"Literally a pain in the neck" - Martina Navratilova reveals unique struggle she faced during Australian Open night matches on her 68th birthday
Martina Navratilova hilariously recalled her uncomfortable experiences during night matches at the Australian Open after Chris Evert wished the legendary Czech-American on her 68th birthday. Navratilova won three singles and eight doubles titles at the Australian Open over the course of her illustrious career.
Navratilova turned 68 on Friday, October 18 and several birthday wishes poured in for the Czech-American. Most notably, her fierce yesteryear rival and present-day close friend Chris Evert wished her.
Evert's birthday wish was a message of praise for Navratilova over the Czech-American's unwavering support for the former and her enduring "strength and resilience". Meanwhile, on a lighter note, the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the Australian Open wished her by sharing a video of an on-court interview of Navratilova following the conclusion of the first ever night-session match at the event in 1988.
In the video, the interviewer asks Martina Navratilova about her thoughts on playing her maiden night match at the Australian Open. Navratilova lauded the overall atmosphere of the then-newly-opened Melbourne Park, where the Major had been relocated to. However, she acknowledged that she personally found it difficult to play at night.
"The lights are fantastic. The arena, obviously I walked in here yesterday, and I said, 'now this is a stadium'. But, so, I mean, the court is great and everything, but for me, it's difficult to play at night because my glasses fog up. So, I always have to make sure I keep my chin up because if I look down, they fog up. So, you know, I have to sort of think about it, but otherwise, I enjoy it a lot!" Martina Navratilova said at the time.
Upon taking notice of the video, Martina Navratilova replied and revealed that she experienced stiffness in her neck during night matches.
"I used to get a stiff neck from having to keep my head upright during night matches because of the glasses fogging up- literally a pain in the neck!!" Navratilova wrote.
All of Martina Navratilova's singles Australian Open titles came before the Major's relocation to Melbourne Park.
Martina Navratilova emerged the Australian Open women's singles champion in 1981, 1983, and 1985
From 1972 to 1987, the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club served as the venue for the Australian Open. It is during this period that Martina Navratilova won her three singles titles at the Major. Interestingly, at the time, the Australian Open was a grass-court Grand Slam.
Navratilova's first Australian Open title came in 1981, after she remarkably overturned a set deficit to win over Chris Evert in the final [6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5]. The Czech-American's third title at the Grand Slam was also a result of her getting the better of Evert at the last hurdle. This match was once again a three-set affair, with Navratilova winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
The Czech-American's second Australian Open title was a much more straightforward affair as she defeated Kathy Jordan 6-2, 7-6 in the final. The last two doubles titles for Navratilova at the Major came after it had transitioned from being a grass-court to a hard-court Grand Slam.