Happy Birthday: Navratilova, Robbie Savage, Dante

Sport360 staff 09:50 18/10/2016
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  • (Clockwise): Robbie Savage, Dante and Martina Navratilova.

    Before Serena Williams, there was Martina Navratilova, who reigned over tennis during her time on the court.

    The Czech-American, who turns 60, is considered one of the very best to have ever picked up a tennis racquet.

    She was ranked as the no. 1 singles player at the end of the year seven times, including for a record five consecutive years.

    Navratilova won an impressive 18 grand slam singles titles – nine at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, three at the Australian Open and two at the French Open. It’s no wonder then that she holds the best season win-loss record for the open era at 86-1, while also being the only pro player to have won six majors without losing a set.

    Her domination also extended to doubles, where, with Pam Shriver, she won 109 consecutive matches and the Grand Slam in 1984.

    More sport star birthdays on this day:

    1939: Mike Ditka, American retired NFL player and coach in the Hall of Fame who also won two Super Bowls (77).

    1974: Robbie Savage, Welsh former footballer for Derby county and Leicester City (42).

    1983: Dante, Brazilian footballer for French club Nice who previously played for Bayern Munich (33).

    1985: Yoenis Cespedes, Cuban baseball player for the MLB’s New York Mets and two-time All-Star (31).

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