FRESH from the mixed doubles final of the French Open, sporting legend Martina Navratilova arrived in Liverpool last night to take part in the city's biggest tennis event.
The former Wimbledon champion is one of the star attractions at this year's Liverbird Developments Liverpool International Tennis Tournament, along with famous names such as Pat Cash and Ilie Nastase.
She was met with a bunch of flowers at Manchester Airport last night by talented young tennis player Chloe Murphy, 11, who plays at the Wavertree Tennis Centre, and is ranked among the top five UK under-12 tennis players.
It is hoped Chloe will be able to have a practice session with the world's greatest ever female player during the tournament.
During her visit to Liverpool, Martina will be going to Anfield today along with fellow competitor Ivan Ljubicic to admire the European Cup.
She will play twice during the Calderstones Park tournament.
Organiser Anders Borg, of Northern Vision, said: "What Martina is doing at 47 is unbelievable.
"She is such a fantastic ambassador for the sport and is still returning 150mph serves. It was a great chance for Chloe to meet her idol, and hopefully for Martina to give her a little warm-up on the centre court before her match.
"Our philosophy is to take tennis out of a snobbish environment in closed clubs and bring it out to the public, and what better place than Calderstones Park with its 36 grass courts?
"It's a beautiful location and the perfect venue. The alternative is to travel to London for Wimbledon, where you can easily add a zero to the ticket prices we are charging."
This year's tournament is proving the most popular ever, with three times as many tickets sold as last year, and the final promising to be a sell-out.
