Navratilova departs in style but snub prompts Dokic fury

Everybody seemed delighted that the 45-year-old Martina Navratilova was given another opportunity to display her serve-volley skills on Centre Court against one of the rising generation here yesterday, except a furious Jelena Dokic.

The top-seeded Dokic's disappointment at losing to Daja Bedanova, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, in the second round of the Britannic Asset Management Championships was compounded by having had to play on Court One when "ridiculous matches" had been put on Centre Court.

Dokic's made her comment with a disdainful sweep of an arm in the direction of the main arena at Devonshire Park, where Navratilova, the nine-times Wimbledon champion and a winner at Eastbourne 11 times, was in the process of losing, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, to the 19-year-old Daniela Hantuchova, the third seed.

Navratilova, invited to take a wild card in the singles, had proved to be good value on Centre Court, winning her opening match in three sets against Tatiana Panova, a 25-year-old Russian seeded No 21 for Wimbledon, and giving a master class in net play for a set and a half against Hantuchova, the 11th seed for Wimbledon.

"I don't make the schedule," Navratilova said when told about Dokic's remark. "There were a bunch of players who were happy to see me out there, even if they wanted me to lose, or didn't want to see me win, and there were others who didn't want to see me out there.

"I've played matches on Court One when there were other ridiculous matches on Centre Court. Rain delays often disrupt schedules. I've played matches at Wimbledon on Court No 4 and Court No 5 when I was the No 1 seed and the defending champion."

Dokic, who won the DFS Classic in Birmingham last week and is the seventh seed for Wimbledon, was frustrated yesterday that she had been unable to make a stronger challenge against Bedanova in the final set after levelling the match. "She played the big points better than I did," Dokic acknowledged.

Although Navratilova agreed to play singles on grass this week for the first time since losing to Conchita Martinez in the 1994 Wimbledon final, she emphasised that she does not intend to make a comeback on the WTA Tour as a soloist.

Hantuchova, from Slovakia, who defeated Martina Hingis in the final of the Indian Wells tournament in March, was delighted to be able to play against Navratilova, especially on grass. The great champion is not only Hantuchova's idol but also her mentor in the WTA Tour development programme.

"Today it was strange," Hantuchova said. "Somebody who is your mentor was on the other side of the net wanting to beat you." She smiled and added: "Martina didn't tell me anything about how to play her today."

Hantuchova learned the hard way, first overcoming her nerves and some shaky serving, which contributed to her losing the opening four games, and then working out how to counter Navratilova's fluent attacking style with decent serves and volleys of her own. Before that happened, Hantuchova was a set and a break down. From 1-2 in the second set, however, she won 11 of the next 13 games.

"My serve wasn't cooking," Navratilova said, "and Daniela started returning very well and serving a lot better. She's hard to beat when she's a front runner. And she's capable of having a serve-volley game. She even aced me with some second serves."

In the quarter-finals today, Hantuchova is due to play Amy Frazier, of the United States. Bedanova's next opponent is Meghann Shaughnessy, the American fifth seed. Chanda Rubin, the third American in the last eight, plays Italy's Silvia Farina Elia, the fifth seed, and Anastasia Myskina, of Russia, meets Anne Kremer, Luxembourg's finest.