I had a chance to talk with Martina Navratilova during the 19th Alta Bates Summit Foundation Celebrity Tennis Classic charity fundraiser on Oct. 2, which featured a tennis match between Navratilova and Gigi Fernandez. I called her in Paris and at first I thought, oops, maybe I caught her on a bad day.

“You’re late,” she said.

I was exactly one minute late – I forgot to dial the international code. So, I did what I always do – diffuse an awkward moment with some humor.

“I write for a publication called the Marina Times in San Francisco, and my editor told me that if I can get a good interview with you, maybe they can change the name to the ‘Martina’ Times.” (She laughed. Whew, I thought.)

I recently watched Unmatched, the ESPN 30-for-30 documentary about your lifelong friendship and rivalry with Chris Evert, and it’s a wonderful documentary. Can you think of a rivalry in professional sports that is anything even close to the one that existed for so many years between you and Chrissie?
I can’t think of one. Writers have mentioned Ali and Frazier, but they only fought against each other three times total. Ted Williams and DiMaggio, but they never really faced each other. Palmer and Nicklaus in golf, for instance? I can’t think of one close to what we went through, because we were No. 1 and No. 2 in the world and then we would switch, so there isn’t anything else like that, I think.

You had a trainer for a while who told you not to be so chummy with Evert, because she was the enemy, correct?
Yes, Nancy Lieberman was my trainer for a while and she was so competitive that she told me, “Chrissie has something you want and you just can’t be hanging out with her and being all buddy buddy.” And she was wrong about that, but in the end I learned that I did play differently against friends; I was nicer. It was like I didn’t mind losing against my friends. It was telling myself, “Hey, it was Chris who beat me—it’s not that bad.” I needed to get that killer instinct, but I think that Nancy Lieberman took it too far, and Chrissie and I were able to find a nice balance eventually.

You were on the reality show I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here and you lost to somebody named Joe Swash?
Well, I didn’t actually lose. I finished second out of 12 people. There are so many so-called celebrities out there due now to these reality shows. It’s kind of bizarre. Look at this flight attendant who slid out of a plane, now he’s getting his own show. Today, you can be famous just for being famous. It’s called “instant celebrity.” I get calls all the time to be on reality shows but I haven’t found one I want to do. Dancing with the Stars has been recruiting me, but I can’t do those high heels and I just don’t see myself dressed up like that. It’s just not me. The Apprentice would be fun, but they offered me such little money to be on it. I don’t need to be on TV that bad.

I also read somewhere that you’re a pescatarian, which means you only eat fish for your animal protein?
   I also eat some meat now, but only very little. I was a total vegetarian for seven years and then I discovered that my body was screaming for animal protein, so I started eating meat, but only as little as possible. Your body chemistry changes as you get older and I want to get back to the point of not eating meat again, but not right now. I eat primarily fish. I won’t eat lobster because I’ve seen them alive in the water, and I don’t want to kill them. They have to live so long to get to a decent size, and I just feel guilty about it.

What is your favorite Czech food?
Anything with mushrooms in them is my favorite, especially truffles. White truffles are coming into season right now and I love them.

Random Thoughts

Two Marina residents answered all the questions in last month’s Presidio Café Sports Trivia Quiz and won $25 in food and drink. They are Tim Pasio and Wendy Winchell – so congratulations! If anyone wants to see the answers, please e-mail me and I’ll send them to you.

The football Galileo Lions are now undefeated in their league and might be headed to the Turkey Bowl again this year. Standout running back Quincy Nelson has created some major buzz, especially with his incredible performance against Balboa. Nelson gained 359 yards on 30 carries and scored six touchdowns, finishing second in S.F. high school football history to David Henderson, a 2008 Lincoln graduate who gained 411 yards in a game in 2006. Nelson’s a legitimate star and he might just lead the Lions to another city title.

Ed Attanasio is an author who loves his wife, two dogs, and just about any sport that’s
on TV – except competitive sudoku. He would have been the Segovia of Scrabble,
but he couldn’t handle Qs. E-mail: [email protected]