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Martina marches on

Martina Navratilova has turned back the clock with a victory at Wimbledon.

Yesterday's win was only in a first-round women's doubles match on an outside court late in the evening, but Navratilova was happy to be back after a five-year absence.

''It is fantastic to be out there again. That is what I have been waiting for,'' said the nine-times singles champion.

The former world number one and Mariaan de Swardt defeated Dutchwoman Amanda Hopmans and Bulgarian Lubomira Bacheva 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

Apart from being slightly out of breath by the end, the 43-year-old American looked like the athletic champion of old.

''It is great to be back with the fans,'' said Navratilova after getting a warm reception on court 18. ''The fans have been great, very enthusiastic.

''Once you get out there you bask in the applause for about 30 seconds and then you have to play.''

Neither Hopmans nor Bacheva was born when Navratilova made her Wimbledon debut in 1973, reaching the third round.

But though she looked tentative at the start yesterday, she was soon chasing around the court like a teenager, to the delight of the crowd and of her partner.

''It is great to play with her because I know people have so much respect for her. She's given them so much pleasure and they're going to be on our side," de Swaardt said.

The South African has an impressive pedigree of her own, having reached the Wimbledon doubles final with Elena Tatarkova of Ukraine last year, but said she was still nervous about teaming up with Navratilova.

''I've been shaking in my boots. In the beginning I just kind of accepted i was going to screw up a lot and hope she wouldn't get too mad.''

Arguably the greatest women's champion of all time, Navratilova has amassed a record 167 singles and 165 doubles titles over a career spanning 25 years.

She has not played singles here since 1994 and her last success at the All England Club came in the mixed doubles title with compatriot Jonathan Stark in 1995, her 19th Wimbledon title.

Another triumph would put her level with the Wimbledon record of Billie Jean King but Navratilova insisted she had returned purely because she loved the tournament.

''The first time i thought about the record of 20 titles was when I read about it in a newspaper,'' she said.

''I came out to play one more time at Wimbledon,'' she said. ''I may play next year, I may never play again. I don't know.''

Navratilova, who received a wild card yesterday to play mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi, insisted she had no plans to play singles again. But de Swardt had words of warning in case the American should ever change her mind.

''I've been struggling to get points off her in practice,'' she said. ''She would beat a lot of people if she still wanted to play singles. She's playing great.''

Reuters