Navratilova

For one week, Martina Navratilova talked about AIDS, Magic Johnson, the environment, the political climate of the country and the changing world of women's tennis.And then she appeared on Phil Donahue's show.Jennifer Capriati spent the week reacclimating herself to the women's tour, nursing a leg injury and shopping in New York.But last night at the Baltimore Arena, the legend and the kid met in the First National Bank Tennis Festival presented by The Baltimore Sun. It was an exhibition that spanned generations, a 35-year-old, nine-time Wimbledon champion against a 15-year-old schoolgirl still yearning to win an initial Grand Slam crown.

WIMBLEDON, England -- It didn't seem to matter who won and who lost in yesterday's women's semifinals at Wimbledon. What counted was how loud Monica Seles grunted.The primal screeching by Seles not only overshadowed her tightly contested three-set victory over nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, but defending champion Steffi Graf's one-sided win over Gabriela Sabatini as well.Forget about aces. Or double faults. Or even unforced errors. The most telling stat apparently is how many times Seles grunts (on nearly every point)

In tennis, a sport where love gets you nothing, $24.95 gets you a peek at a battle of the sexes.Martina Navratilova will try to increase women's advantage over men when she takes on Jimmy Connors Friday in a best-of-three sets match at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nev.Barry Tomkins, Vitas Gerulaitis, Betsy Nagelsen and Jim Hill will report on this pay-per-view telecast. There will also be a celebrity one-set doubles match.This is the sixth formal man-vs.-woman match. On Mother's Day, 1973, Bobby Riggs defeated Margaret Court, 6-2, 6-1. Sports Illustrated put Mr. Riggs on its cover that week, with the warning, "Never bet against this man."

For one week, Martina Navratilova talked about AIDS, Magic Johnson, the environment, the political climate of the country and the changing world of women's tennis.And then she appeared on Phil Donahue's show.Jennifer Capriati spent the week reacclimating herself to the women's tour, nursing a leg injury, and shopping in New York.But last night at the Baltimore Arena, the legend and the kid met in the First National Bank Tennis Festival presented by The Baltimore Sun. It was an exhibition that spanned generations, a 35-year-old, nine-time Wimbledon champion against a 15-year-old schoolgirl still yearning to win an initial Grand Slam crown.

Congratulations to the Comeback Queen of Flushing Meadows, Pam Shriver. The 29-year-old Baltimorean bouncing back from shoulder surgery and recent obscurity, teamed with a 20-year-old Russian new partner, Natalia Zvereva, served and volleyed to her 22nd Grand Slam doubles title in winning the U.S. Open women's doubles crown.Those 20 titles that Pam won with Martina Navratilova need to be reassessed, with more of the credit going to the taller one. This time, Shriver and Partner beat the pair that beat Navratilova and Partner.

BaseballPadres: Agreed to terms with IF Luis Lopez.BasketballFort Wayne (CBA): Signed F Andre Foreman.CollegeL Franklin & Marshall: Named Steve O'Day women's soccer coach.Hofstra: F Stanley Martin left basketball team for personal reasons.Pittsburgh: Named Brian Williams and Vincent White assistant football coaches.FootballEagles: Signed LB Terry Crews. Released DT Keith Rucker.TennisU.S. Federation Cup: Named Martina Navratilova captain.Pub Date: 12/25/96

THEY'RE billing it as "one battle of the sexes that will b settled ON court" -- instead, presumably, of IN court -- but who are they kidding?The Martina Navratilova-Jimmy Connors pay-per-view event on Friday at Caesar's Palace isn't about feminism. It isn't about two great champions fighting it out for the heck of it. It isn't about the curiosity of two "geezers at Caesar's."This contrived tennis match is about money. Navratilova, 35, and Connors, 40, are doing it because the winner gets a half million dollars and they each get unspecified guarantees.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Conchita Martinez grew up in Monzon, Spain. The daughter of a factory worker, she spent her days hitting tennis balls against the factory wall on a court her father, Cecilio, made for her.As she hit those balls, one harder than the next, she dreamed of her tennis idol. And the thoughts were so constant that she gave the wall a name -- Martina.Yesterday, when Martina Navratilova played her last Wimbledon, was Conchita Martinez across the net who ushered her idol off the Centre Court grass, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3."

NEW YORK -- What to get a teen-ager who wins 10 tournaments, $2,457,758 in a year and has a closet filled with enough black clothes to make even Morticia Addams jealous?How about a car?Yesterday, Monica Seles ended the 1991 women's tennis season by overwhelming Martina Navratilova, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0, in the best-of-five-set final of the Virginia Slims Championships. Today, she will claim her final prize of the year, driving away in a Jaguar convertible awarded to the world's No. 1 player.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- It could have been a prizefight.In one corner, the winner of 168 career singles titles and wearing the black-and-white striped shorts, Martina Navratilova. And in this corner, returning to tennis for the first time in 27 months and wearing the white tennis dress, Monica Seles.But then Seles, the 21-year-old who had not played tennis in public since being stabbed in the back in Hamburg, Germany, April 30, 1993, walked onto the court, and just like that, everyone knew this was not going to be a fight.