Marion's rebuttal to Martina Navratilova.
www.observer.com/2007/bartoli-navratilova-enough-already
Question and Answer session with Marion.
www.tennisnews.com/exclusive.php?pID=21809
MY COMMENT
If Marion had defeated Justine in the 2nd or 3rd round, and was knocked out in the following round.. then ok, i'd be prepared to accept that people have grounds for calling Marion's Wimbledon a fluke, like when Craybas knocked out Serena.
However, winning 6 out of 7 matches can't be explained away as a fluke. There wasnt a bad player among those she defeated. Even Flavia Penetta whom she defeated in 1st round, has been to the 3rd and 4th round of Wimbledon a few times.
The 'experts' should concede they got it wrong. Spare their own blushes by being more economical with their tongues. If Martina or anyone else dont have anything kind or positive to say then why say anything at all?
And here we are post-Wimbledon, still the disrespectful, unfair, and pejorative remarks abound.. Such as those made by messrs Navratilova, Austin, Barker, and McEnroe... Yes, the WTA legal firm! The enforcers of tennis orthodoxy!
Marion is a very misunderstood player. But the results speak for themselves. Her ranking has improved every year since turning professional aged 16. If the experts dont get what Marion's about then they should at least get with the results.
EDITED 10/14/07
navratilova has always angered me with her know-it-all attitude. so much so, that I pay no attention anymore. good for marion to defend herself. to be honest she and her father are the only ones who know her game and what she's truely capable of. them, as well as a few loyal fans who've followed her ever since the junior days. not only was navratilova's words hurtful to marion, they were also incorrect; it was very rude to implie that marion had next to no movement and that wimbledon was a 'lucky' result. i've noticed that over the years marion's game changes A LOT! i'm not just talkin' about the service action, but the whole array. i also think her fitness comes and goes, as it can do. i don't think she's fat, but, you can't lie that she's a lot bigger than '04 and '05(when she used to move a whole lot better). even back in '03 she carried quite a lot of 'puppy fat', but then she lost that and kept it off. that was until '06, when her father suggested she put on weight to add extra velocity to her groundstrokes. but, it seems to have helped(somehow). she won the title in auckland and backed it up in the fall with the titles in tokyo and in quebec, which pushed her into the top20 for the first time. i agree that walter's training techniques are very strange at times, but he's doin' somethin' right! right now, she's in the top10 and fighting for a place in madrid. i still can't get over how martina navratilova, supposedly the greatest player in the game could be so stupid with her remarks. you'd think she'd know what she was talkin' about, but(as marion says), in this case she clearly doesn't. martina navratilova should shut her mouth for once in her life