Tennis: Martina..

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova is aiming to play singles once more after requesting wild-card entry into next week's Hastings Direct International in Eastbourne.

The 46-year-old nine-times Wimbledon champion, who made a singles comeback at the same event 12 months ago, wants to play singles to sharpen her doubles play ahead of Wimbledon, where she will be seeking to add to her amazing tally of 170 doubles titles.

Navratilova and Australia's Alicia Molik reached the second round of the doubles in the DFS Classic in Birmingham on Wednesday with a 2-6 6-4 6-4 victory over number four seeds Nathalie Dechy and Emilie Loit of France.

"I would have played singles here if I could have got here sooner," she said.

"But I had a broken tooth to get fixed in Paris and I couldn't leave until Saturday.

"I'm trying to get in (to Eastbourne) because it makes me play better for the doubles but it would be too much to play singles at Wimbledon."

Navratilova, wearing her trademark shorts and a baseball cap back to front, looked as fit as ever as she thrilled the centre-court crowd at Edgbaston with her agility and deft touches.

She admitted she was unlikely to play on until the age of 50 but has no plans to hang up a racket for a second time just yet.

"I feel I am hitting the ball as well as I was in the '80s," she said.

Well what can i say 46 years old and still has the hunger to play...:tum:

Martina Navratilova took another step nearer equalling Billie Jean King's record of 20 Wimbledon titles when she and Leander Paes beat South African Liezel Huber and the Czech Republic's Leos Friedl 7-5, 6-4 in the semi-final of the mixed doubles.

The 46-year-old, who played her 300th Wimbledon match on Friday when she went out of the women's doubles, now faces a mixed final with her Indian partner on Sunday evening evening against Israeli Andy Ram and Russian Anastassia Rodionova.

Unseeded Ram and Rodinov had to beat fourth seeds Todd Woodbridge and Svetlana Kuznetsova - Navratalova's women's doubles partner - earlier in the day.