There’s No Time Like Present for Navratilova : Playing the Best She Has in Two Years, She Sweeps Sabatini, 6-0, 6-2

Just to prove there is nothing new under the sun, Martina Navratilova won another tennis tournament.

She has won 143 of them now, which means that except for the Grand Slams, it may be hard to tell one from the other.

But at 32, age sometimes has a funny way of telling tennis players it’s time to get out of this racket. Things like going into your swing and the ball is already bouncing back off the wall behind you.

So for at least a brief moment on a sunny Sunday at Manhattan Country Club, Navratilova was her young self again.

Her 6-0, 6-2 victory over Gabriela Sabatini in the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles was more than just a triumph of No. 2 over No. 3 in the rankings or a victory over someone 13 years her junior.

This time, Navratilova didn’t only beat Sabatini, she proved once again that she can still beat the clock.

“She’s very strong,” Sabatini said. “She’s still playing very good tennis.”

Navratilova said the tennis she played was her best in two years. Some may be surprised by that, she said.

“People have been writing me off for years,” Navratilova said. “Well, I’m still No. 2. If Steffi hadn’t had such a phenomenal two years, I’d still be No. 1.

“I don’t look at it like I’m slipping that much,” she said. “I don’t think that age has anything to do with it. Experience does count for something.

“If I have lost a quarter of a step--which I don’t think I have because (my opponents) have told me I haven’t--I certainly have gained more with experience.”

Experience is sometimes a fickle ally, though. It only has value when you use it.

Judging from the last time she played Navratilova, Sabatini knew before the final that she would have to break Navratilova’s serve, preferably early.

The idea was to put pressure on Navratilova’s serve and see how it held up. When Sabatini won the coin toss, she elected to receive and her strategy immediately appeared wise.

Sabatini held two break points in the first game of the match, but Navratilova saved them both. If ever the first game of a match is a turning point, this was it.

“I thought maybe I got a little bit nervous,” Sabatini said. “She was coming to the net all the time and I couldn’t get into the match.

“That’s why I am doing too many mistakes and doing nothing,” she said.

Nothing is what Sabatini scored in the first set.

Sabatini didn’t win her first game until the second game of the second set and she nearly blew that. Navratilova had three break points of her own and missed them all, the game finally going to Sabatini on a wicked backhand cross-court pass.

But even then, probably because of her successful pressure tactics in the first set, Navratilova was in control.

In the next game, Navratilova again fell behind, 15-40, but she came up with two big serves to force deuce and then held for 2-1.

Sabatini’s own service strategy was to place the first serve in safely and not necessarily hit it with power. It didn’t work because Navratilova was ready to tee off.

Although Sabatini made 84% of her first serves, she got only 44% of the points.

“Maybe I should have hit it a little bit more,” Sabatini said.

Maybe so, but even then, Sabatini had nothing to match Navratilova’s volleys, which may not be unusual because no one in women’s tennis does.

Example: Serving at 4-2 but down a break point, Navratilova hits a short ball and moves in where she can only watch Sabatini wind up and crush a forehand pass.

But, wait. Navratilova flicks her racket out at just the right instant and pops a perfect backhand cross-court volley winner.

“I made some really good volleys,” Navratilova said modestly.

In all, Navratilova saved four break points in that game, which turned out to be Sabatini’s last chance.

After that, it was over quickly. Navratilova had taken a 3-1 lead on a service break. At 30-30, Navratilova’s backhand cross-court volley winner set up break point. Sabatini rushed into a double fault.

Within minutes, Navratilova did not know it, but she was looking at her 143rd match point. To celebrate, she angled a forehand volley winner past Sabatini.

Within a few more minutes, Navratilova was accepting the winner’s check of $60,000. What it meant seemed pretty important at the moment to Navratilova.

“I know now that I can play as well as I have in the past,” she said. “I don’t care how badly Gaby played, you beat her love and two and you must have played pretty good.”

But Navratilova is not sure that beating Sabatini in such a manner will have any residual effect. These younger players, well, they’re not intimidated any longer by big scores, no matter if they’re produced by legends.

“Yeah, players don’t show any respect,” Navratilova said. “But it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’ve shown I’m playing pretty good tennis right now. Hopefully, I can keep it up.”

Tennis Notes

How do you beat topspin? Martina Navratilova’s tactic: “I took the ball on the rise and didn’t wait for it. That also didn’t give Gabriela time to set up.” . . . Navratilova is a five-time champion of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles. She also won in 1978, 1980, 1983 and 1986. Navratilova’s career earnings are $14.5 million, including $502,464 this year. . . . Navratilova and Wendy Turnbull won the doubles title over Claudia Kohde-Kilsch and Mary Joe Fernandez by default when Kohde-Kilsch pulled a muscle in her shoulder. Navratilova and Turnbull led, 5-2, in the first set. . . . Navratilova’s last warmup for the U.S. Open is the Players Challenge Canadian Open, starting Aug. 21 in Toronto. . . . Sunday’s attendance of 6,296 increased the tournament total to a record 59,007.