Radwanska looks for edge from Navratilova in grand slams
By Mark Lamport-Stokes
INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) - "So far, so good" for Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, who three months ago hired tennis great Martina Navratilova as a coaching consultant as she strives to win her first grand slam singles title.
Radwanska, 26, has reached one grand slam final, having lost in three sets to Serena Williams in the championship match at Wimbledon in 2012.
She has since advanced to the last eight at the French Open, in 2013, and the Australian Open semi-finals in 2014, and believes the wealth of experience accumulated by Navratilova can help her go all the way in the sport's blue riband events.
"Winning a grand slam, this is of course the biggest goal for me," seventh-seeded Radwanska told reporters after brushing aside American Alison Riske 6-3 6-1 in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday.
"We are especially gonna work on that, trying to win seven matches in a row (at a grand slam). I have the highest expectations, especially since I've been in a few (WTA) finals. I've won already a couple of tournaments, a couple of big ones.
"Martina was so long on the tour that she can really talk about everything. Her huge experience is the biggest thing for me."
Radwanska is delighted that she can talk about the good and the bad very easily with Navratilova, who is an 18-times grand slam singles champion.
"We can just talk about everything, on and off the court, and we are already working on a couple of things on the court," said Radwanska, who became the first Polish player to win a WTA singles title in 2007 and has since gone on to add 13 more.
"She's telling me stories all the time. We talk about the good and the bad side, even from my wins. In tennis you can improve all the time. It doesn't matter if you're 16 or 26, you can still work on things just to try to be better and better.
"So far, so good. I'm very happy with that, Martina's coaching," said Radwanska, who has produced mixed form so far this season, reaching her first WTA quarter-final last month in Doha where she lost to Venus Williams in three sets.
(Editing by Gene Cherry)
