Martina marvels at Wimbledon once again

With a record 20 Wimbledon titles already in the trophy cabinet, the motivation to run around a tennis court in front of a watching crowd at the age of 51 would escape many. But Martina Navratilova showed that she can still cut it on the grass of SW19 with a straight sets victory in her first match of the ladies’ invitation doubles tournament.

The ladies' singles quarter-finals may have been commanding the attention of many on Centre Court and No.1 Court but Court 18 was packed to see a great champion of yesteryear in action.

Playing alongside Helena Sukova from the Czech Republic, the nine-time singles champion looked comfortable on court with a consistently probing serve and a flurry of deft shots that wowed the adoring crowd and proved to be too much for opponents Gretchen Magers and Conchita Martinez.

Yes, the very same Martinez who famously denied Navratilova one final singles title here in the 1994 final. The Spaniard, a comparative spring chicken in this company at the age of 36, was also relishing a return to the scene of her greatest career triumph.

But most of the crowd's attention was fixed firmly on Navratilova, who won 58 Grand Slam titles in a career that stretched over four decades. She was a winner here as recently as 2003 when she won the mixed doubles title alongside Leander Paes at a record-breaking 46 years and 261 days.

That victory was Navratilova’s twentieth at Wimbledon and equalled the record set by Billie Jean King before her retirement in 2006. One wonders whether anyone has told the great competitor that this mini tournament won't add to the official total!

But today's match - despite featuring some moments of typical Navratilova brilliance - was largely a light-hearted affair.

Navratilova may not be smashing winners on Centre Court on the way to yet another Grand Slam title this year but that famous left hand is showing no signs of weakness just yet.