Avoiding Clay Courts : Navratilova Drops Out of the French Open

Martina Navratilova, the No. 2 women’s tennis player in the world, has pulled out of the French Open, one of the Grand Slam tournaments.

Cecile Caradec, press spokeswoman for French Federation of Tennis, which runs the tournament, said the FFT received the official notice from the Women’s International Tennis Assn. this morning.

No specific reason was given for the withdrawal by Navratilova, the winner of 18 Grand Slams, including the French Open twice.

But federation sources said the 32-year-old American, who has not missed a Grand Slam event in nine years, had pulled out because she wanted to avoid clay courts to sharpen her grass game before Wimbledon.

Navratilova lost the Wimbledon title last year to West German Steffi Graf after winning it the previous six years and is concentrating on avenging that defeat.

Navratilova relies on a power game and serve-and-volley tactics, better suited for fast surfaces like grass.

The French Open, scheduled for May 29-June 11, is played on the slow, red clay courts of Roland Garros Stadium in Paris.

Navratilova won the French Open in 1982 and 1984 and reached the final in 1975, 1985, 1986 and 1987.

She lost the 1987 French Open to Graf, the first Grand Slam tournament Graf won.

Navratilova lost in the third round of the French Open in 1988 to eventual finalist, Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union.

Navratilova owns a 7-4 mark over Graf in tournament play but is 0-2 on clay.

Last week, Graf and Navratilova met in an exhibition on clay in Monte Carlo and Graf beat Navratilova, 6-3, 6-4.

Navratilova lost her No. 1 ranking in August, 1987, to Graf, who won the Grand Slam and the Olympic gold medal.

Navratilova had complained about being mentally tired from a heavy schedule of exhibitions and tournaments.

The Women’s International Tennis Assn. in Miami said Navratilova would probably take a break of almost two months from the game because she was “readjusting her schedule.”

Robin Reynolds, a spokeswoman for WITA, could not confirm that Navratilova had decided to skip clay court events to hone her skills for Wimbledon but did note that her next appearance would probably be on grass.

“Birmingham will probably be her next tournament,” Reynolds said, referring to the $150,000 event to be held on grass in central England beginning June 12, two weeks before the start of Wimbledon.