A LEGEND’S INDULGENCE

She is crafting the lobs and creating angles with her volleys, using the court so creatively that Gala Leon Garcia and Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo are in danger of becoming permanent divots in the red clay.

Finally, one net-cord return drops on break point and Leon Garcia loses her serve in the second set of a doubles quarterfinal match at the Open de Espana last week.

This run of inspired shot-making is enough for the spectators to put aside their omnipresent cellular telephones and lighted cigarettes--ambidextrous has a different meaning at the lush Club de Campo.

Vamos, Martina!

The appealing words are a revelation on the eve of the French Open because they are about the original Martina, not the namesake. Before Martina, well, there was Martina.

Consider this: Martina Navratilova, living legend, and Martina Hingis, who threw a legendary tantrum in Paris last year, are both getting ready for the French Open, which starts Monday at Roland Garros.

Navratilova’s preparations for the French Open and Wimbledon with doubles partner Mariaan de Swardt of South Africa started here at this small, smoky tournament in front of her mother, Jana, and tiny disabled dog, Bina.

At 43, the woman considered by many to be the game’s greatest player is returning to her former life, dropping by for a few weeks. But Navratilova wants to define this in her own terms, playing for the simple joy of the game, and her own time frame.

“It’s not a comeback,” she said. “I’m just playing a few tournaments. If this were a comeback, I would be playing full time. A friend e-mailed me, ‘Comeback? Where have you been all this time?’ I didn’t know it would get so much attention.”

The high level of interest is natural. Who wouldn’t be curious to watch any legendary sports figure, like a Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky, playing anywhere after a four-year absence from center stage?

Despite all the appreciation and interest, including a supportive phone message from Monica Seles, one person close to Navratilova was not quite ready to get with the program.

“The first thing my father said was, ‘Oh, no, you could lose in the first round,’ ” Navratilova said, chuckling. “I said, ‘Thanks, Dad, really positive thinking.’ He said, ‘Oh, you probably won’t.’

“I said it’s a possibility, but not a probability. He’s probably afraid of me losing this image or whatever it is.”

The daughter knew best. Navratilova and de Swardt did not lose in the first round in Madrid, defeating Meghann Shaughnessy and Rika Hiraki, 6-3, 7-5. They lost to Leon Garcia and Sanchez Lorenzo, 6-3, 7-6 (5), squandering a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker.

Navratilova said she had problems with her ball toss in the first match, feeling like “a juggler.” Her serving percentage picked up in the quarterfinals even though she was broken three times in the second set.

So, after two matches, is she having fun yet?

“Not yet,” Navratilova said. “I love the hitting and then you get to really immerse yourself into being an athlete again. You just get back into this narcissistic state. It’s a luxury to be able to do that, to immerse yourself in this world for just a little bit. I can sort of drop in and go back to my life, which I love.

“I’ve had a blast playing. I just wish I would perform better. I have not been able to perform yet on the court as how I’ve played in practice. That’s from not having played matches. Neither one of us played well.

“There’s a lot of pressure on her playing with me. We just can’t sort of play on Court 8 and get into it.”

De Swardt, in hindsight, is glad they entered a low-key event like the one in Madrid first. She realizes there will be an avalanche of attention once they hit the grass courts in Eastbourne and Wimbledon.

For her, the attention has been overwhelming, she admits. De Swardt has been constantly reminded of Navratilova’s status, 167 singles titles and 165 doubles titles. And, naturally, 19 Wimbledon crowns. Navratilova last played at Wimbledon in 1996 with Jonathan Stark in mixed doubles.

“They are saying, ‘How does it feel to play with a tennis legend?’ ” said De Swardt, who won the Australian Open mixed doubles in 1999. “And I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my God.’ And I never thought of it that way before. That’s where the difference is a little bit. I just looked at her as a friend and then a great tennis player. I know how unbelievable she is. But I’ve never been told that over and over again. We’ll get better as the matches go along.”

Navratilova understands.

“She should just think of me as a hitting partner,” Navratilova said. “In Paris, I think she’ll be more relaxed. I know the first time I played with Billie Jean [King], I was petrified, and I had won two Wimbledons.”

Years away from full-time tennis has given Navratilova the ability to pursue a long list of new activities--among them, snowboarding, woodworking and learning to fly. She is starting to play hockey and loves it, playing forward, of course.

Despite her charisma and leadership abilities, she has no plans, however, to become an elected official.

“It’s been brought to my attention by other people,” Navratilova said. “ ‘Why don’t you run for office?’ But who do you know who’s truthful out there? It doesn’t work for me. Activism, yes; politics, no. No one is truthful. People don’t want to hear the truth. . . .”

Her post-tennis life has given her a broader perspective, a new vista.

“Most of all, spending time, being aware of other people,” she said. “Being a better daughter, a better sister, a better friend, eventually a better girlfriend. I’m single right now. Just becoming a better person.

“Tennis is such a selfish existence. It has to be, at the top. I wasn’t really there for people, as a friend. It didn’t occur to me until later, you realize how small tennis is. It’s like a circus tour. Every city you go to, you are the big story that week.”

And now, with the Big Top moving from Madrid to Paris, Navratilova realizes that the tennis world is a great place to visit . . . even if she doesn’t live there anymore.

*

FRENCH OPEN

* When: Monday through June 11

* Finals: Women, June 10; Men, June 11

* TV: USA, Channel 4