Editor's Note: Martina Navratilova and ESPN tennis analyst Pam Shriver teamed to win a record-tying 20 Grand Slam doubles titles, including five Wimbledon championships, from 1980 to 1989.

	Martina was golden in 1990, when she won her ninth Wimbledon title.

I have seen and spoken to Martina Navratilova a few times this year and knew as early as January that she was thinking of returning to the tour as a doubles player. It's great to see her back on the court.

Of the current singles players on tour, no one's game compares to Martina's. Although Venus and Serena Willams are similar to Martina in terms of their power and movement at net, they don't seem to have the natural instinct to play the net as Martina did.

Martina won hundreds of singles and doubles titles during her career before retiring in 1994. And although she is best known for her singles play, it seemed there were fewer weaknesses in her doubles game.

As a singles player, Martina's strategy was to serve and volley and get to the net. In doubles, where you must get to the net to survive, it was more of the same, which is why she and I thrived as a doubles team for 10 years. We were natural serve-and-volley players.

But there was much more to Martina's doubles game, and everything she did made her an awesome doubles player. Her reach, court coverage and power made her intimidating. And she was always working toward getting to the net. Even when we were returning serve, she was always trying to get the edge over the opponent.

When Martina got to the net, she covered more court than anyone. And most important, she was comfortable at net. When a player is comfortable, she will move better. Martina also was difficult to hit over or around, and I never had to worry about the middle of the court because I knew she had it covered.

		DOUBLES PLAY It was surprising that Wimbledon didn't seed Martina Navratilova and Mariann de Swardt either 15th or 16th in doubles competition. Although computer rankings determine the seedings, Wimbledon officials should have made an exception with these two. Martina and de Swardt haven't advanced past the third round in their past three tournaments, losing in the second round in Madrid, the third round of the French Open and the first round of last week's grass-court tournament in Eastbourne, their Wimbledon tune-up. Despite the loss at Eastbourne, Navratilova and de Swardt should be better on grass than they were at the French Open, where they won two matches and took Nathalie Tauziat and Alexandra Fusai three sets before falling. de Swardt has a good game for grass and a huge serve. Plus, she played in last year's Wimbledon doubles final with Elena Tatarkova, losing to Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu. Navratilova and de Swardt have an extremely tough draw at the All England Club. The winner will definitely come from their half of the bracket. After starting off with Lubomira Bacheva and Amanda Hopmans in the first round, they would play Kimberly Po and Anne-Gaelle Sidot, the 13th seed, in the second round. Davenport and Morariu are a potential third-round matchup. If Navratilova and de Swardt were to upset the defending champions, next up could be a quarterfinal match against Venus and Serena Williams, and perhaps Martina Hingis and Mary Pierce in the semifinals. That's a heavy duty half of the draw, but Navratilova's presence, even at age 43, makes that part of the bracket even more difficult. No one will want to play Navratilova and de Swardt on grass. If de Swardt steps up to Martina's level, I expect them to fare well.

From the beginning, Martina was a gifted athlete who worked herself into great condition. But even when she was a little bit heavy, she covered the court better than an average player, past or present. Her feet and hands were extremely quick. And while I had slow feet and quick hands, both of us had excellent reflexes, so we worked well together.

Her serve was pretty good, but in doubles she took a little bit of pace off it. Being left-handed was a bit tricky and unusual for our opponents, who had to adjust to her lefty serve. Her left-handed forehand, going back to the ad side of the court, was the dominant shot from the back of the court on our team.

Martina also hit consistent, intelligent returns that were low, which is good for doubles. She could hit down the alley or go crosscourt. Martina also had enough power to hit winners down the middle when she got stuck back near the baseline. She would take a high forehand volley and hit the ball so hard that I remember some opponents turned away and screamed, intimidated by her display of power.

Martina's doubles vision
Some players focus on singles competition and tend to not put as much heart or effort into doubles play, but Martina was intense whether playing singles or doubles.

Martina enjoyed playing doubles and winning the doubles titles, and appreciated the practice that doubles competition gave her for singles. But in the 10 years we played together, we probably practiced four times.

Still, her intensity during the match was incredible. And only once, after a long, tough singles final at the Australian Open, was she a bit off for the doubles final.

Martina and I became a doubles team in October 1980. She called me on the phone while I was in Florida playing a tournament. It didn't take me long to say yes. After managing just three wins in 40 singles matches against her, it was nice being on the same side of the court in doubles.

We lost in the finals of our first tournament. But by the time we played our first major together, we had really gelled as a doubles team. In 1981, we won Wimbledon, beating the defending champions, Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith, in the final.

For me, that was our most memorable victory together because it was my first Grand Slam title. Martina had already won several major singles and doubles titles, including five at Wimbledon. But at that point, I felt we were set as a team and had the chemistry to continue winning tournaments for quite a while.

By 1983, our third year together, we were on a roll. That's when we began our record 109-match win streak, which spanned from April 1983 to July 1985 and included eight Grand Slam doubles victories.

No other doubles team has ever come close to that number, but it was a combination of skill -- as well as good fortune -- that made it possible. Even when you are good, like Martina and I were, you need to have things go your way to keep winning for two years. We dug out every close match, never let down our guards and never got injured. There was always the possibility that one of us would turn an ankle, but that never happened. Plus, we were better than any other doubles team.

And even after the streak ended in 1985 at Wimbledon, when we lost to Jordan and Elizabeth Smylie even though we had been up a break in the third set, we regrouped to win more than 40 consecutive matches.

Our doubles victory at the 1989 Australian Open tied Margaret Osborne duPont and Louise Brough for the most Grand Slam doubles titles with 20. I think we should have gone for more, but Martina dropped me as her partner after we lost at Wimbledon in 1989.

At the U.S. Open that year, Mary Joe Fernandez and I formed a doubles partnership at the last minute and got all the way to the finals, where we lost to Martina and Mandlikova in three sets. The doubles breakup strained our relationship for a few months, but we got over it. It's easy to forgive someone who helped you to 20 Grand Slam titles.

Of my career highlights, winning the 1988 Olympic doubles gold medal with Zina Garrison in Seoul was big. Others were beating Martina in 1978 to reach the U.S. Open singles final, and beating Steffi Graf at Madison Square Garden in 1988, the year she won the Grand Slam and the Olympic gold medal in singles. But I will always be best known for the doubles championships with Martina.