Hall of Famer says Wimbledon cancellation stalls Serena's hunt for history.
Wimbledon's cancellation could be a road block in Serena Williams' hunt for history.

Martina Navratilova says she sympathizes with the 23-time Grand Slam champion, who is aiming to equal Margaret Court's all-time major record winning her 24th Grand Slam crown.

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Time is passing and missing Wimbledon, which cancelled for the first time in 75 years due to the coronavirus pandemic, is a major missed opportunity for the 38-year-old Williams and 38-year-old Roger Federer, Navratilova says.

The former world No. 1 believes Wimbledon's grass is the ideal launching pad for both Williams and Federer to win another major.

“Only war has stopped major tournaments happening, now we have this pandemic and for players like Roger Federer and, of course, Serena Williams, it’s time lost," Navratilova told Laureus.com in an interview. "Particularly Serena, Wimbledon being her best chance to break Margaret Court’s record.

"She’s stuck on 23 and tries to get to 24, maybe 25. It’s an opportunity lost, when you’re not getting any younger. If I was sitting in that position I’d be going nuts that I can’t play."

Navratilova says historic chases by iconic champions Serena, Federer and Nadal are impacted most by sport's shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and will need to adapt to achieve their aims.

“Everybody’s in the same boat, but for the old players like Roger and even Rafa Nadal and, particularly, Serena Williams, it’s more difficult, no doubt about it," Navratilova told Laureus.com. "I sympathize with them, because this is an enemy you can’t rehab, you can’t fight against, you just hope it will go away and we can play next year.

“Novak Djokovic is right behind Roger and Rafa chasing the major titles, but I think the one that’s most affected would be Roger Federer because he’s the eldest by quite a bit. But you have to deal with it. As Billie Jean King said ‘champions adjust’.”

Latvia's Sevastova became the first player to ever defeat Serena Williams in a Fed Cup singles rubber in March.Anastasia Sevastova, Sania Mirza, Fernanda Contreras Gomez and Anett Kontaveit have earned Fed Cup Heart Awards for 2020. Over 17,000 fans took part in the voting, which began on April 30.

Sevastova takes the honors for the “Qualifiers” group, and earns a $3,000 cheque for her efforts, which she will donate to Latvian food bank charity Paedusai Latvijai.

Sevastova, who became the first player to defeat Serena Williams in a Fed Cup singles rubber in February, is tied for the all-time lead in Fed Cup singles wins in Latvia’s history. She edged out Carla Suarez Navarro, Leylah Annie Fernandez and Aliaksandra Sasnovich for the award.

🇱🇻 Anastasija Sevastova
🇪🇪 Anett Kontaveit
🇮🇳 Sania Mirza
🇲🇽 Fernanda Contreras Gomez

Congratulations to YOUR #FedCup Heart Award winners…

— Fed Cup (@FedCup) May 11, 2020

Mirza, who made her first Fed Cup appearance since 2016 in Dubai in March, takes the award for the “Asia/Oceana 1” Group. She went 3-0 in doubles and helped India book a spot in the Fed Cup Playoffs with her 18-month-old son Izhaan watching on.

22-year-old Fernanda Contreras Gomez guided Mexico to the playoffs as well. She edged Veronica Cepede Royg in the voting for Americas 1 Group.

Anett Kontaveit improved her current Fed Cup singles winning streak to seven, which included a three-set win over Elina Svitolina in Tallinn, Estonia.

Kontaveit's donation will go to Varjupaikade MTU, a charity running and working with animal shelters across Estonia.

Dijana Djokovic calls Roger Federer "a little arrogant."
Divine intervention helped Novak Djokovic save two championship points in the 2019 Wimbledon final, the Serbian superstar's mom says.

A defiant Djokovic denied two championship points in the final set fighting off rival Roger Federer, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3) to successfully defend his Wimbledon title in The Championships' longest final—and first men’s major final decided in a fifth-set tie breaker.

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In an interview with Blic, Dijana Djokovic said "God saved" her son in that epic final—and she branded Federer "a little arrogant."

"The match against Roger at Wimbledon was the most difficult last year," Dijana Djokovic said. "At the stadium, everyone applauded him and we were just a handful of Novak fans. It bothered me because Roger is a little arrogant.

"When he had those two points of broken with his serve, I grabbed my cross, an amulet that I use and that saves me in difficult times… Then I said to myself, 'Nole, you can do it. You've done it many times, you can do it again,' and he did it.

"God saved him. Novak believes in him too. He feels chosen by God. He carries a cross that it brings you peace and happiness."

An electrifying final spanned four hours, 57-minutes popping with audacious shot-making, intense pressure, momentum shifts, missed opportunities and insanely gripping drama culminating in the two hour, two-minute final set.

Djokovic collected his eighth Australian Open crown and 17th major title in January.

The world No. 1 is third on the all-time list between 20-time Grand Slam king Roger Federer and 19-time major champion Nadal, but will eventually be second to none says Novak's father, Srdjan Djokovic.

"His wish is that by the end of his tennis career, which will last several more years, he will surpass the records of Nadal and Federer," Srdjan Djokovic said in an interview last year.

"He is simply too ambitious and too good not to do that," said Srdjan Djokovic of his son. "If he hadn't sustained that (elbow) injury, we would be a step away from that goal. This way, he is just two steps away. And trust me: he will succeed."

Photo credit: Getty