UNFORGETTABLE
Jana Novotna died tragically young at 49, but the memory of her being comforted by Royalty 25 years ago remains...
Jana novotna spent much of her tragically shortened life travelling around the world, playing tennis tournaments and often winning them, exactly 100 in all.
In her last few years, however, she returned close to her roots, just outside the southern Czech city of Brno, to a village called omice in a house she lovingly refurbished.
Situated on the ridge of a hill, omice seems an unremarkable place, with a handful of shops and a solitary bar. that is until you see the breathtaking views the place affords across the Moravian countryside.
novotna lived here, enjoying the vistas before she was sadly taken by cancer last november at the age of 49.
She did not survive to mark this year’s 25th anniversary of her famous defeat by Steffi Graf in the Wimbledon final, nor the 20th year since she pulled off one of the great redemption acts, managing to win the title she cherished the most, at the third time of asking.
Few players are more fondly remembered, and that is partly connected to her being one half of what is among the most iconic images in Wimbledon history.
In the aftermath of her defeat by Graf, from leading 4-1 and 40-15 in the final set, she wept on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent, who famously offered the comforting words that one day she would triumph.
Disregarding royal and Wimbledon protocols, this simple act of humanity struck a chord around the world.
Five years later there was to be a happy ending for novotna when she beat France’s nathalie tauziat to claim the Grand Slam singles title that seemed destined to elude her.
In May her achievements were honoured at a moving ceremony held prior to the final of the women’s Prague open. Before a packed stadium and amid many tears, Martina navratilova presented novotna’s parents with a ring to commemorate their daughter’s election to the tennis Hall of Fame.
as Graf agrees, it is important to remember that this recognition stems from novotna being a winner, not a loser. In a rare interview, the German legend told Sportsmail: ‘Jana was dangerous because she had great hands at the net, but she could play from the back as well. In that specific match she was coming in on everything.
‘She played incredibly well in the second set. I was always having to come up with a great passing shot to beat her at the net.
‘as the third went on she was giving me some chances on her second serve and I started coming into the net a lot more, much more than I usually would. that wasn’t my style but I knew I had to do something.’
at the presentation ceremony Graf looked on from a few yards away as the tears fell on the Duchess’s shoulder.
‘absolutely I felt sadness for her, partly because I knew her better than a lot of the other players. We had come up together and were almost the same age. She was a sweet person and a very fair competitor, so it was impossible for me not to feel emotion for her.
‘I remember standing there feeling that this was her moment and that was only right. I wanted her to have that moment and I didn’t mind waiting for longer than usual to get the trophy.’
When novotna won five years later, Graf set aside her own disappointment of losing in the third round in that tournament.
‘I felt so happy for her. She deserved to win as she should have won against me, and probably in 1997 as well, so I felt great pleasure on her behalf.’
‘We saw each other occasionally but never talked about that final. When you see former players you don’t talk about specific matches, perhaps more about the lives we lived then and the lives we live now. the intensity of how it used to be, how it was all a bit crazy, and how things become more normal n afterwards.’
Looking on that day in 1993 was Phil P de Picciotto, the american who w managed novotna’s career. He also happened to be (and remains) Graf’s manager.
He recalls the trophy presentations: t ‘It was one of the most humanising moments you could ever see in sport. there’s a time and place for protocol and tradition, but sometimes it is overridden d by something spontaneous.’
that evening he was one of two people to dine with novotna, the other being her coach, Hana Mandlikova. ‘It was in central London, and as always she was very balanced,’ he recalls.
‘I would like to think she was very proud of what she had accomplished but clearly it was tinged with the regret of the opportunity that had just slipped through her fingers.
‘But there was no doubt in my mind that evening that she remained passionate about winning Wimbledon, and was determined to put it right.
‘Within a few days she was back on court. She was a glass-half-full person. the loss affected her profoundly, and some people can let emotions distract them but that wasn’t the case with her.’
In 1997 novotna was back in the final against Martina Hingis. It was another agonising three-set loss, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. But she kept going, and was to win the yearend tour championships.
Her biggest challenge at Wimbledon the following year was the semi-final against Hingis, but novotna was to play one of the matches of her life and win in straight sets. that put her in the position of being favoured to beat surprise French finalist tauziat.
Holding her nerve this time, she took the first set 6-4 and then when it went to a tiebreak in the next set she got ahead early and clinched it 7-2.
this time the Duchess was able to congratulate the player she had consoled five years earlier. Her words from 1993 — ‘I know you will win it one day, don’t worry’ — proved prophetic.
‘at the champions’ dinner she looked so at peace holding the Wimbledon plate. Everyone there felt that this was one of the really nice outcomes. She had this way of sitting back in her chair and just beaming, that’s what I remember most.’
the victory seemed to sate the competitive fires in novotna, and later the following year she retired, having just turned 31.
thereafter she coached several players, commentated for the BBC at Wimbledon and was also a regular playing in the senior invitational events at SW19.
at first she lived mostly in Florida, although had an apartment in Paris where, among other things, she acted as a support for navratilova when she was treated for breast cancer.
In 2010 she decided to move back to omice. It was in 2016 that she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of ovarian cancer.
novotna had all her treatment in the Czech Republic and was living at her home with her parents at the end.
there was profound shock and sadness in the tennis world when it was announced that she had died on november 19 last year.
after the Hall of Fame ceremony in May, her mother Libuse talked briefly to local outlet vIP Sport about her feelings 20 years ago when, seated on the Centre Court, she finally watched her daughter win Wimbledon.
‘For a moment I didn’t feel anything — I felt absolute calmness inside me, despite the people cheering all round me,’ she said. ‘Everyone wished her to succeed and there was a sense of peace. We mostly reminiscence on this in silence.’
‘Don’t worry, you’ll win it one day’, said the Duchess She looked so at peace when she finally won Wimbledon