Martina on ESPN: April 15, 2001


Martina joined Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez in the ESPN commentator's booth at the start of the second set
of the womens singles final at Amelia Island between Amanda Coetzer and Amélie Mauresmo.

Pam started off by asking Martina about her week playing doubles with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Said Martina, 
"She's great. She works so hard and plays good balls. And so far, so good!"

So what does your day look like so far as you prepare for the doubles final, asked Pam. "Well, I have a happy
belly. Just had some pasta with vegetables. Practiced with Arantxa for the first time this week. And I'm just 
trying to stay cool, really. And then you go inside the locker room and it's cold in there. So I actually wore 
long sleeves, just trying to stay warm and not let my cold get any worse because as you know it gets so cold - 
no, don't worry, Pam, I'm not contagious! - and you try to just stay sharp. Yesterday, we waited for so long to 
play; today it looks like... hopefully this will go two sets. So we won't have to wait too long and get hungry 
again! And too anxious!

Mary Joe then complimented Martina on looking "in unbelievable shape" and asked her what she does to keep that 
up. "I've been doing a lot of pilates this year. I started doing a lot of stretching and not as many weights. 
And I've done some footwork drills but mostly it's pilates and that's really helped me a lot. As well as doing 
some quick footwork and not as much tennis but just round it all off."

Pam then pointed out that Martina had a scary moment playing womens league ice hockey earlier this year. Martina
elaborated, "I played with the Aspen Mother Puckers. And we won the state tournament last year. Next week is the
state tournament again, we're defending. And I got hit with the puck playing with a guy so I think I should
stick to just playing with the women. But it's a great way to get in shape and a lot of fun and it's nice to be 
on a team." Pam then clarified the name of Martina's team for the ESPN audience - Puckers with a 'P'!! Martina 
later added that the team logo is 'Hot Pink Clips.'

AFter that, they returned to commentating on the match at hand. Some time later, Mary Joe asked Martina, "Has
the game changed so much, Martina, since your prime in your singles career. Is the power that much greater?" 
"Well, everybody is a better hitter. And they're bigger and they hit the ball harder. But the bottom line is 
you still have Hingis as #1. And you have Sanchez-Vicario beating Hingis the other day!"

The subject then changed to baseball. Pam reminded viewers of the upcoming game between the Texas Rangers 
against the Oakland Athletics later that night. Mary Joe then mentioned Alex Rodriguez, baseball's $252 
million dollar man who plays for the Rangers. Martina quipped, "A-Rod's been more of a B-Rod so far!" Mary 
Joe agreed, "That's right. You think he's feeling the pressure? I saw his first game. He made some really bad
mistakes." "Pressure will do that to you," said Martina. "Can't let that get to you."

"But he won't give any of the money back!" joked Pam. "I don't think so!" added Martina. "It must be nice to
have that money guaranteed. It's the one thing about tennis players. You have to earn it. I mean, you do have 
the endorsements but not that many players get those and every paycheck you have to earn, you have to pay your 
way, pay the hotel, pay the airfare, the coaches, everything. It's an expensive sport!"

Martina was then asked by Mary Joe if all the injuries that have been occuring with the top players was the 
result of too much tennis. "I think the ranking system promotes for the players to play too much at the top. 
You can't just play 70-80 matches a year and expect to do it year after year and not get hurt. And I never 
did believe in quantity over quality so I think you need to perhaps shorten the season, force some tournaments 
out and let the players rest mentally and physically. You need that. And these women are big, they're strong
but they're injured all the time. Both Williams sisters have been having problems, Mauresmo has had a lot of 
problems. They've withdrawn from more tournaments than I had in my whole career. So something's not right. 
Either they're not training right, they're playing too much, a combination of both."

They then got back to commentating on the match. Later, Pam began talking about the current womens tennis 
scene with the largest group of contenders ever in history. Martina agreed, "Totally. You got Capriati making
a run, Mauresmo's in there, Seles still, I think, is not completely out of it. She certainly can beat anybody
on a given day. Then of course, Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters. And Hingis. And the defending 
champion Mary Pierce at the French Open. It's fantastic!"

Mary Joe then mentioned that the tournament director John Arrix was initially concerned with all the pullouts
that took place before the week began. But he told her that as long as they got Martina Navratilova in the 
finals, they would be fine! "And they got their wish!" said Mary Joe. "Alright, thanks," said Martina, 
sounding a tad embarrased. "They're getting desperate if they need me in the finals!"

It appears Martina's acting talents have not gone unnoticed! Mary Joe informed her that she watched her on 
"Will and Grace" a couple of weeks ago and said she was "terrific"! "Oh, wasn't that cute?" said Martina. 
"With the wig and all!" When asked by Mary Joe to describe the experience, Martina replied: "It was fun. It
was fun dancing and trying to act at the same time with no music. It was quite a challenge but it was fun. 
We filmed that way back in November, I think. They first showed it during Thanksgiving."

With that, Martina's short stint in the commentators box came to an end. She had to get ready for the 
doubles final she was to play later in the day. All in all, it was great to hear Martina again. Always 
articulate, candid and informative, she most certainly did not disappoint! Thanks, Martina!