Navratilova adds to grand slam tally at 46

Martina Navratilova never tires of making history. Yesterday, at the age of 46, she became the oldest ever winner of a grand slam title by taking the mixed doubles crown at the Australian Open with her Indian partner Leander Paes.

Navratilova and Paes, despite their combined age of 75, beat Eleni Daniilidou and Todd Woodbridge 6-4, 7-5, thereby filling a long-standing gap in Navratilova's resumé.

She has now won 57 grand slam titles, the last coming in 1995 when she won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Jonathan Stark, but until yesterday she had never taken the mixed trophy in Melbourne.

It was also the first time since her comeback from retirement in 1996 that she has come close to recapturing the form of her glory years. Her first few performances after returning to competitive play were characterised by missed volleys and dolly-drop serves as she struggled to adapt to the pace of modern tennis.

Now she is one grand slam title nearer Margaret Court's 62, having achieved something few thought possible when she returned to doubles two years ago.

"Well, I did," she said pointedly, "but I don't think too many of you guys did. I didn't think about winning when I first started playing. I just wanted to play. I thought about competing to see how good I could still play. I've been improving and I knew I was playing better tennis all the time but still there's a lot to overcome. You know, you need luck."

That good fortune came when she ran into Paes at last year's US Open while he was on his way to the referee's office. Knowing that the Indian - who has won 24 doubles titles in his own right - was looking for a partner she made him an offer he could not refuse.

"I couldn't get into the office because there was this lady blocking my way," he smiled. "Every time I moved left, she moved to my left and every time I moved right, she moved right, so I couldn't get past. She said 'you are playing mixed doubles with me at the Australian Open' and here we are."

They cruised through the draw without dropping a set and have committed to each other for the rest of the season, including Wimbledon, where Navratilova will aim to equal Billie Jean King's record of 20 titles in singles, doubles and mixed. They are an impressive team despite the fact that she won her first grand slam title in 1973, the year he was born.

"I think people put too much on age," she said." I certainly didn't think I would still be playing at this age, though. When I was growing up I wanted to be the youngest to win something, not the oldest."