Martina Bids Farewell as Black and Stubbs Advance to Doubles Final

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova may have played her final Acura Classic match at the La Costa Resort and Spa after she teamed with Lisa Raymond in a 7-5, 7-6 (4) loss to second-seeded Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs in a doubles semifinal match on Stadium Court.

Navratilova, who has won 167 career singles titles and 174 career doubles titles, has said this will be her last year on the WTA Tour.

After losing a tight first set, Navratilova and Raymond, who were seeded number four, fell behind 5-3 in the second set. With the crowd cheering them on every point, they broke Stubbs and then Raymond held to tie the set at 5-5.

Black and Stubbs took a 6-5 lead as Black held serve.

Navratilova served to stay in the match and send the set into a tiebreaker. When her and Raymond reached game point, she hit a perfectly placed 97-mph ace to tie the set at 6-6.

Despite Navratilova’s overhead smash for a winner during the tiebreaker, she and Raymond lost the match when Raymond’s half volley fell wide on match point.

• Black and Stubbs are the 2004 Wimbledon champions.
• Black and Stubbs will play the winner of the second semifinal match between Ruano-Pascual / Suarez and Likhovtseva / Zvonareva.
• Stubbs has won 45 career WTA Tour doubles titles.
• Black won the 2004 mixed doubles title at Wimbledon with her brother Wayne.
• Navratilova and Raymond are scheduled to represent the United States in the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in August.
• Navratilova and Raymond defeated Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and South Africa’s Liezel Huber, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4, in the quarterfinals.
• In their first-round match, Navratilova and Raymond defeated the Argentine duo of Gisela Dulko and Patricia Tarabini, 6-3, 6-4.
• Navratilova and Raymond have combined for a 27-12 record in doubles this year.
• In May, Navratilova and Raymond won the doubles title at the WTA Tour event in Vienna, Austria. They defeated Black and Stubbs in the final.

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