VIRGINIA SLIMS CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 17, 1994

Manon Bollegraf

Martina Navratilova

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Well, you called us here, what do you want to know? Come on. I'm in a really good mood.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Well, I was playing doubles, not singles. I still wanted to win. What other feelings are there? Just maybe this is not necessarily my last doubles match, whereas my singles match was, so it is a different feeling.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I may still be back at the Garden as a doubles player.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Well, it's been sinking in all year, so it didn't take much, it wasn't a surprise when it happened Tuesday, and I've been getting better every day, I mean, every hour it is a little less heartache and more excitement about the rest of it. You know, I still have a long way to go before the year is over a lot of exhibitions to play, a lot of work when we lost today, Manon said, oh, vacation. I wish I could say the same, but emotionally, I've been doing well, I've been ready for this. It obviously was more difficult than other losses for different reasons, but I think losing that, easily made it easier in a way because I didn't have, like, that many opportunities to get in the match, so I wasn't like tearing my hair out over the match, although I was still trying to figure out what I could have done differently to change the match, but, doing pretty well.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: No, they took it away. I wanted to. I wanted to ride it and they said it's already on the truck to Aspen, it's doing a lot of good there. I can't ride until April, there's a foot of snow on the ground. I may have it shipped to L.A. to friends who live there and ride around there, I don't know yet.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I said you're going to have to cover that. That bike is going to be gone the first time I take it out on the street. I don't like my name out on -- out on the out, I'll probably leave the legend stuff out there, but I don't think I'll leave the Martina on there.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: So I understand apparently WFAN had three hours of it yesterday.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I think the understanding of everybody initially was it would be there all the time. It wasn't made clear it would be there during a tennis event which is one week a year essentially, now. And so, I was excited about it and was talking about it as if it was always going to be hanging there and then they told me, by the way, only during tennis tournaments, and so I was disappointed, of course, but when it went up Tuesday, I didn't think that it was only going to be there one week, I was just excited about it going up I think the rest of the people didn't understand it and I think that's what the controversy is about because it wasn't made clear at any time. They did say it at the induction that it was going to hang there during tennis tournaments, but I don't think it registered to people. We'll see. I don't know. I don't know why? It seems to be more trouble to put it up and down than to just leave it there and the only time it could possible the get in the way is during a tennis tournament when you throw up the high lob, otherwise who is going to threw a bas -- base -- basketball up there.

MANON BOLLEGRAF: Yes.

MANON BOLLEGRAF: Well, when she asked me to play last year, it was for me an honor to play with her and, I mean, she's a great tennis player and a great human being, so for me it's been a year that I'll never forget.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: We just didn't win as much as perhaps we were both hoping, but that's how it goes.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Well, the whole time they've never seen me play in the Garden before, so they were excited to be here. Like I said, they probably think it's always like that. They were touched. We're sad Jana couldn't be here, my sister. We were reminiscing. We had lunch the next day and we were reminiscing, but they were more excited about Rigoletto, they went to see that last night.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: They were very excited.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Wednesday, Bratislava in Slovac; Thursday, Katowice, which is Poland, Friday, I fly to Cap d' Aede, South of France, two days there, Saturday, Sunday; then I have -- then I have one day off then I play Luxembourg, Tuesday, Wednesday; then I go home for five days, then I go to South America for three exhibitions in five days, one in Rio, one in Santiago De Chili and one is Buenos Aires then I go home for five days then I go to my parents for Christmas. And then I play exhibitions right after New Years, so I really wouldn't be done with all that until January, seventh. Then my vacation starts.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Not since 1973 -- not in Czechoslovakia anyway-- Czech Republic, now.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Sixth and seventh of January.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Few years ago, I don't know three, four years ago, five years, I guess the last time I played Australia, 89, I think. Don't -- the years run together, so, I don't know.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: That's because I committed to play an exhibition in Slovaka and they couldn't change the date which actually they tried and they couldn't change the date and I didn't -- I wasn't notified of the award until after I had committed to the exhibition, so, what am I supposed to do? Break a commitment to make another. That's not why I'm getting an award. I'm not getting an award for breaking commitments. You know, I signed a deal and said I would play an exhibition and that's how it goes.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I don't know. I haven't thought about it. It is not like, you know, my sister is still doing examinations, so she can't go. My father had has a bad heart. I guess I could send my mother, but, I don't know. I haven't really thought about that. I've never done that before. Would you like to go and accept it on might behalf?

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I understand that, but, sending somebody in my place, I don't know if that makes a difference, but I can do that, yes.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I guess number one, how well I am playing how much I've been playing I don't know how much tennis I'll play on my time off, and, who is available, you know, I'll have to be carried a little better than in the past. Those are -- there was a bit of a heavy load today. I didn't play very well. I don't know if there would be that many people that would want to play with me. So, we'll see. I guess it will all depend on where and how well I'm playing and how it works with the rest of my schedule because I have a lot of commitments while I'm at the tournaments --

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Well, they got here Saturday night and just watched me practice and play the matches and went to the Opera last night and the Opera there was a fire alarm, actually, so they had their share of excitement. 15 minutes from the end, they had to like stop the Opera and then they restarted it; smoke everywhere.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: They haven't done that yet. I don't know. I made that trip the first time I was here and it was so foggy, I couldn't see a thing. Never saw the statue. The best I ever saw it was-- I had to fly to Philadelphia in a helicopter and I had a really good view.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Well, I flew in, so, I don't know.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I went to the Metropolitan Museum for the first time the other day. I want to go back there. So much to do here.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I don't have that -- my best recollections of this one are after the match. I don't know, you guys keep asking me for the best of the best and I can't give that to you. Winning here over the years, I played team tennis here in 75 -- 76, rather, I go way back. So, I can't give you my best.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: We would be the geriatrics doubles team. I have no idea. I guess it depends how well she's playing. I don't know who would be carrying who. We'll both be going, "yours." I used to run them down pretty well, but I need somebody a little fleeter on foot and Pam, perhaps needs somebody fleeter than me as well. We might do it for the old time sake as well, I don't know. We'll see it's possible.