WASHINGTON, D.C. — Martina Navratilova had a queasy feeling when she read that Venus Williams had accepted a main-draw singles wild card into the Mubadala Citi DC Open.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking, ‘Oh, this isn\u2019t going to end well,\u2019\u201d the 18-time Grand Slam champion said Wednesday from her Miami home. \u201cAnd how wrong was I? How wrong was I?\u201d<\/p>\n
As it turned out, about as wrong as possible.<\/p>\n
At the age of 45, Williams was a forceful 6-3, 6-4 winner over Peyton Stearns to advance to a second-round match against No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech. That made Williams the second-oldest woman ever to win a tour-level singles match.<\/p>\n
The first? Navratilova, who was 47 when she won a first-round match at Wimbledon in 2004.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat can you say — because it\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d Navratilova said. \u201cShe beat a top-ranked [No. 35] player. I mean, hats off.\u201d<\/p>\n
After winning her doubles match on Monday and singles on Tuesday night, Williams finally came back to earth. No. 2 seeds Taylor Townsend and Zheng Shuai were 6-4, 3-6, [10-6] winners over Williams and Hailey Baptiste.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Townsend\/Zhang squeak past Baptiste\/Venus Williams in Washington doubles<\/p>\n
Before another packed house on John Harris Court, it was an entertaining match until the winner asserted themselves in the final frame. With a lunging Townsend volley, they converted their second match point.<\/p>\n
Navratilova said she would have watched Williams\u2019 singles match, but that she and wife Julia Lemigova had reservations at a Miami restaurant that couldn\u2019t be canceled. Navratilova, of course, followed the score on her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we both got some good DNA,\u201d Navratilova said. \u201cThat the fast-twitch is still fast-twitching. Understanding the game, the geometry. Knowing how to play. All the mental stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re pretty similar that way. Focused, determined — don\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Navratilova was impressed at Williams\u2019 level of fitness, which was lacking in her most recent outing last year in Miami and Indian Wells. Having to overcome Sj\u00f6gren\u2019s syndrome, the chronic autoimmune disease that saps strength and limits prolonged activity, she added, made it even more inspiring.<\/p>\n
Twenty-one years ago, Navratilova was still an active doubles player but accepted a wild card into Wimbledon\u2019s main singles draw. A decade after her last singles match, she defeated Catalina Castano 6-0, 6-1 before falling to Gisela Dulko in the second round.<\/p>\n
After her breakthrough win, Williams cited the L-word.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think more than anything, it\u2019s just about love, right?\u201d she said. \u201cIf you have enough love for it, then you\u2019ll put in the effort, and then you\u2019ll find that little extra little bit at the end because I love it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Navratilova, unaware of those remarks, cited precisely the same premise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just shows how much Venus loves the game,\u201d Navratilova said. \u201cHope, perseverance, not quitting. Follow your path, just follow your path. If you\u2019re on the path that you want to be on, that you love, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose, no matter what the result is, because you\u2019re loving the path.<\/p>\n
\u201cVenus loves\u00a0all\u00a0of it, getting on the court. I hope she keeps going.\u201d<\/p>\n
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