THE SIDELINES : No. 2 Is OK, Navratilova Says

She’s dropped to No. 2 in the world rankings behind Steffi Graf, but Martina Navratilova says she doesn’t feel like a tennis failure.

“Failure is in not trying,” Navratilova writes in an article in Glamour magazine. “If I give 100% to the game--physical, mental, emotional--I am satisfied. Even if I lose, I haven’t failed. On the other hand, if I’ve been loafing and I win, there’s not too much personal satisfaction in that; it means only that I have more talent than my opponents.”

Navratilova, 33, said in the article that she has recovered from a brush with tennis burnout, and she proved that Sunday by beating tennis’ latest phenomenon, 14-year-old Jennifer Capriati, to capture the Family Circle Magazine Cup championship in Hilton Head Island, S.C.