - Won three of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments. 1963 - Became the first Australian woman to win a singles title at Wimbledon . She and Ken Fletcher became the only team to win all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles during the same calendar year. 1964 - Won three of the four Grand Slam mixed doubles tournaments. Her women's doubles title at Wimbledon completed her career "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles. 1965 - Won three of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments and all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, with three different partners. 1966 - Temporarily retired. 1969 - Won three of the four Grand Slam singles and mixed doubles tournaments.

1970 - Won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments, defeating Kerry Melville Reid in the Australian Open final, Helga Niessen Masthoff in the French Open final, Billie Jean King in the Wimbledon final, and Rosemary Casals in the US Open final. Maureen Connolly Brinker in 1953 and Steffi Graf in 1988 are the only other women who have won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments during the same calendar year. 1973 - Won three of the four Grand Slam singles and women's doubles tournaments. Lost her match with Bobby Riggs . Her women's doubles title at the US Open completed a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles won exclusively after the start of the open era in 1968. 1975 - Played the final Grand Slam singles match of her career, losing to Martina Navrátilová in a quarterfinal of the US Open 6–2, 6–4. Partnered with Virginia Wade at the US Open to win her 62nd Grand Slam title and 19th Grand Slam women's doubles title, defeating King and Casals in the final. This was Court's last Grand Slam title.

1977 - Played the final singles match of her career, defeating Greer Stevens in the third round of the Virginia Slims Championships of Detroit 5–7, 7–6, 6–3. Court defaulted the quarterfinal to Françoise Durr upon learning that she was pregnant with her third child. Grand Slam titles and world rankings Court won a record 62 Grand Slam titles, including a record 24 singles titles, 19 women's doubles titles, and a record 19 mixed doubles titles. She won 64 Grand Slam titles, including 21 mixed doubles titles, if the shared championships at the Australian Championships/Open in 1965 and 1969 are counted. The finals were not played because of bad weather. Court could have won even more mixed doubles titles had the event been held at the 1970, 1971, 1973, and 1975 Australian Opens.

Court won 62 of the 85 Grand Slam finals (72.9%) she played, including 24-5 (82.8%) in singles finals, 19-14 (57.6%) in women's doubles finals, and 19-4 (82.6%) in mixed doubles finals. Court reached the final in 29, the semifinals in 36, and the quarterfinals in 43 of the 47 Grand Slams singles tournaments she played. Her won-lost record in Grand Slam singles tournaments was 210-23 .901 (47-5 at the French Championships/Open , 51-9 at Wimbledon , 51-6 at the U.S. Championships/Open , and 61-3 at the Australian Championships/Open). She won 11 of the 16 Grand Slam singles tournaments she entered beginning with the 1969 Australian Open and ending with the 1973 US Open.

She also won 11 of the 17 Grand Slam singles tournaments she entered beginning with the 1962 Australian Championships and ending with the 1966 Australian Championships. Court was 146-2 (98.6%) against unseeded players in Grand Slam singles tournaments. Court is the only player to have won the calendar year Grand Slam in both singles and mixed doubles. She won the singles Grand Slam in 1970, the mixed doubles Grand Slam in 1963 with fellow Australian Ken Fletcher , and the mixed doubles Grand Slam in 1965 with three different partners (Fletcher, John Newcombe , and Fred Stolle ). Court won more than half of the Grand Slam events held in 1963 (8 of 12), 1964 (7 of 12), 1965 (9 of 12), 1969 (8 of 12), 1970 (7 of 11), and 1973 (6 of 11).

According to the end-of-year rankings compiled by London's Daily Telegraph from 1914 through 1972, Court was ranked World No. 1 six times: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, and 1970. Court also was ranked No. 1 for 1973, when the official rankings were produced by the Women's Tennis Association . Career statistics Martina Hingis Honours In 1967, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), for her services to sport and international relations. [9] In 1993, she was one of the first people inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame . In 2000, Court was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for her impressive tennis career. [10] In 2001, she was awarded the Centenary Medal for her service to Australian tennis. [11] In 2007, she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), for her services to tennis, as a mentor and to the community.

[12] See also Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final References Jana Novotná | Open Access articles | Open Access journals | Conference Proceedings | Editors | Authors | Reviewers | scientific events 9 External links Career Jana Novotná turned professional in February 1987. [3] In the early years of her career, she was known primarily for her success as a doubles player. In the early 1990s, Novotná began to have success in singles once four-time Grand Slam singles champion Hana Mandlíková became her coach. Previously Mike Estep had been her coach. [4] 1990 At the 1990 French Open, Novotná, seeded 11th, achieved her best results in Grand Slam singles play up until that point. Having reached the round of 16, she faced Argentinian Gabriela Sabatini (seeded 4th). In their four previous meetings, Sabatini got the best of Novotná in three of those matches, including two straight set wins.

This time proved to be different, as Novotná turned the tables against Sabatini 6–4, 7–5. Although Novotná had disposed of Sabatini, she would have to face yet another difficult opponent in the quarterfinals, Katerina Maleeva (seeded 8th) from Bulgaria. In their two previous meetings Novotná had lost both times, and after Maleeva won the opening set, it appeared Novotná was about to lose a third consecutive time to Maleeva. However, Novotná came back to defeat Katerina Maleeva 4–6, 6–2, 6–4. Despite her success, Novotná's toughest test by far would be against top seeded Steffi Graf of Germany in the semifinals. When Novotná faced Graf three years before at the 1987 French Open, Graf won handily in straight sets. And this time proved no different, as Graf defeated Novotná 6–1, 6–2. [4] She qualified for the first time for the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships in which she was beaten in the first round by Sabatini.

[5] She finished the year ranked No. 13. [4] 1991 Novotná enjoyed an excellent start to the 1991 season at the Australian Open , where she was seeded tenth and beat Zina Garrison-Jackson 7–6, 6–4 in the round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinal. The path to the final became considerably more difficult, as Novotná had to contend with top seeded Steffi Graf in the quarterfinal encounter. In their ten previous meetings, Novotná had lost each time against Graf. But this time Novotná pulled the upset of her life by defeating Graf, the reigning champion of the last three years, 5–7, 6–4, 8–6. [6] Now just one win away from her first ever Grand Slam final, Novotná would have to stop Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the semifinals to get there. Novotná easily defeated Sanchez Vicario 6–2, 6–4, setting up a showdown against Monica Seles in the final.

Though Novotná took the opening set 7–5, Monica eventually won by a score of 5–7, 6–3, 6–1. [7] [8] At the end of the year she was ranked No. 7. [4] 1993 Two years later, at the 1993 Wimbledon Championships , Novotná's game hit full stride, as she produced some of her finest tennis ever. But for Novotná (seeded 8th) to capture the title, her path would have to go through Sabatini (seeded 4th), Martina Navratilova (seeded 2nd) and top-seeded Steffi Graf . Novotná beat Sabatini in the quarterfinals, Navratilova in the semis, before facing Graf in the final. Going into her quarterfinal against Sabatini, Novotná had lost six consecutive matches against the Argentine. This time, Novotná took Sabatini apart in straight sets, prevailing 6–4, 6–3.

After Novotná got rid of Sabatini, she then set her sights on a semifinal clash against Martina Navartilova, who had won each of their previous five matches. However, Novotná defeated Navratilova 6–4, 6–4, setting up the Championship match against Graf. After losing a tight first set, Novotná took a 6–7, 6–1, 4–1 lead and had a game-point serving at 40-30 . With victory seemingly in her grasp, she lost her nerve, double-faulted, and allowed Graf to climb back into the match. Graf took the next five games and the title. During the prize presentation ceremony, a distraught Novotná burst into tears and cried on Katharine, Duchess of Kent 's shoulder. The Duchess comforted her. [9] Novotná achieved a year-end ranking of No. 6. [4] 1994 Novotná began the 1994 season by reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

In her quarterfinal match, she played Gabriela Sabatini , in what turned out to be their last head-to-head encounter. In their previous meeting, on the grasscourts at the 1993 Wimbledon Championships, Novotná beat Sabatini in a straight set quarterfinal victory. This time, on the Australian hardcourts, Sabatini defeated Novotná in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. At the French Open, Novotná was beaten in the first round by Anna Smashnova in straight sets. At Wimbledon, Novotná reached the quarterfinals where she again faced Martina Navratilova in a rematch from the previous year. Novotná lost in three set, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. At the season's final Grand Slam, the US Open, the 7th seeded Novotná worked her way to the semifinals where she played top-seeded Steffi Graf . Dating back to the 1992 French Open, Novotná had lost 9 consecutive matches against Graf.

This trend would continue as Graf defeated Novotná in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. 1997 It took four years for Novotná to reach another Wimbledon final. In 1997, she faced top seeded Martina Hingis , and lost in three sets. But to get back to the final, Novotná had to get past Mary Joe Fernandez in the round of 16. After Fernandez won a tight opening set 7–5, Novotná secured the second set 6–4. In a tense third set Novotná outlasted Fernandez 7–5, then defeated Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia in the quarterfinals in straight sets. Now back in the semifinals of Wimbledon again, Novotná's next opponent would be the Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez Vicario . Sanchez Vicario had prevailed against Novotná in seven of their nine previous contests, but the majority of those matches were played on clay and hard-courts, Sanchez Vicario's best surfaces. On grass, Novotná had a decided advantage, as she defeated Sanchez Vicario 6–4, 6–2.

In the final against Hingis, Novotná started out fast, taking the opening set 6–2. But Hingis found her stroke and won the second set 6–3 to even the match at one set apiece. The final set proved to be a mirror image of the second set, as Hingis prevailed 6–3, handing Novotná her second loss in a Wimbledon Championship match. [10] [11] However, Novotná won the WTA Tour Championships after a victory in the final over Mary Pierce and finished the year ranked a career-high World No. 2 in singles. [12] [13] In addition to winning the year end WTA Championship, Novotná captured three more WTA singles titles for the year. 1998: Wimbledon glory Novotná's moment of Wimbledon success finally arrived in 1998. After defeating Venus Williams in a close quarterfinal, Novotná avenged the previous year's loss by ousting Martina Hingis in the semifinal in straight sets. [14] She won the singles title after defeating veteran Nathalie Tauziat In the final in two sets.

[15] [16] She became the oldest first-time Grand Slam singles winner in the Open Era at age 29 years and nine months. [17] This record would be eclipsed by Francesca Schiavone in 2010 when she won the French Open at 29 years and eleven months. Novotná won 12 Grand Slam women's doubles titles (four at Wimbledon, three at the French Open, three at the US Open , and two at the Australian Open) and four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (two at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open). She was 11 times the year end top-ranked doubles player. Novotná was a member of the Czechoslovakian team that won the Fed Cup in 1988. At the Olympic Games, Novotná was a women's doubles silver medalist in 1988 and 1996 and a singles bronze medalist in 1996. She won titles on all four surfaces and crossed the $10 million mark in career prize money in 1998, the fifth player to reach the milestone.

She won more than 500 career singles matches, the 15th woman in the Open Era to accomplish the feat. Novotná was named the 1998 WTA Tour Doubles Team of the Year with Martina Hingis , the 1997 International Tennis Federation Doubles Team of the Year with Lindsay Davenport , the 1996 WTA Tour Doubles Team of the Year with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, with Gigi Fernández in 1991 and in 1989 and 1990 with Helena Suková . Novotná retired from the professional tour in 1999. During her 14-year career, she won 100 titles (24 in singles and 76 in doubles). [17] She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. From 2000-2002, Novotná was a commentator for Wimbledon for the BBC . [18] From 2009 onwards, Novotná has played doubles at Wimbledon at the invitational draw.

In 2010 her partner was Martina Navratilova. She has also played invitational doubles in the other grand slams. Major finals Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups) Outcome Martina Navratilova - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki More info on Martina Navratilova Wikis Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Martina Navratilova October 18, 1956 (1956-10-18) (age 53) Place of birth 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Weight 65.5 kg (144 lb; 10.31 st) Turned pro (all-time record for men or women) Highest ranking No.

1 (July 10, 1978) Grand Slam results W (1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 (1) (all-time record for men or women) Highest ranking W (1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990) Major doubles tournaments W (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 (2) Last updated on: July 5, 2009. 1986 Paraguay stamp Martina Navrátilová (born October 18, 1956, in Prague , Czechoslovakia ) is a Czech-American tennis player. A former World No. 1 .

Billie Jean King said about Navratilova in 2006, "She's the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived." [1] Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including 9 consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record 9 times. She and King each won 20 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record. Navratilova is one of just three women to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles (called the Grand Slam "boxed set"). She holds the open era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). She recorded the longest winning streak in the open era (74 consecutive matches) and three of the six longest winning streaks in the women's open era. Navratilova, Margaret Court , and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam singles titles (six).

Navratilova reached 11 consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, second all-time to Steffi Graf's 13. In women's doubles, Navratilova and Pam Shriver won 109 consecutive matches and won all four Grand Slam titles in 1984. They also tied Louise Brough Clapp's and Margaret Osborne duPont's record of 20 Grand Slam women's doubles titles as a team. Originally from Czechoslovakia, she was stripped of her citizenship [2] when, in 1975 at the age of 18, she asked the United States for political asylum and was granted temporary residency. [3] At the time, Navratilova was being told by the Czechoslovakian Sports Federation that she was becoming too Americanized and that she should go back to school and make tennis secondary. [4] Navratilova became a US citizen in 1981, but on January 9, 2008, she had her Czech citizenship restored. [5] She stated she has not renounced her American citizenship nor does she plan to do so and that the restoration of her Czech citizenship was not politically motivated.

[6] [7] On the other hand, Navratilova was quoted in 2007 as being ashamed of the US under President George W. Bush . [8] [9] Navratilova is a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy. Contents 11 External links Tennis career Navratilova was born Martina Šubertová in 1956. Her parents divorced when she was three, and in 1962 her mother Jana married Miroslav Navrátil, who became her first tennis coach. Martina then took the name of her stepfather (adding the feminine suffix "ová"), thus becoming Martina Navrátilová (pronounced (help·info) ). In 1972 at the age of 15, Navratilova won the Czechoslovakia national tennis championship. In 1973, aged 16, she made her debut on the United States Lawn Tennis Association professional tour but did not turn professional until 1975. She won her first professional singles title in Orlando, Florida in 1974 at the age of 17.

Navratilova first lived with former Vaudeville actress , Frances Dewey Wormser , and her husband, Morton Wormser, a major tennis enthusiast, when she first moved to the United States. [10] Navratilova was the runner-up at two Grand Slam singles tournaments in 1975. She lost in the final of the Australian Open to Evonne Goolagong Cawley and in the final of the French Open to Chris Evert . After losing to Evert in the semifinals of that year's US Open , the 18-year-old Navratilova went to the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York City and informed them that she wished to defect from Communist Czechoslovakia. Within a month, she received a green card . Navratilova won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1978, where she defeated Evert in three sets in the final and captured the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. She successfully defended her Wimbledon title in 1979, again beating Evert in the final, and retained her World No. 1 ranking.

In 1981, Navratilova won her third Grand Slam singles title by defeating Evert in the final of the Australian Open. Navratilova also reached the final of the US Open, where she lost a third set tiebreak to Tracy Austin . Navratilova won both Wimbledon and the French Open in 1982. Following adoption of basketball player Nancy Lieberman's exercise plan and using graphite racquets, Navratilova became the most dominant player in women's tennis. After losing in the fourth round of the first Grand Slam event of 1983, the French Open, she captured the year's three remaining Grand Slam titles (the Australian Open was held in December at that time). Navratilova's loss at the French Open was her only singles defeat during that year, during which she established an 86–1 record. Her winning percentage was the best ever for a professional tennis player. During 1982, 1983, and 1984, Navratilova lost a total of only six singles matches. Navratilova won the 1984 French Open, thus holding all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously.

Her accomplishment was declared a "Grand Slam" by Philippe Chatrier , president of the International Tennis Federation . Many tennis observers, however, insisted that it was not a true Grand Slam because the titles had not been won in a single calendar year. Navratilova extended her Grand Slam singles tournament winning streak to a record-equalling six following wins at Wimbledon and the US Open. She entered the 1984 Australian Open with a chance of winning all four titles in the same year. In the semifinals, however, Helena Suková ended Navratilova's 74-match winning streak (a record for a professional) 1–6, 6–3, 7–5. The left-handed Navratilova won all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles in 1984, partnering right-handed Pam Shriver , a tall and talented player whose most noted stroke was a slice forehand, a shot virtually unheard of in the game today. This was part of a record 109-match winning streak that the pair achieved between 1983 and 1985. (Navratilova was ranked the World No.

1 doubles player for a period of over three years in the 1980s.) From 1985 through 1987, Navratilova reached the women's singles final at all 11 Grand Slam tournaments held during those three years, winning six of them. From 1982 through 1990, she reached the Wimbledon final nine consecutive times. She reached the US Open final five consecutive times from 1983 through 1987 and appeared in the French Open final five out of six years from 1982 through 1987. 17-year old German player Steffi Graf emerged on the scene in 1987 when she beat Navratilova in the final of the French Open. Navratilova defeated Graf in the 1987 Wimbledon and US Open finals (and at the US Open became only the third player in the open era to win the women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at the same event). Graf's consistent play throughout 1987, however, allowed her to obtain the World No. 1 ranking before the end of the year.

Graf eventually broke Navratilova's records of 156 consecutive weeks and 331 total weeks as the World No. 1 singles player but did not break Navratilova's record 167 singles titles as Graf reached 107. In 1988, Graf won all four Grand Slam singles titles, beating Navratilova 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the Wimbledon final along the way. In 1989, Graf and Navratilova met in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open, with Graf winning both encounters in three sets. Despite the age difference between the two players, Navratilova won 9 of the 18 career singles matches with Graf and 5 of the 9 Grand Slam singles matches with her. At age 34, Navratilova defeated Graf the last time they played in a Grand Slam event in the semifinals of the 1991 US Open 7–6(2), 6–7(6), 6–4. Navratilova and Sukova playing doubles Navratilova's final Grand Slam singles triumph was in 1990.

In the final, the 33-year old Navratilova swept Zina Garrison 6–4, 6–1 to claim a record-breaking ninth Wimbledon singles crown. Though that was her last Grand Slam singles title, Navratilova reached two additional Grand Slam singles finals during the remainder of career. In 1991, she lost in the US Open final to the new World No. 1 Monica Seles after defeating Graf in a semifinal. And then in 1994, at the age of 37, Navratilova reached the Wimbledon final, where she lost in three sets to Conchita Martínez . Soon after, she retired from full-time competition on the singles tour. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2000, Navratilova returned to the tour to play doubles events, while rarely playing singles. In her first singles performance in eight years, at Eastbourne in 2002, she beat World No. 22 Tatiana Panova before losing in the next round to Daniela Hantuchová in three sets.

In 2003, she won the mixed doubles titles at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, partnering Leander Paes . This made her the oldest ever Grand Slam champion (aged 46 years, 8 months). The Australian Open victory made her the third player in history to complete a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles by winning the singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles at all four Grand Slam events. The Wimbledon win allowed her to equal Billie Jean King's record of 20 Wimbledon titles (in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles combined) and extended her overall number of Grand Slam titles to 58 (second only to Margaret Court , who won 62). Despite being criticized for receiving a wildcard, Navratilova won a singles match in straight sets at the first round of Wimbledon in 2004, aged 47 years and 8 months, to make her the oldest player to win a professional singles match in the open era. She then lost her second round match with Gisela Dulko in three sets.

On July 6, 2006, Navratilova played her last career match at Wimbledon, losing in the third round of mixed doubles to the eventual titleists, Israel's Andy Ram and Russia's Vera Zvonareva . Earlier that day, Navratilova lost her women's doubles quarterfinal match against Chinese fourth seeds Zi Yan and Jie Zheng , also the eventual titleists. Navratilova capped off her career by winning the mixed doubles title at the 2006 US Open with Bob Bryan , her 41st Grand Slam doubles title (31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed doubles) and 177th overall. At the time, she was just over a month away from her 50th birthday. The only Grand Slam mixed doubles title that eluded her since her return was the French Open. Navratilova won 167 top-level singles titles (more than any other player in the open era) and 177 doubles titles. Her last title in women's doubles came on August 21, 2006, at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada , where she partnered with Nadia Petrova .

Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles: 9 at Wimbledon, 4 at the US Open, 3 at the Australian Open, and 2 at the French Open. Her overall record in 67 Grand Slam singles events was 306–49 .862 (120–14 at Wimbledon, 89–17 at the US Open, 51–11 at the French Open, and 46–7 at the Australian Open). She won at least one tour event for 21 consecutive years and won the singles and doubles at the same event a record 84 times. Her career singles match win total of 1,442 is the most during the open era. In September 1992, Navratilova played Jimmy Connors in the third Battle of the Sexes tennis match at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas . Connors was allowed only one serve per point and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court. Connors won 7–5, 6–2.

Personal life In her autobiography, Being Myself, [11] Navratilova says that she had had romantic crushes on teachers of both sexes and, later, felt strongly attracted to other female tennis players. In 1981, shortly after being granted U.S. citizenship , Navratilova came out publicly about her sexual orientation. During the early 1980s, she was involved with author Rita Mae Brown . From 1984 to 1991, Navratilova had a long-term relationship with partner Judy Nelson . Their split in 1991 included a much-publicized legal wrangle. Navratilova was featured in a WITA (Women's International Tennis Association) calendar, shot by Jean Renard with her Wimbledon trophies and Nelson's children in the background. In 1985, Navratilova released an autobiography , co-written with New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey , entitled Martina in the U.S. and Being Myself in the rest of the world. [12] She had earlier co-authored a tennis instruction book with Mary Carillo in 1982 entitled Tennis My Way.

[13] She later wrote three mystery novels with Liz Nickles: The Total Zone (1994), [14] Breaking Point (1996), [15] and Killer Instinct (1997). [16] Navratilova's most recent literary effort was a health and fitness book entitled Shape Your Self, which came out in 2006. [17] Activism and politics Navratilova and Mark Tewksbury read the Declaration of Montreal at the opening ceremonies of the World Outgames . When not playing tennis, Navratilova is involved with various charities that benefit animal rights, underprivileged children, and gay rights. She filed a lawsuit against Amendment 2 , a 1992 ballot proposition in Colorado designed to deny gays and lesbians legal protection from discrimination. In the same year, she spoke before the National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights. In 2000, she was the recipient of National Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian activist/lobbying group. [18] A pescetarian , Navratilova has appeared in ad campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals .

In an April 2006 interview, she said she had recently begun eating fish again because she found it hard to get enough protein while on the road. [19] She has spoken out on a number of volatile political issues, including tort/litigation reform, but perhaps her most consistent theme—aside from gay and lesbian rights—has been her unstinting opposition to Stalinism, and unrepentant opposition to the former Eastern Bloc power structure that she believes compelled her to flee her native Czechoslovakia. For example, on a recent segment of the Leonard Lopate Show in which she was promoting her new fitness training book-she denounced the Soviet Union's control over Czechoslovakia, maintaining that she refuses to speak Russian to this day because of the Soviet Union's former hegemony over Eastern Europe. When questioned by the host about her fellow Czechs' reaction to her defection she averred that they welcomed it, and that their hostility was directed towards the Stalinist regime in power, not her.

"Whenever people go into politics and they try to say that Communism was a good thing, I say, 'Go ahead and live in a Communist country then, if you think it's so great.'" [20] Navratilova was a guest on CNN's Connie Chung Tonight show on July 17, 2002. During the show, Chung quoted a German newspaper which quoted Navratilova as saying: "The most absurd part of my escape from the unjust system is that I have exchanged one system that suppresses free opinion for another. The Republicans in the U.S. manipulate public opinion and sweep controversial issues under the table. It's depressing. Decisions in America are based solely on the question of how much money will come out of it and not on the questions of how much health, morals or environment suffer as a result." Navratilova said that the remarks referred to what she perceived as a trend of centralization of government power and a loss of personal freedom. In the discussion that followed, Chung questioned, "Can I be honest with you? I can tell you that when I read this, I have to tell you that I thought it was un-American, unpatriotic.

I wanted to say, go back to Czechoslovakia. You know, if you don't like it here, this a country that gave you so much, gave you the freedom to do what you want." Navratilova responded, "And I'm giving it back. This is why I speak out. When I see something that I don't like, I'm going to speak out because you can do that here. And again, I feel there are too many things happening that are taking our rights away." She went on to say that athletes have a responsibility to speak out when things aren't right. [21] Career statistics (1)Chris Evert reached 34 non-consecutive Grand Slam singles semifinals from the 1971 US Open through the 1983 French Open, although she did not play 14 Grand Slam singles tournaments during that time. Recognition Tennis magazine has selected her as the greatest female tennis player for the years 1965 through 2005.

[22] Tennis historian and journalist Bud Collins has called Navratilova "arguably, the greatest player of all time." [23] Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, named her as the second best female player of the 20th century, directly behind Steffi Graf . [24] Miscellaneous facts Martina Hingis , another tennis star who also has been ranked World No. 1, was named after Navratilova. In November 2008, Navratilova appeared on Series 8 of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! She came second. See also

Question: Paul McNamee, Mark Woodforde, Jonathan Stark and Leander Paes were the four men who partnered which woman to win the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, in 1985, 93, 95 and 2003?
Answer: Martina Navratilova