"You feel the crowd, you don't really see them" - Martina Navratilova details the aura of playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon

Known as one of the greatest players of all time, Martina Navratilova has experienced success on every surface in tennis. The Czech-American has an incredible nine Wimbledon singles titles to her name, and reflected on the aura present when competing on the esteemed Centre Court.

Navratilova finished her career with 167 WTA singles titles, an Open Era record. Among them were 18 Grand Slam singles titles, nine of which were won at Wimbledon. Additionally, she held the World No.1 ranking in both singles and doubles.

Having won the title on several occasions, Navratilova should be used to performing her craft on Centre Court. However, the 68-year old admitted to being flustered each time she was on the grandest stage, as it was an out of body experience.

"Centre Court at Wimbledon is special for many reasons, not the least of which is certainly the history," said Navratilova. "Anybody that was anybody in tennis played there.
"It's such a peaceful court, you see the ball really well. Yu just never fell as much on stage as you do on that court.
"You feel the crowd, you don't really see them. You see the immediate surroundings around the court but you don't really see the people up in the rafters. It's intimate yet it's big at the same time, it's just a stage. You feel like you're doing Hamlet."

Navratilova would retire in 2006, after winning her last Major title, the US Open mixed doubles crown, shortly before her 50th birthday.