WTA: Navratilova:”Williams and Federer inspire each other.”

Ikone Martina Navratilova is convinced that Serena Williams will return to her former strength after her baby break:”No one should make the mistake of underestimating her,”said Navratilova about the 36-year-old who wants to make her comeback in the Fed Cup this weekend. Roger Federer also seems to have a share in Williams’ appetite for success.

Not only Navratilova looks forward to the USA’s duel against the Netherlands on Saturday and Sunday in Asheville/North Carolina with great interest. The main reason: Serena Williams wants to return to the competition stage for the first time since her triumph at the Australian Open 2017,”I guess she will be the same as she always was. Competitive, strong – and still hot for victory,”wrote Navratilova (61) in her exclusive column on the WTA homepage.

In order to support her prognosis, the born Prague native takes an interesting excursion to the men’s area. Roger Federer’s. Williams is a “young 36-year-old”. What Navratilova means:”For example, the US superstar has played far fewer games than Federer (36), who is almost the same age as him,” Roger has played almost 1400 singles, Serena only a little more than 900. This makes a big difference,”said Navratilova, an American-born singer by choice:”Her body is still young – and so is her psyche. “One of the reasons for this is that Serena didn’t have to play so many close matches and therefore didn’t have so much stress.”

For the 18-time Major winner, Federer has a special significance in the sporty life of the younger Williams sister. According to her theory, the Swiss Maestro is the driving force behind the exceptional wizard from West Palm Beach/Florida,”I’m sure Serena and Federer inspire each other. You make sure the other one plays better. There is an unspoken competition between them, because when you play for things like historical records, it’s easier as a couple. And they work as a kind of couple – and that’s kind of cool,”said Navratilova.

A new Serena is waiting for her, despite the birth of Williams’ daughter Alexis Olympia on the 1st day. She wants to reach the best mark for most Grand Slam titles and wants to be number one again. And Serena has never been one who accepted it if anything or anyone stood in her way,”wrote Navratilova. Williams currently has 23 major titles on his account – Australian Margaret Court 24th “I know the record books very well, unfortunately. It’s no secret that I have the 25 in my sights,”Williams recently said in an interview with Vogue, explaining her declaration of war.

In any case, the young mother did everything in the past few days to put the finishing touches on her comeback at the Fed Cup weekend. Williams took part in the so-called “Spartan”run. At this obstacle race, various stages are completed – the participants are allowed to crawl through mud and mud puddles. Serena also recently had fun with trampoline jumping. Doubts about a successful return? Not for a Rena inspired by Grandmaster Federer.