17.06.02
Martina
Navratilova - why I want children
Martina
Navratilova says she would like to become a mother but will have
to adopt children as she's too old to have her own.
The
45-year-old nine-times Wimbledon singles champion and proud lesbian
also tells the new Radio Times that she behaved as a "spoilt
brat" at her peak because she wasn't used to the sensation
of winning.
"The
time when I could have my own children has passed," she explains
to interviewer Andrew Duncan. "I could adopt a five-year-old,
a brother and a sister, or two sisters. There are too many kids
out there who want a home. It will happen when the time is right,
and I'll be a good, fun mother."
Of
her current partner, she adds: "I'm in the best relationship
I could be in, and let's leave it at that. She is the most amazing
human being, period, and I've known her a long time. I've said similar
things before, but I didn't really find the right person. This one
is for life, which is brilliant."
At
one stage, Navratilova won 74 consecutive tennis matches and as
recently as May, lifted the Spanish Open trophy with her doubles
partner Natasha Zvereva.
"I
know I'm an exception - you don't see any men of my age still competing,
let alone women. It may be stupid, but I have a good time and it
inspires me - perhaps others as well - to do better.
"Tennis
is a crazy game, with such a thin line between winning and losing.
When I was beating everyone, I got really upset because I wasn't
used to it. I tried to be a nice person, but I was a spoilt brat.
I could have behaved better. I was brusque. I still am, but I'm
nicer about it."
She
admits that she was "on a mission, with tunnel vision, and
I didn't know how to give up. You have to be absolutely selfish.
You work yourself into such a lather, and it's not necessary. I
could have used someone to tell me to shut the Β… up. Tennis
stunts your emotional growth, and you don't know who you are because
you're so focused."
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