Tennis Forum banner

1992

51K views 720 replies 14 participants last post by  Mark43 
#1 · (Edited)
Lets drift back in time to 1992.

Some of the #1 chart topping songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRcimo3BEhA

The tennis world was ruled once again by Monica Seles, who by year's end had repeated a near stranglehold on the women's tour by taking 3 out 4 slam titles.



need to edit....
 
#610 ·
NAVRATILOVA OF OLD ROUTS LISTLESS SELES
Press-Telegram
Long Beach, CA
Monday, August 17, 1992
Lisa Nehus Saxon

She's been asked time and again why she keeps playing tennis, why she keeps putting her soon-to-be 36-year-old body through those rigorous workouts, why she insists on competing with women who often are barely half her age.

Martina Navratilova says she just isn't ready to call it quits. And Sunday she needed a little less than an hour to explain why.

She defeated top-ranked Monica Seles, 6-4, 6-2, in 58 minutes in the final of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles at Manhattan Country Club.

The victory, her 160th singles title, allowed Navratilova to move past Gabriela Sabatini and into the No.3 spot in the world rankings, behind Seles and Steffi Graf. The $70,000 in prize money pushed Navratilova's career earnings over the $18 million mark.

"Why shouldn't I still be playing if I can still do this?'' asked Navratilova, who will celebrate her 36th birthday in October. "Even if it's once a year. And it's more than once a year.

"But if it's just once a year, it's worth it. It's like a relationship. If the negatives start to outweigh the positives, it's time to get out.''

Navratilova, who has won this event seven times, has won three of the seven tournaments she has entered this year. She lost in the final in another tournament and last month lost to Seles in three sets at Wimbledon.

"I told myself before the match if I would have been playing like this, I would have beaten her at Wimbledon,'' said Navratilova, who has won 22 of 26 matches this year. "I was that much sharper.''

And Seles was, well, not exactly herself. As was the case Saturday during her semifinal victory over Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Seles had difficulty returning serve and nailing winners at the baseline.

"I just couldn't find myself on the court,'' Seles said after suffering her fourth loss in 51 matches. "I was mis-hitting so many balls ... I surprised myself.''

But it was Navratilova who may have surprised Seles.

Navratilova was serving well, getting to the net quickly and making things tough for Seles.

Seles got an idea it was going to be one of those days early on. Navratilova broke Seles' serve in the first game of the match and never had to fend off a break point en route to winning the first set, 6-4.

After Seles held serve to open the second set, Navratilova won the next five games.

"It was one of those days whatever I was trying to do it wasn't going too well,'' Seles said. "And she definitely never let me into the match.''

Navratilova made only two unforced errors, and Seles found returning her serve particularly
frustrating - and sometimes futile. Seles was able to keep just 53 percent of her returns in play.

When asked to recall the last time she'd played this well, Navratilova said, "I can't remember.''

Isn't the mind the first thing to go?

"It's great to be on the court and measure up,'' Navratilova said.

She added: "Oh, God! I beat the No. 1 player in the world. That just hit me.''

Navratilova says she's in great shape, is mentally tough and is very much looking forward to the U.S. Open, which begins in two weeks.

"Pretty nice,'' Navratilova said when asked about her chances to win the year's final Grand Slam tournament.
 
#611 ·
Martina steamrolls past Seles
USA TODAY
Monday, August 17, 1992

Martina Navratilova served notice that she's ready for the U.S. Open by defeating No. 1 Monica Seles 6-4, 6-2 Sunday to win the $350,000 Virginia Slims of Los Angeles.

Navratilova, 35, needed less than an hour to hand Seles, 18, her second humbling defeat in slightly more than a month. She lost 6-2, 6-1 to Germany's Steffi Graf in the Wimbledon final July 4. The U.S. Open begins in two weeks.

"I played within myself,'' Navratilova said after ensuring a rise from No. 4 to No. 3 in the computer rankings with her 160th career title.

"Where I was really good today was playing each point and not looking ahead. I was staying in the moment.''

Said Seles, who still holds a 7-6 career edge: "I didn't have a chance in the match at all.''

- Also Sunday: Pete Sampras held off a determined challenge by Ivan Lendl to win the $1.4 million Thriftway ATP Championship at Mason, Ohio, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
 
#612 ·
Navratilova retires notions of demise - She beats No. 1 Seles in Slims of LA final
The Orange County Register
Monday, August 17, 1992
Janis Carr

As with Mark Twain, reports of Martina Navratilova's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

And as with Twain, Navratilova continues to dispel rumors that her life in tennis is over.

Two months shy of her 36th birthday, Navratilova proved her career is very much alive with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over tennis' latest teen-age prodigy, Monica Seles, in Sunday's final of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles.

"It's great to be on the court and measure up," Navratilova said. "This is a great confidence booster."

By most accounts, Navratilova should be hitting the rocking chair instead of big serves. At the very least, she should be picking out her retirement home.

But as she proved Sunday, Navratilova isn't ready for Social Security. Her triumph over Seles, 18, was her second over the world's top-ranked player in nine months, her 160th career title and third this year.

The straight-set victory also was the most lopsided match in the Navratilova-Seles rivalry since Seles trounced her, 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, in last year's US Open final.

"Why shouldn't I be playing," Navratilova snapped. "Even if it (winning) is once a year, it's worth it and it's more than once."

And it was worth it. The $70,000 winner's check put Navratilova over the $18 million mark in career earnings and pushed her from No. 4 to No. 3 in the rankings, displacing Gabriela Sabatini.

"I just beat the No. 1 player," she said, slapping herself in astonishment. "I didn't realize it until now.

"I was playing Monica, not the No. 1 player."

The player on the opposite side of the net might have looked like Monica, but she didn't play like Monica, the world's reigning No. 1. Instead of her usual potency from the baseline, Seles committed 22 unforced errors and didn't come close to breaking Navratilova's serve.

"I would never have believed that there would only be one break in the first set," Navratilova said, "and never face a break point in the whole match. If you had told me that before the match, I would have said you're nuts."

Seles said she suffered a slightly sprained left ankle in her semifinal match against Arantxa
Sanchez Vicario, but she refused to blame the injury for her lackluster performance. She said she plans to have a bone scan today but doesn't think it will jeopardize her participation in the US Open.

Instead, Seles pinned her loss on her inability to return serve and on inaccurate ground strokes.

"I didn't have a chance in the match," said Seles, who only grunted a few times early in match. "I was struggling with her returns the whole match."

Said Navratilova: "There is such a fine line when she is hitting perfect, so any little thing can affect her."

This marks Seles' second consecutive loss in a final, but she declined to call it a slump. She fell to Steffi Graf in straight sets at Wimbledon.

"Martina played better than I did, definitely passing better," she said.

Navratilova started the match by breaking Seles in the opening game, and held on for a 6-4 first-set victory. She closed out the set with a big serve that landed at Seles' feet.

The second set was easier as Seles continued to be foiled by Navratilova's serve.

"I was a little too cautious with my movement today," Seles said. "I couldn't find myself on the court today, I was mis-hitting so many balls, making so many mistakes."

Perhaps Seles' biggest mistake was thinking Navratilova was over the hill.

So now Navratilova has won a ton of titles, a truckload of money and nine Wimbledon titles. What's left?

"Next week," she said. "That's what is nice about being a tennis player. It's not like tournaments come once every four years or like a writer who by the time he comes out with a novel is already working on the seocnd.

"Tennis is immediate gratification and that's wonderful."

In the doubles final, top-seeded Helena Sukova and Sanchez Vicario beat second-seeded Pam Shriver and Zina Garrison, 6-4, 6-2.
 
#613 ·
NAVRATILOVA BEATS SELES IN LA SLIMS TOURNAMENT
The Wichita Eagle
Monday, August 17, 1992
Associated Press

With the U.S. Open just two weeks away, Martina Navratilova has momentum on her side. Monica Seles is trying to find some.

Navratilova played her best tennis in months, routing the world's top- ranked player 6-4, 6-2 Sunday to win the $350,000 Virginia Slims of Los Angeles.

Playing against a woman almost half her age, Navratilova, 35, used a big serve to rout the 18-year-old Seles in just 58 minutes at the Manhattan Country Club. It was the second blistering defeat for Seles in less than two months; she was routed 6-2, 6-1 by Steffi Graf in Wimbledon in early July.

The win was surprisingly easy for Navratilova, who lost just 11 points on her serve and never faced a break point. She set the tone for the match when she broke Seles' serve in the opening game.

"I never would have believed there would only be one break in that first set and that I was never going to face a break point the entire match," she said. "If you would have told me that ahead of time, I would have told you you were nuts."

The victory was worth $70,000, pushed Navratilova's career winnings over $18 million and
moved her past Gabriela Sabatini into third place in the world rankings.

Seles, the top seed, looked flat throughout, committing 22 errors to 10 for the second-seeded Navratilova. Seles couldn't handle her opponent's serves, and her usually reliable forehand kept sailing long.

Navratilova went up two breaks in the second set with a series of blistering forehands while Seles dumped hers into the net. Navratilova held serve in the next game to put the match away.

"I had trouble with my ground strokes and returning," Seles said. "The whole week my returns weren't there, and today against Martina I could not get away with it. I was just missing balls that usually I don't miss. It was one of those days. She didn't let me into the match."

She said she was slowed by a bone strain in her left ankle but refused to blame the injury for the loss. She says she knows what's wrong with her game, and it's not that she isn't grunting as much.

Since winning six of the first eight tournaments she played this year, including the Australian and French Opens, Seles has skidded. She will play in the Canadian Open in her final tune-up before defending her U.S. Open title.

"It's not a slump. I don't want to call it that," she said. "I have to work stronger. I'm going to have to play every tournament at full speed. I tell myself, 'You've got two weeks to prepare (for the Open), and that's your main goal.' "

Seles hasn't won a tournament since the flap over her grunting at Wimbledon. She was mostly gruntless against Navratilova, who has been one of the chief complainers about Seles' tendency to grunt when she hits the ball.

"It was great," Navratilova said of the silent Seles. "You didn't have to think about it, which was nice."

Elsewhere - ATP Championship Pete Sampras held off a determined challenge by the revitalized Ivan Lendl to win the $1.4 million ATP Championship 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in Mason, Ohio.

Sampras pocketed $187,500 for the win, his third this year. Lendl, who lost his second consecutive finals match, got $98,600.

It was a frustrating loss for Lendl, whose play had improved every day of the tournament.
 
#614 ·
Monica mute in loss to Martina
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Monday, August 17, 1992
JERRY MAGEE

Monica Seles preferring to stand mute, Martina Navratilova had to make her own noise yesterday, and she did.

She handled Seles 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles tennis tournament with a dispatch that marked Navratilova, 35, as a factor in the approaching U.S. Open.

There is more noise in some libraries than there was at the Manhattan Country Club, where 6,420 watched Navratilova win this event for a seventh time and extend her tournament victory total to 160.

Not a sound was heard to escape Seles, not even a whisper. After being severely criticized during the Wimbledon championships for her grunting --Navratilova offered one of these critiques -- Seles said she vowed complete silence.

Seles, sorely out of touch yesterday, would not relate her poor play to remaining mute.

"I just think I had trouble with my ground strokes, my returns," Seles said. "The whole week, I had been having trouble with my returning. It was like against Steffi (Graf) at Wimbledon; I just couldn't return. I was like mishitting 10 balls, and usually I don't miss one."

Navratilova said she didn't become aware of how quietly Seles was performing until midway through the first set.

"I thought about it for about two seconds," Navratilova said, "and then I didn't think about it again."

Navratilova clearly was focused.

"I was very tight at the end of the match," she admitted, "but even when I got nervous, I was able to hit my shots. And I was staying within myself."

Winning the $70,000 first prize pushed Navratilova's career earnings past $18 million. She
also moved from No. 4 to No. 3 in the women's rankings, passing Gabriela Sabatini. Seles is No. 1, Graf No. 2.

Further, Navratilova's conquest of Seles represented her first victory over a player ranked
ahead of her since she stopped Seles in Oakland in 1991.

The way Seles was playing, all Navratilova needed was her serve to defeat the No. 1 player for a sixth time. Seles has beaten Navratilova seven times.

Navratilova seldom had to execute the volley phase of her serve-and-volley game, because Seles wasn't getting her opponent's serve in play. That, though only 53 percent of the winner's first serves were accurate.

Navratilova's second serve, however, was a weapon. She can both slice it and hit it with
topspin, and Seles was unable to fathom the veteran's delivery.

"She has such a fine line for hitting the ball perfectly that when she's off a little, she doesn't have a second gear to kick into," Navratilova said. "But in the past, she has handled it better than today."

Navratilova surrendered only five points on her service in the first set and only six in the second, with Seles never winning more than two points during a Navratilova service game. The match was over in 58 minutes.

It is for afternoons such as this, Navratilova said, that she continues to play.

"Why shouldn't I, if I can still do this, even if it's only once a year?" she said. "And it's more than once a year. I get nervous. I get excited. I wonder why I'm still doing it, but then I get out there and I love every minute of it."

Had she played against Seles at Wimbledon as she played yesterday, Navratilova said, she would have won.

"I have been hitting the ball consistently well," said Navratilova, who likes her position going into the Open, starting Aug. 31 in New York. "I'm about as match-tough as I can get. I would say my status for the Open is pretty nice. This opens it up a little bit.

"The people who have been writing me off are going to have to stop and say, 'Wait a minute. Maybe we were wrong again.' "
 
#615 ·
For the Canucks.

Field set for tennis nationals
The Record,
Kitchner, Ontario, Canada
Saturday, July 4, 1992
CP

(CP) - Toronto teenager Richard Mainella rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory Friday over Charles Messow of Toronto to qualify for the $100,000 SunLife Nationals tennis championships starting Sunday at the Ontario Racquet Club.

Mainella, 19, won two rounds of qualifying Friday at the National Tennis Centre at York University to set up a first-round meeting with Dale Power of Montreal, the 1979 Canadian men's singles champion.

Power, 42, is a former Davis Cup team member making his 25th appearance in the nationals.

The men's main draw features top-seed Chris Pridham of Oakville, No. 2 Martin Laurendeau of Montreal, No. 3 Grant Connell of Vancouver, No. 4 Andrew Sznajder of Toronto and No. 5 Daniel Nestor of Toronto.

On the women's side, Patricia Hy of Richmond Hill, the defending Canadian women's singles draw, is seeded first, Rene Simpson Alter of Toronto is No. 2, Helen Kelesi of Whistler, B.C. is No. 3 and Maureen Drake of Toronto is No. 4.

Mainella was one of eight players to qualify for the 56-man draw. Other qualifiers were: Daryl Greenan, Cambridge,; Daniel Cibula, Mississauga; Roger Townsend, Toronto; Garett Prins, Hamilton; Mike Mitchell, Toronto; Robin Spiers, Calgary; and Matthew Akman, Montreal.

In qualifying for the 28-player women's draw which begins Monday, former Canadian junior champion Tobi Rakic of Toronto advanced with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 decision over Caroline Sporer of Burnaby, B.C. Earlier in the day, Rakic, the Canadian under-14 indoor champion in 1989, eliminated Kathy Najbert of Niagara Falls, Ont., 6-4, 7-5.

Also advancing were Michelle Greenan of Cambridge, Yamini Sekhri, Karen Kerr and Julie Staples, all of Toronto, and Paula Myslivecek of Kingston.
 
#616 ·
Kelesi defeats Kitchener netter
The Record
Kitchner, Ontario, Canada
Wednesday, July 8, 1992
CP

(CP) - Helen Kelesi of Whistler, B.C., returned to the $100,000 SunLife Nationals tennis championships Tuesday to win the first professional match she's played in more than two months.

Kelesi, the four-time champion who is seeded third, won a second-round 6-2, 6-0 over Stephanie Tibbits of Kitchener to end a nine-week injury layoff and begin her quest for her fifth Canadian women's singles title in six years.

The 22-year-old righthander, Canada's top-ranked player on the Bull Computer Rankings between July of 1987 and February of this year, used a flurry of forehand winners to take the last nine games straight and close out the match in 57 minutes.

"It felt good, but it took me a while to get into a groove," Kelesi said.

"I had to get used to things like 30-40 and break points and that kind of stuff," she said.

Kelesi climbed as high as No. 13 in the world in 1990. Her ranking has fallen out of the top-100 for the first time in her career and is now No. 138.

Kelesi, who will represent Canada at the Barcelona Olympics later this month, has been idle since early May when she suffered a torn hamstring and hip pointer and was forced to default from a major event in Berlin.

Kelesi is aiming to regain the women's singles title she won in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 before losing to Patricia Hy of Richmond Hill in last year's final. She has made the final every year since 1986 when she lost to Carling Bassett Seguso of Toronto.

Advancing with Kelesi to the third round are top-seeded Hy, No. 2 Rene Simpson Alter of Toronto and fourth-seeded Maureen Drake, also of Toronto.

Hy eliminated Vanessa Webb of Toronto, 6-0, 6-3, in one hour, while Alter ousted Laura Randmaa of Unionville, Ont., 6-2, 6-1, and Drake defeated Julie Staples of Toronto, 6-2, 6-2.

It is Hy whom Kelesi is projected to face in semifinal action Friday.

In other women's singles action Tuesday, unseeded Caroline Delisle of Chicoutimi, Que. upset seventh-seeded Monica Mraz of Mississauga, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, while sixth-seeded Kristine Kurth of Saint-John, N.B., prevailed in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 decision over Eva Januskova of Nepean, Ont., the reigning Canadian under-14 indoor champion at the Philips Junior Nationals.

In men's singles action, top-seeded Chris Pridham of Oakville posted a 6-1, 6-4 verdict over Gary Meanchos of Toronto and Martin Laurendeau of Montreal defeated Chris Santoso of West Vancouver, 6-4, 6-2.

Defending champion Grant Connell of Vancouver also advanced with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Marc Leclair of Chambly, Que.

Daniel Nestor of Toronto, the fifth seed, survived a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 second-round match against Patrice Boies of St-Laurent, Que. while Brian Gyetko of Welland, the 1990 titleholder, eliminated Leif Shiras of Toronto, 6-2, 6-3.

The lone upset of the day saw eighth-seeded Robert Janecek of Richmond Hill, a member of Canada's world champion Sunshine Cup under-18 national team in 1989, fall at the hands of Matthew Akman of Toronto, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Tenth-seeded Yann Lefebvre of Drummondville, Que. and No. 16 Jamie Laschinger of London, Ont., both advanced unscathed. Lefebvre defeated Jeff Spiers of Calgary, 6-1, 6-2, while Laschinger ousted Jamie Talbot of Toronto, 6-2, 6-2. Toronto's Karl Hale, the 15th seed, eliminated Brian Hall of Maidstone, Ont., 7-5, 6-1.
 
#617 ·
Rookie netter bounced at SunLife tourney
The Record
Kitchner, Ontario, Canada
Thursday, July 9, 1992
CP

(CP) - Michelle Smith of Calgary, the youngest player entered in the $100,000 SunLife Nationals tennis championships, was hit by the thundering serve of eighth-seeded Mandy Wilson of Thornton, Ont., in a 6-2, 6-0 second-round verdict Wednesday at the Ontario Racquet Club.

Wilson, an All-American at the University of Tennessee, needed only 45 minutes to storm past Smith and advance to a quarter-final showdown against second-seeded Rene Simpson Alter of Toronto, who advanced Tuesday.

Smith was not the only one hit by a storm Wednesday. Rains hit the tournament after only two singles matches were completed.

The only other match finished saw Teresa Dobson of Vancouver post a 6-4, 7-5 win over Ariana Cervenka of Toronto.

Top-seeded Chris Pridham of Oakville led 6-4, 4-4 against 16th-seeded Jamie Laschinger of London, Ont., when rain suspended play.

Doubles and mixed doubles matches were completed indoors, but the Pridham-Laschinger's match was postponed until today.
 
#618 ·
Laurendeau upset in SunLife tennis tourney
The Record
Kitchner, Ontario, Canada
Friday, July 10, 1992
CP

(CP) - Fifteenth-seeded Karl Hale of Toronto used a powerful serve and a series of sharp forehand volleys to outlast second-seeded Martin Laurendeau of Montreal, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4 in third-round action Thursday at the $100,000 SunLife Nationals tennis championships.

The upset propelled Hale, a teaching professional currently working in Tokyo, into the quarter-finals for the first time in his career.

"I can't explain it," mused Hale, a 24-year-old righthander. "The year I stop playing full-time I win my first SunLife match."

After suffering five consecutive first-round defeats at the Nationals between 1987 and 1991, Hale has defeated Mitch Rubenstein of Dundas, Brian Hall of Maidstone, Ont. and Laurendeau.

Against Laurendeau, he attacked the net throughout the match and foiled his opponent's volley game.

"He seemed to feel more comfortable when I volleyed than when I didn't and that surprised me all match," said Laurendeau, a two-time former finalist who is currently ranked No. 174 in the world. "I just couldn't seem to get untracked."

Hale controlled the match from the outset, taking first-set leads of 3-1 and 5-3 before prevailing in a 7-4 tiebreaker.

In the quarter-final, he'll face Yann Lefebvre of Drummondville, Que., the 10th-seed who eliminated Matthew Akman of Toronto, 7-5, 6-0.

Other men to advance to the singles quarter-finals were top-seeded Chris Pridham of Oakville, third-seeded Grant Connell of Vancouver, fourth-seeded Andrew Sznajder of Toronto, No. 6 Glenn Michibata of Toronto and 11th-seeded Brian Gyetko of Welland.

The top four women's seeds - No. 1 Patricia Hy of Richmond Hill, No. 2 Rene Simpson-Alter of Toronto, No. 3 Helen Kelesi of Whistler, B.C., and No. 4 Maureen Drake of Toronto - advanced to the semis.

Drake won a dangerously close 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) verdict over sixth-seeded Kristine Kurth of Saint-John, N.B.

Hy, the defending champion, posted a 6-2, 6-2 win over Caroline Delisle of Chicoutimi, Que.

Hy will today face Kelesi, the four-time former Canadian women's singles champion. Kelesi needed only 58 minutes to eliminated Teresa Dobson of Vancouver, 6-1, 6-2.

Alter advanced by defeating Mandy Wilson, the eighth-seed from Thornton, Ont., 6-2, 6-3. Alter will face Drake in the semis.
 
#619 ·
Kelesi, Simpson team up to win doubles title
The Record
Kitchner, Ontario, Canada
Saturday, July 11, 1992
CP

(CP) - Helen Kelesi of Whistler, B.C., and Rene Simpson Alter of Toronto won their first-ever event as a doubles team Friday at the $100,000 SunLife National tennis championship.

Kelesi and Simpson took the Canadian women's doubles 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 from Patricia Hy of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Jillian Alexander of Oakville in a match that had to move inside because of rain.

Kelesi and Alter are to represent Canada in the women's doubles event at the Barcelona Olympics later this month.

"That was a lot of fun," said Kelesi, a 22-year-old right-hander playing her first professional tournament in nine weeks. "But it was a great match and I'm not going to forget it for a long time. I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised."

In earlier action Friday, Hy, the reigning Canadian women's singles champion, beat Kelesi in the semifinal, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour, eight minutes.

The final will pit the two top seeds - Hy and Alter - against each other, as Alter put away fourth-seeded Maureen Drake of Toronto 6-0, 6-2.

In men's quarter-final singles action, fourth-seeded Andrew Sznajder of Toronto won 11 of 12 games to erase a 1-4 first-set deficit and post a 6-4, 6-3 verdict over sixth-seeded Glenn Michibata of Toronto.

Yann Lefebvre of Drummondville, Que., the No. 10-seed, also advanced to the semifinals on the strength of a 4-6, 7-5 (7-1), 6-2 decision over No. 15 Karl Hale of Toronto.

Lefebvre advances to the semifinal against second-seeded Grant Connell of Vancouver, who beat Brian Gyetko of Welland 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 late Friday night after a five-hour rain delay.

Fourth-seeded Sznajder of Toronto also squares off today against top-seeded Chris Pridham of Oakville.

Pridham posted a 6-1, 6-2 decision over seventh-seeded Sebastien Lareau of Boucherville, Que. late Friday.
 
#620 ·
Hy throttles Kelesi in semifinal
The Toronto Star
Saturday, July 11, 1992
Mary Ormsby

As the SunLife's highly touted rematch of last year's finalists, it wasn't much to watch.

While not exactly a dud, yesterday's semifinal between Patricia Hy and Helen Kelesi was a major disappointment considering the calibre of the tennis players involved.

Defending champion Hy needed only 68 minutes to whip Kelesi 6-2, 6-2 and advance to today's national final against Rene Simpson-Alter.

The women's championship match begins at 12:30 p.m. at Mississauga's Ontario Racquet Club. The men's semifinals in the $100,000 tournament will follow.

Kelesi hasn't played competitive tennis in nearly four months after a hamstring muscle tear sidelined her long enough to see her top-25 world ranking plummet to No. 136. Her last event was the $500,000 Family Circle Magazine Cup in Hilton Head, S.C., in March.

The 22-year-old was in tears after yesterday's drubbing, upset and frustrated at the rusty form that kept her half a step behind Hy - ranked 46th in the world - throughout the match.

"I was so embarrassed," said Kelesi, the tournament's third seed behind No. 1 Hy of Richmond Hill and No. 2 Simpson-Alter of Toronto.

"I felt that I couldn't do anything. I felt like I played so hard but I was just so slow. . . . I felt lost out there and I don't like that feeling."

Kelesi, who had been seeking her fifth national singles title in six years was no match for the patient Hy. However, the native of Cambodia, who became a Canadian citizen just days after winning her first SunLife crown, said it was obvious Kelesi was just lacking match toughness.

"It wasn't that easy," Hy said.

"You know she's much better than that (showing in the semifinal). She's only down there (in the world rankings) because of injuries. You don't lose your fighting spirit that easily (when you're injured)."

Kelesi hopes to raise her game a few notches by next week's Federation Cup tournament in Frankfurt, Germany. The Canadian squad, which consists of Kelesi, Hy, Simpson-Alter and Peterborough's Jill Hetherington, open against South Africa in the annual women's world team tennis competition. The Fed Cup is on clay, a surface on which Kelesi performs well.

Hy, Kelesi and Simpson-Alter also form the Canadian Olympic team that will compete in Barcelona later this month. The women leave after today's final for Frankfurt.

In today's final, Hy expects a gritty match against her Fed Cup teammate.

"Rene and Helen play similar games. They don't try to whip winners past you; they try to outlast you," Hy said.

Simpson-Alter advanced to her first championship final with a 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Toronto's Maureen Drake.

"In the last three years, I've put so much pressure on myself at this tournament that I don't think I've played as well as I could," Simpson-Alter said.

"I've been much more relaxed this week. That's the difference (this year)."

However, Kelesi did come away a winner after all. She and Simpson-Alter teamed to defeat Hy and Oakville's Jillian Alexander-Brower in the women's doubles final, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Toronto's Andrew Sznajder plays the winner of the quarterfinal match between top seed Chris Pridham of Oakville and Sebastien Lareau (No. 7) of Boucherville, Que.
 
#621 ·
Rene Simpson-Alter crowned new queen of Canadian tennis
The Toronto Star
Sunday, July 12, 1992
Mary Ormsby

Rene Simpson-Alter savored the weight of the engraved silver bowl for a moment then joyfully hefted it above her head.

"I've always wondered what it feels like to lift a trophy like that," she said, adding cheerfully that "it feels amazing."

Simpson-Alter should feel amazing.

In her first appearance in a SunLife singles final, the 26-year-old upset heavily-favored defending champion Patricia Hy to win the Canadian women's singles title yesterday at the Ontario Racquet Club.

The second-seeded Toronto athlete mercilessly attacked Hy's backhand in recording a 6-3, 6-4 victory before a packed centre court crowd of nearly 2,000 at the $100,000 competition. The win also earned Simpson-Alter one of the biggest pay days of her career on the women's pro tour, a cheque for $12,500. Hy collected $6,250.

The championship final was an interesting study in nerves.

Hy, the tournament's top seed, blasted her way into the match, winning the first two games in confident style.

"In the first two games she came out playing the way I expected her to play and I was thinking that I was in real trouble," Simpson-Alter said.

However, the Richmond Hill athlete seemed to unravel in the third game, losing it at love and, ultimately, 12 consecutive points through the fifth game.

When she gets into that kind of trouble, Hy is usually able at least to slow down her opponent's momentum long enough to regain her composure and her concentration. This time, however, Simpson-Alter sensed she could control the match and didn't allow Hy to fight back.

"I don't normally make so many unforced errors, even though I go for my shots more (than players who stay back)," said a disappointed Hy, who committed 34 unforced errors compared to Simpson-Alter 's 13.

"But Rene played really well. She was determined to chase down every ball and she did . . . It was like everything I touched was not meant to be."

Well, at least not anything her backhand touched, anyway.

Simpson-Alter 's strategy was to pick on that vulnerable backhand and she exploited it to perfection.

"She's got an incredible forehand but she can't hurt you with her backhand," she said of Hy.

Simpson-Alter also sensed that Hy, who won her first Canadian title last year, was quite nervous.

"I expected her to be nervous. Helen (Kelesi, who lost to Hy in the semifinals) said that she thought Patricia was nervous in their semifinal so I thought she'd be even more nervous in the final," Simpson-Alter said.

"It's tough to come in as the No. 1 seed with all the pressure."

By the third game of the first set, Hy suddenly seemed to lose her touch in catching the lines with her passing shots and lacked finesse play along the net. Her first serves also began to give her trouble early in the first set and she never recovered.

Simpson-Alter continued to dominate the match in the second set while Hy became increasingly frustrated with her inability to keep a rally going. Simpson-Alter broke Hy in the seventh game and ended the match in style; on match point, she sprinted to retrieve a very short drop volley and lobbed it over Hy's head to clinch the victory.

By winning the national title, Simpson-Alter has a guaranteed spot in the Canadian Open next month in Montreal.

Simpso- Alter, who earned her accounting degree at Texas Christian University while on a tennis scholarship, last won a national title when she was the under-16 singles and doubles champion.

Hy, Simpson-Alter, Kelesi and Peterborough's Jill Hetherington left last night for Frankfurt, Germany where they will compete in next week's Federation Cup women's team tennis world championship. Canada's first opponent Tuesday is South Africa.

After that, Hy, Simpson-Alter and Kelesi will begin preparing for the Barcelona Olympics. Both the Fed Cup and the Summer Games events will be on clay courts.
 
#622 ·
Wimbledon: Volleying the Issues
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Friday, JULY 3, 1992
Kim Shippey

IN contrast with last year, when heavy rains marred the first four days' play, the 106th Wimbledon Championships, which conclude this weekend, have been blessed with many long sunny days and almost continuous action. As a result, there's been far more tennis than talk about tennis.

But you can't bring together more than 700 journalists from close to 50 countries without spirited debate on such topics as power tennis, overzealous parents, burnout, and international events like the Davis Cup.

In moments snatched from a hectic schedule calling for coverage on 18 courts for Monitor Radio, I managed a few quick rallies with three experienced journalists (see description of their backgrounds at left): How are modern rackets changing the sport? Are "touch players" an endangered species?

Rex Bellamy: Up to a point modern rackets are changing the sport, bringing it more speed and more power, and those qualities are the enemies of grace and finesse. On the other hand we can't take technology backwards.

R.A.J. (Bob) Hewitt: Touch players only have a chance on European clay. And they're not helped by the fact that the tennis balls of today are harder and faster. I think the balls should be slowed down.

Alison Muscatine: The size and strength of the players is another factor. But we have to remember that not all the top players are using the new rackets, and they still manage to compete at the levels of power that we've now become accustomed to seeing. But I don't believe touch has gone forever, and there are still players who will manage to overcome some of the power with touch.

Rex Bellamy: Yes, touch players do survive, and, of course, the game changes all the time in little ways, so we may come full circle and see the days once again when another Santana or a Panatta or a Nastase or a Pietrangeli will emerge.

Modern technology is threatening to replace even line judges. Should tennis move in that direction?

Hewitt: At the moment it's not possible. But it would take the human element out of the game. For me "Cyclops," which controls the service line in singles, is more than enough.

Muscatine: I think human fallibility is one of the things that makes the game interesting. It's a game of a certain amount of subjectivity, and a certain amount of precision. But we are human beings, and line calls have always been controversial. I think it's the nature of the game. You get a bad bounce, a bad line call, and to be a great player you have to overcome that. To make it so scientific that it reduces it to a sport of perfection would be a shame.

Bellamy: I think we might have more technology insofar as it's appropriate and effective. But we'll always need a fully trained corps of line judges. You might have a power breakdown! And you know the umpires have always said, on the whole, they make about 2 percent of errors, which they think is pretty good. If the rest of us in our jobs could limit ourselves to 2 percent maybe we wouldn't feel too inadequate.

There are some rather overbearing tennis parents out there. Is there anything the sport should be doing to prevent possible child exploitation?

Muscatine: The danger is in the parents themselves. We should be asking ourselves who are these people who need to live through their children, and why are they so involved and pushy? But I'm not sure what the sport can do, frankly.

Bellamy: The sport's doing it already. The players' associations have done a great deal to warn parents in advance about the emotional and physical hazards for children, and many parents and coaches are spacing out those desperately strenuous competition and practice schedules. The real threat is overambitious parents wanting to acquire fame and fortune through their children.

Is "tennis burnout" still as much of a threat as ever?

Hewitt: It's not the game that's causing the burnout. It's those parents, and the coaches, and the hangers-on, and the managers. They are the ones who put on all the pressure.

Muscatine: I don't think we'll see a lot of players competing into their 30s. They make so much money now, even in a mediocre career, that they don't have as much financial incentive for so long, and they don't have as much of a desire to be great competitors. It's going to be a very rare player who can withstand the pressure, and the scrutiny, and the physical requirements involved now in playing week after week against such strong players.

In an already crowded tennis calendar, do the Davis Cup for men and the Federation Cup for women serve any real purpose?

Bellamy: It's marvelous for the players and the public to have a team event. It's great fun. Any international event is a wonderful outlet for those patriotic emotions within us. And, I would add, a World Team Championship incorporating all five events (singles and doubles and mixed doubles), and I would also like genuine World Championships on a points system. The game is more versatile than the media would have us believe. It has more facets than have been exploited by the media.

Hewitt: The Davis Cup and the Federation Cup are the most important aspects of tennis, especially the Davis Cup. Unlike the women's event, which is held at just one venue, it involves a lot of travel, and ties [matches] are played in many different countries. Dozens of nations get involved, and it creates huge interest in the game, especially among young people. For the players the team aspect is good. Often four people who don't like each other come together to represent their country, and for a week they like each other or else!

Muscatine: These competitions force players who are so used to focusing on themselves to sacrifice a week or two in the year playing for their country, and it at least helps to put the brakes on the egocentrism that's in the sport now. But I wish they weren't paid to play Davis Cup, even though it's only a small fee by their standards.

Do you welcome the reinstatement of tennis in the Olympics?

Hewitt: No. I can't even tell you who won last time.

Bellamy: I don't think tennis needs the Olympics, and I'm sure the Olympics don't need tennis. Tennis already has a congested professional schedule, and all the big events it needs. In tennis terms an Olympic competition is comparatively trivial.

Muscatine: I think it's a little odd to have players who compete in Grand Slam tournaments, which are what they and the fans care about, competing for Olympic gold medals. Despite their protestations otherwise, I don't really buy it. I think the Grand Slam events will always have a greater reverence and prestige than the Olympics, and I think they should.
 
#623 ·
LOL at Navratilova's griping. It's not like Olympic years just occur randomly. The players knew about the Federation Cup requirement well in advance -- it wasn't something the ITF sprang on them after the fact. Also LOLing at skipping Fed Cup for World TeamTennis. Yeah, sure, WTT is such an important officially sanctioned event and Fed Cup is just some goofy exhibition the ITF runs. It should also be noted that a number of lower ranked players who usually participated in WTT missed a few meets in order to play in Fed Cup in 1991 and 1992, so it's not like something couldn't have been agreed upon in the contracts. If players like McNeil, Stubbs, and Hetherington could tell their WTT bosses "I am unavailable to play WTT on these dates because of Fed Cup/the Olympics," so could Navratilova. If she were complaining that the USTA named the Olympic team too far in advance, she would have more of a point, but groaning about having to play a qualifying event for the Olympics --when every other Olympic sport has one-- just reinforces the spoiled tennis superstar stereotype.

Pros jump at opportunity to serve for their countries
The Tampa Tribune
Thursday, July 9, 1992
JOEY JOHNSTON

The Virginia Slims of Barcelona? The ATP Olympic Championships?

Nope, just a tennis-styled version of the Olympic Games.

Professional tennis players, complete with million-dollar earnings and endorsement patches, are now established as medal-seeking competitors. But what's the difference between Olympic week and any other tour stop?

Plenty, according to the players.

"I'm really looking forward to it,'' said Jim Courier of Dade City, the world's No. 1-ranked player and leader of the United States men's team. "It will be really exciting to be around the different athletes. You don't get too many chances to win an Olympic gold medal, and I think that's something special for tennis.''

Courier, Michael Chang and Pete Sampras, who trains in Bradenton, will compete in the 64-player men's draw, which includes notables like Stefan Edberg of Sweden and Boris Becker of Germany. Courier and Sampras, former partners, will play doubles for the United States.

The U.S. women's team features Jennifer Capriati of Wesley Chapel, Zina Garrison, Mary Joe Fernandez and Gigi Fernandez. Garrison-Gigi Fernandez are the doubles team. The United States Tennis Association picked the teams.

Courier, a two-time French Open champion, is a favorite because the surface is red clay. Steffi Graf of Germany and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain are favored to win the women's gold medal.

But the most notable aspect of the women's draw concerns who will not go to Barcelona. Absentees include three of the world's top four ranked players onica Seles of Yugoslavia, Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina and Martina Navratilova of the United States.

They all skipped last summer's Federation Cup, an event deemed mandatory for all potential Olympians by the International Tennis Federation. Navratilova, who couldn't play the Federation Cup because of a commitment to World TeamTennis, said the selection process was poorly conceived.

"Basically, they keep changing the rules to suit their own purposes,'' Navratilova said. "I could've played in '88 [at Seoul]. But there was a lot of unrest and terrorist threats in Korea then. Plus, I was burned out on tennis.

"They told me I had to make my choice in January and I did. Then Chris [Evert] entered late [in May]. Now the ITF makes a rule that says you have to play Federation Cup, trying to pump up an event they run.

Graf will be defending the gold medal she won during her Grand Slam season. The '88 men's gold medalist, Miloslav Mecir, will not return. Nearly every tennis player involved in the last Olympics came away with positive feelings.

"The Olympics are very important to me,'' Sampras said. "I'm thinking about it more and more. Just being part of the Opening Ceremonies and the atmosphere will be a great feeling.''
 
#624 ·
DOOR OPENED TO YUGOSLAVS THE ATHLETES WOULD NOT REPRESENT THEIR COUNTRY, WHICH FACES SANCTIONS.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Friday, July 10, 1992
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Yugoslavia has been offered the opportunity to send athletes to the Barcelona Olympics despite United Nations sanctions, the president of the International Olympic Committee said yesterday.

Juan Antonio Samaranch said he proposed that Yugoslavs compete as individuals under the neutral Olympic flag and anthem. Formally, they would not represent Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavian Olympic officials, who met Samaranch at IOC headquarters on Wednesday, were given until today to reply, Samaranch said in a telephone interview from his home. The Games will begin July 25.

The announcement followed a request by leaders of the world's seven richest democracies at this week's Munich summit that the athletes be allowed to participate as individuals.

"It was decided that we would make an official proposal to the Yugoslav Olympic Committee that athletes from Yugoslavia can take part in the Olympic Games," Samaranch said.

"There would be some conditions."

Yugoslav athletes would wear white uniforms and be called the Independent Team, IOC director general Francois Carrard said.

Carrard said Yugoslav officials probably would accept the formula. "We have good hopes," he said.

Samaranch met British Prime Minister John Major in London last week, and the plan got "the approval of all major powers," Carrard said.

The U.N. Security Council included a sports boycott in sanctions it imposed May 30 on Yugoslavia, reduced to Serbia and Montenegro. The measures were designed to end Serbian involvement in the fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

But the Western leaders at the summit were reported on Tuesday to back Major's suggestion to let Yugoslav athletes enter as individuals, without implying national recognition for the new Yugoslavia.

The U.N. resolution's loophole was that it only bans athletes officially representing Yugoslavia, Carrard said.

"We managed to convince a number of people that long-term, this political intrusion into sports was excessive inasmuch as it was hitting innocent athletes," he said. "Why punish them?"

Last month, Samaranch set tomorrow as the deadline for finding a formula to
allow Yugoslav participation at the Games because that is when the Olympic village opens in Barcelona.

Spanish authorities said last month that they would not give entry visas to Yugoslav athletes because of the U.N. sanctions.

But Samaranch, who served in top Spanish government posts, said yesterday, ''I spoke with the Spanish government and in principle they agreed" to the IOC suggestion.

Yugoslavia's strong sports include water polo, basketball and handball, though many of the best basketball players were from now-independent Croatia.

The international soccer federation, FIFA, has banned Yugoslavia from World Cup qualifying, and Europe's governing body, UEFA, banned the Yugoslav soccer team from last month's European Championships.

Yugoslavia also was barred from Davis Cup and Federation Cup tennis.

Yugoslavia has won 83 Olympic medals. At the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea, it won 12 - three golds, four silvers and five bronzes.
 
#625 ·
Yugoslavians will compete at Olympics
The Record
Kitchner, Ontario, Canada
Saturday, July 11, 1992
AP

Yugoslav athletes will enter the Barcelona Games as individuals and compete under the neutral Olympic flag and anthem after a formula was accepted unanimously Friday by the Yugoslav Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee, Barcelona organizers and the Spanish government.

"This solution is the victory of the sports and the Olympic spirit over political violence," Aleksandar Bakocevic, president of the Yugoslav Olympic Committee, said.

The arrangement ended weeks of uncertainty caused by United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia, a former six-republic federation now consisting of only Serbia and Montenegro. The sanctions, designed to punish Serbia for fomenting violence in Bosnia-Herzegovina, included a sports boycott of Yugoslavia.

But under the terms brokered by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, the Yugoslav athletes will not be representing Yugoslavia. They will be represented by the Olympic flag and be known as the Independent Team.

IOC director-general Francois Carrard said the IOC wants to ensure that other parts of ex-Yugoslavia not yet recognized by the Olympic movement - Bosnia-Herzegovina, specifically - can also send athletes to Barcelona.

Bosnian competitors would be affiliated with the Independent Team, he said.

IOC executives are to consider Bosnia-Herzegovina's membership bid at meetings late next week, but this way its athletes would be sure of participating regardless of the IOC's ruling on the application.

Yugoslav Olympic officials, who met with Samaranch at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday, decided Friday to accept those conditions. The Games begin July 25.

"We are all convinced that our delegation did a good job in Lausanne and that every single Yugoslav athlete will be delighted not to miss every sportsman's dream - the Olympics," Caslav Veljic, a general secretary of the Yugoslav Olympic Committee, said.

"Athletes should not suffer for something they have nothing to do with," Miljan Miljanic, the Yugoslav soccer team manager, said. "It is a patriotism to go to Barcelona and participate in the Olympics."

Spanish officials, who had previously said they would not permit entry of Yugoslav athletes because of the sanctions, Friday said they supported the formula for their participation.

"Both the Spanish government and the Olympic organizing committee would like for the Games to belong to all humanity," said Alfredo Perez Rubalcava, Spain's minister of education.

The deal followed a call by leaders of the world's seven richest democracies this week in Munich that the athletes be allowed to participate individually.

William Hybl, president of the USOC, said the arrangement represents "the Olympic ideal at its best."

"In a time of great turmoil in their homeland, these athletes will now be able to compete with the world's best athletes under the Olympic flag," Hybl said. "Their families and friends will be proud of them and rewarded for their own support of these young men and women."

Yugoslavia's strengths include water polo, basketball and handball, though many of the best basketball players were from now independent Croatia.

But the Yugoslav men's basketball team is not expected to compete at Barcelona because it was banned from the qualifying tournament due to the sanctions. The women's team qualified before the sanctions were imposed.

Yugoslavia has won 83 Olympic medals. At the 1988 Seoul Games, it won 12 medals - three golds, four silvers and five bronzes.

Bakocevic, the president of the Yugoslav Olympic Committee, hopes the decision to allow Yugoslav athletes to compete at Barcelona would clear the way for Yugoslavia to be admitted to other sports competitions.

The International Soccer Federation FIFA has banned Yugoslavia from competing in the World Cup, and Europe's governing body UEFA banned the Yugoslav soccer team from last month's European Championships.

Yugoslavia also was barred from the Davis Cup and Federation Cup tennis matches.
 
#626 ·
BERGER-LESS ISRAEL PREPARE TO MEET POLAND IN FEDERATION CUP OPENER IN FRANKFURT
The Jerusalem Post
Sunday, July 12, 1992
JACK LEON and ORI LEWIS

Israel's hopes of a good run at this week's Federation Cup competiton in Frankfurt have been jeopardized by the absence top woman tennis player Ilana Berger, who is injured. Berger, ranked 150 in the world, has been sidelined for the past six weeks with shoulder and knee complaints.

The Israelis will meet medium-strength Poland tomorrow in the opening round of this annual world team championship for women, inaugurated by the ITF in 1963.

The winners then face either Swededn or Switzerland in the last-16.

This year's tournament, worth $430,000 in prize-money is being held on clay - the same surface as the Olympic Games tennis event starting in Barcelona on July 28.

The team therefore consists of Yael Segal, 20, Anna Smashnova 16 on Wedneday, and doubles expert Limor Zaltz, 19.

Frankfurt will mark Minsk-born Smashnova's international team debut for Israel. The rest of the contingent comprizes captain Shlomo Glickstein, Hans Felius, and long-time team manager Freddie Krivine.

Berger, 26, last summer in Nottingham spearheded Israel's best-ever performance in two decades of Cup participation.

In what was her sixth appearance in the meet, Berger won three singles matches and two doubles encounters with Zaltz.

Segal also contributed to what was the finest hour for Israeli women's tennis.

After preliminary round victories over South Korea and Venezuela and a narrow main-draw defeat by eighth-seeded Italy, the team upset fancied New Zealand in the playoff to ensure direct entry into the main draw to this year's competition.

The record 56-strong entry in Nottingham necessitated the ITF's inaugurating a four-zone regional qualifier for Frankfurt, with the four winners joining the 28 direct entries.

Segal is far below her top form after only recently returning to action following a six-month layoff. She was sidleined with a serious wrist injury which needed surgery. During that time, she dropped from 195 to 392 on the computer.

After a rapid climb up the ladder, Smashnova is currently 243rd among the 1,100 players in the world singles rankings.

A long, lean spell has seen Zaltz drop to 471 but she recently showed a welcome return to form by winning both the singles and doubles events at the Vanessa Phillips tournament in Haifa.
 
#627 ·
I do wonder if the prospect of facing Graf playing for Germany in Germany had something to do with all the no-shows. Likewise with the prospect of facing ASV and Martinez playing for Spain in Spain at the Olympics. Because playing on grass or the fast courts at the Gunze exhibition doesn't sound like it's great preparation for the Barcelona Olympics.

Graf leads Germany into Federation Cup
Austin American-Statesman
Monday, July 13, 1992
AP

FRANKFURT, Germany - Wimbledon champion Steffi Graf is back home in Germany and ready to help her country win the Federation Cup for the first time since 1987.

The Federation Cup - women's equivalent of the Davis Cup - opens today on the red clay courts of Frankfurt Waldstadion.

The German team, which also features ninth-ranked Anke Huber, Barbara Rittner and Sabine Hack, is favored to prevail among the 32 nations entered.

Graf, ranked No. 2 in the world, is one of the few top-ranked players in this year's field. Many of the others are skipping the event, in protest, for political reasons or because they simply weren't invited.

Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, ranked third in the world, passed this year after being disqualified from the Olympics for missing last year's event.

Argentina's team is made up of Mercedes Paz, Florencia Labat, Patricia Tarabini and Ines Gorrochategui.

The U.S. team, besides missing Martina Navratilova, has been further weakened by the decisions of No. 6 Jennifer Capriati and No. 7 Mary-Joe Fernandez to skip the event and concentrate on getting ready for the Olympics.

The Americans, who have won the title a record 14 times since the competition began in 1963, are seeded sixth this year with a lineup featuring Gigi Fernandez, Lori McNeil, Pam Shriver and Debbie Graham.

Fernandez, Shelton win Slims matches

NEWPORT, R.I. - Mary Joe Fernandez beat U.S. Olympic doubles partner Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-4 to win the Virginia Slims Hall of Fame Invitational.

In the men's final, defending champion Bryan Shelton beat Alex Antonitsch 6-4, 6-4. Shelton used 11 aces to help win 83 percent of his first serves, becomming the tournament's first repeat champion since its inception in 1976.

Krajicek, Sukova take Gunze World titles

TOKYO - Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands slammed 12 aces and overwhelmed Shuzo Matsuoka of Japan 6-3, 6-3 to win the men's title of the Gunze World tournament.

Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia, a last-minute substitute for Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain, beat American Gigi Fernandez 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the women's crown.
 
#628 ·
Poor relations see the light - Tennis
The Times
London, England
Monday, July 13, 1992
From Barry Wood in Frankfurt

THE Federation Cup, the annual women's team competition, beginning here today, faces a radical shake-up in an effort to raise its image and appeal to match that of the Davis Cup.

Gerard Smith, the executive director of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), has been involved in talks with the International Tennis Federation and what he terms "other interested parties", in an effort to make the event more marketable.

"The Federation Cup changes not only markets but countries every year, and doesn't allow a particular community to get involved in it," Smith said.

"The change that has been made to keep it in Frankfurt for a two-year period is a step in the right direction, but I'm afraid it isn't going to go far enough.

"What you need to do is to stay in one market and build it up over a period of years. It would also be easier to gather the top players if they didn't all have to be in the same place at the same time."

Smith's proposal has the support of many players, including Steffi Graf, who leads the top-seeded Germans this week.

"I prefer the Davis Cup system," the Wimbledon champion said, "and although it would be very hard to change the present system because of our packed tournament schedule I would definitely agree to give up tournaments to play the Federation Cup."

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Mary Joe Fernandez and Nathalie Tauziat are among others who believe the Davis Cup format would make the event more appealing to both players and spectators, although Jo Durie sounds a note of caution.

"There are too many countries where the women still don't get the same attention as men," she said. "I don't feel it could compete with the Davis Cup, and it would make the Federation Cup seem like a really poor relation."

Pam Shriver, the president of the WTA, has mixed feelings. "I don't know. It's not working 100 per cent now, so maybe it is right to give it a try. But when you have everyone there, from a small country in Asia to a country like the United States, it's a togetherness, it's a fun thing to have us all under one umbrella."
 
#629 ·
FERNANDEZ SPANS GLOBE, HELPS U.S. WIN CUP OPENER
THE SEATTLE TIMES
Monday, July 13, 1992
Associated Press

Gigi Fernandez and Lori McNeil posted straight-set victories in Frankfurt, Germany, today to pace the United States to a 3-0 triumph over Britain and a place in the second round of the Federation Cup.

Top-seeded Germany, led by Steffi Graf, downed New Zealand 3-0 and also advanced to the second round in the tournament, which is the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup.

Graf, ranked second in the world, trounced Claudine Toleafoa, 6-2, 6-1 in 44 minutes and Anke Huber crushed Hana Guy, 6-1, 6-0 in 39 minutes.

Fernandez, ranked 25th in the world, beat Monique Javer 6-4, 6-1 to put the U.S. team ahead. McNeil then defeated Jo Durie 7-5, 6-3 to assure the sixth-seeded Americans of the victory before the doubles tandem of Pam Shriver and Debbie Graham finished the sweep with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Durie and Clare Wood.

Yesterday, Fernandez placed second in the Gunze World Tournament in Japan, falling to Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Marty Riessen, U.S. team captain, said, "Gigi arrived at 6 a.m. from Japan, and I had told Debbie to be ready to play (singles). But Gigi had slept all the way on the plane and wanted to play."

Fernandez, who took the court less than six hours after arriving, fell behind 4-1, then won 10 straight games against the 65th-ranked Briton.

Next up for the Americans is Denmark, which beat Chile 2-1. It is a pairing that may test the U.S. team, especially on the unfamiliar red-clay surface, but it's a test captain Marty Riessen thinks his squad will pass.

"It's a team we don't know well at all," said Riessen. "But it's a team we should beat on ranking, and we played well in the first match.

"It's not a surface we should be confident on, but we've been here four days, and we had decent preparation, except for Gigi Fernandez," Riessen said.

The Americans' chances here were weakened when Navratilova decided to skip it, and Olympians Jennifer Capriati and Mary Joe Fernandez opted to use the week preparing for Barcelona. Capriati is ranked sixth worldwide, Fernandez seventh.

By comparison, McNeil is 22nd and Gigi Fernandez is 25th, and their lower ranking left the Americans seeded sixth in the 32-nation field.

But this is still a world apart from Denmark, whose top-ranked player, Sofie Albinus, is 330th.

''Every match here is going to be difficult,'' Riessen said.

McNeil fought off two break points while serving for the match before finally holding serve to pull it out. She said she was bothered by noise coming from centre court when the announcer introduced the German doubles team.

"The guy decided to give a speech just as I was serving for the match," said McNeil.

Incoming planes also disrupted play from time to time, as the courts at Frankfurt's Waldstadion are in the landing approach to the Frankfurt airport.

McNeil said the Americans, who have won a record 14 Federation Cup titles, are confident they will do well despite their low seeding.

"We have a pretty good team and I think we have a good chance of going far,'' she said.

-- Top-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez, unrelated to Gigi, beat her U.S. Olympic doubles partner, Zina Garrison, 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Hall of Fame Invitational in Newport, R.I. In the men's final, sixth-seeded Bryan Shelton beat Alex Antonitsch of Austria 6-4, 6-4.

-- Winners of European tournaments yesterday included sixth-seeded Sergi Bruguera of Spain, Swiss Open; top-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain, Austrian Open; second-seeded Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden, Swedish Open, and top-seeded Mary Pierce of France, Palermo (Italy) International.
 
#630 ·
Britain will have to `fight like rats' to qualify for 1993 cup - Tennis
The Times
London, England
Tuesday, July 14, 1992
From Barry Wood in Frankfurt

NEW rules governing the Federation Cup mean that Great Britain face the indignity of having to qualify for next year's event, after they were defeated 3-0 by the United States in the first round.

Having grown increasingly difficult to organise, the field in Frankfurt had already been cut to 32, and a further reduction to 24 teams is planned for 1993 when the tournament will again be staged here at the Waldstadion. Only the first-round winners this year are guaranteed a place, with the remaining places filled by four teams that emerge from the consolation event this week Britain play Chile first and four qualifying events to be held next spring.

Further changes will be voted upon at the International Tennis Federation's annual meeting in September, when a Davis Cup format will be proposed for the women's international team event. To limit the disruption to the women's calendar, the equivalent of the men's world group will consist of eight teams, rather than the 16 that compete in the Davis Cup.

"We would like to advance to 16 teams eventually, and are working with the Women's Tennis Association and others to discuss dates on the calendar," Debbie Jevans, the ITF director of women's tennis, said.

Having to battle now to avoid the need to qualify annoys Britain's team captain, Ann Jones. "If they're going to change everything in 1995, why play about with it now? It doesn't seem highly intelligent."

Monique Javer let a lively start disintegrate into a 6-4, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Gigi Fernandez. Having built a 4-1 lead against a lethargic opponent, and looking as if she would take total control, Javer instead then littered her game with a torrent of unforced errors.

"Now we're going to have to fight like rats to avoid having to qualify next year," Javer said.

Jo Durie competed rather better against Lori McNeil, but lost 7-5, 6-3, blaming the American's better service. Durie could consider herself a little unfortunate, for several crucial points were decided by the ball just hitting the top of the net rather than going over it as she intended. She was there to the end though, holding two break points when McNeil served for the match, but both times she netted a return.

"She served a lot better than I did and I had great difficulty in returning. It was a very tight match," Durie said. Durie, too, is critical of the new qualifying rules, insisting it would now be difficult for the team to lift themselves again. "We know we've got to win two matches to stay up, and that's pretty tough after we've played our hearts out in the main draw," she said.

Such matters are not the concern of Steffi Graf, who in her build-up towards the defence of her Olympic title, showed ominous form for Germany in her first-round match.

The Wimbledon champion and her 17-year-old team-mate, Anke Huber, could hardly have got off to a better start against New Zealand, dropping only four games between them in their singles.

RESULTS: Germany bt New Zealand, 3-0 (German names first): A Huber bt H Guy, 6-1, 6-0; S Graf bt C Toleafoa, 6-2, 6-1; B Rittner and S Hack bt J Richardson and A Trail, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. United States bt Great Britain, 3-0 (US names first): G Fernandez bt M Javer, 6-4, 6-1; L McNeil bt J Durie, 7-5, 6-3; P Shriver and D Graham bt Durie and C Wood, 6-4, 7-6. Japan beat Indonesia, 2-1 (Japanese names first): M Endo bt R Tedjakusuma, 6-2, 7-6; K Date bt Y Basuki, 7-6, 5-7, 6-3; Endo and Kidowaki lost to Basuki and S Wibowo, 1-6, 1-6. Holland bt Paraguay, 2-1 (Dutch names first): N Muns-Jagerman lost to L Schaerer, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6; M Bollegraf bt R De Los Rios, 6-2, 6-2; Bollegraf and Jagerman bt Schaerer and De Los Rios, 6-1, 7-5. Denmark bt Chile, 2-1 (Danish first): K Ptasek bt P Sepulveda, 6-1, 6-0; S Albinus lost to P Cabezas, 3-6, 6-0, 0-6; K Nielsen and Ptasek bt Cabezas and M Miranda, 6-3, 6-2.
 
#631 ·
Spain's duo looking for a 'Cup repeat - Sanchez Vicario, Martinez defeat Belgium in opener
Daily Breeze
Wednesday, July 15, 1992
Associated Press

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez, Spain's dynamic duo, are off to a flying start in their bid to win the dynamic double.

Sanchez Vicario and Martinez, who will represent Spain at the Olympic Games later this month, got Spain's Federation Cup title defense underway Tuesday with a pair of dominating victories in first-round singles against Belgium.

Sanchez Vicario needed only 59 minutes to beat Sabine Appelmans 6-1, 6-2. Martinez overwhelmed Dominique Monami 6-1, 6-4 on the red clay courts of Frankfurt's Waldstadion.

Sanchez Vicario raced through the first set against Appelmans, winning it at love when the 20th-ranked Belgian double faulted. In the second set, the Spaniard saved two break points twice before winning when Appelmans, serving to stay in the match, double-faulted again.

With the outcome already decided in the best-of-three format, Monami and Sandra Wasserman beat Sanchez Vicario and Noelia Perez 7-5, 6-4 in doubles.

Sanchez Vicario and Martinez, who starred last year when Spain upset the United States to win the title, said their return has several purposes.

"We are happy to come back and to be defending the title," said Sanchez Vicario, who is ranked fifth in the world. "I have always said that we can do it again. But the Germans are a tough hurdle to get over with Steffi."

"We are going to try to win the title again, but this is also good practice for the Olympics," said Martinez, who is ranked eighth.

Next up for Spain is Canada, which spoiled South Africa's first appearance in 15 years with a hard-fought 2-1 victory. South Africa hadn't participated in this event, the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup, since 1977.

South Africa won the title in 1972 in Johannesburg and finished second behind Australia in Germany in 1973.

Canada's best performance was a semifinal showing in 1988 in Melbourne.

Canada's Rene Simpson-Alter and Patricia Hy battled from behind in singles matches to help keep Canada alive. Simpson-Alter mastered big-hitting Mariaan de Swardt 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, and Hy beat Amanda Coetzer 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Alter, ranked 24 spots behind de Swardt at No. 94, used a service break to gain the momentum in the second set.

"I was a little nervous knowing how important the opening singles match would be for us," admitted Alter.

"The turning point came when I finally broke her serve in the second set and started playing more aggressively."

Hy, a 26-year-old righthander who last month reached the fourth round of the French Open on red clay, struggled throughout the first set against Coetzer, one of the best players on the women's tour this year.

In the second set, Hy relied less on her slice backhand and played with power.

"I started stepping into my shots with far more power and aggressiveness," said Hy, ranked No. 45 in the world.

"The energy of the team support did the rest."

With the outcome already decided, de Swardt and Elna Reinach Jr. beat Jill Hetherington and Helen Kelesi in doubles 6-4, 6-3.

South Africa's players and coaches agreed the experience, however brief, would prove valuable in future competitions.

"We have no experience as a team, we haven't played as a team since 1977," said South African captain Elna Reinach Sr.

"We were under pressure, we were scared of losing," Coetzer said.

"We will be a little wiser next time," de Swardt added.

Elsewhere on the second day of play, fourth-seeded France edged China 2-1 after No. 13 Nathalie Tauziat was stunned 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 by 112th Li Fang. Mary Pierce pulled France even with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Chen Li, and Tauziat then teamed with Isabelle Demongeot to beat Fang and Tang Min 6-3,7-6 in the decisive doubles match.

Fifth-seeded Bulgaria was upset by Australia. Magdalena Maleeva beat Rachel McQuillan 7-6, 6-2 to give Bulgaria a 1-0 lead, but Nicole Provis beat Katerina Maleeva 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 and Provis then teamed with Rennae Stubbs to beat the Maleeva sisters 6-2, 6-1 in doubles.

Argentina, playing without Gabriela Sabatini, who is skipping the tournament, beat Mexico 3-0 and will play Japan next. Sabatini, who was disqualified from the Olympics when she didn't play in this tournament last year, decided to skip it again this year in protest.

There were several other upsets, including South Korea's 2-1 victory over Italy. South Korea, which made the draw as a qualifier, got a huge boost when 312th- ranked Il-Soon Kim beat 71st-ranked Linda Ferrando 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Another upset had Sweden beating seventh-seeded Switzerland 2-1 by winning the decisive doubles. Third-seeded Czechoslovakia beat Hungary 3-0 and the Commonwealth of Independent States edged Finland 2-1.
 
#632 ·
Canada's triumph spoils the script - Tennis
The Times
London, England
Wednesday, July 15, 1992
From Barry Wood in Frankfurt

THE return of South Africa to international team tennis after an absence of 15 years was marked by a first-round defeat against Canada in the Federation Cup yesterday. Winners of the competition in 1972, when they defeated Great Britain in the final in Johannesburg, they last played in 1977 at Eastbourne.

Yesterday's result means that South Africa will now have to win both their reverse-draw play-off matches if they are to qualify automatically for next year's finals.

Mariaan De Swardt was defeated 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 by Rene Alter, and Amanda Coetzer, perhaps the most improved player this year, lost by the same score to Patricia Hy, who arrived in Canada by way of Cambodia and Hong Kong. The latter match was a delightful spectacle, in which the service was used as a means of initiating countless absorbing rallies, rather than as an act of aggression. Both players combined to produce beautiful touch tennis, exhilarating exchanges at the net and skilful baseline play.

"We might have felt a little pressure because we are not used to playing team events, and we both held back after winning the first sets instead of going out to win," Coetzer said. "But it was a good experience for us and when we come back we'll be a little wiser," de Swardt added.

So Canada can look forward to a second-round match with the defending champions and second seeds, Spain.

There were long faces among the Argentine team, despite the win over Mexico. Argentina's participation in the Olympics has been thrown into doubt.

The Argentine Olympic Committee has signed a clothing deal with Adidas to cover all those participating in Barcelona, but the tennis players are already endorsed by other manufacturers.

The players have offered to wear all white clothing with no endorsements, but that is apparently unacceptable to the AOC, and the team now fears it may be prevented by its own country from participating.

"They are being very inflexible, and there is a real danger we will be unable to play," Mercedes Paz said.

In other matches, Nathalie Tauziat was defeated by China's Li Fang, but France won the deciding doubles. Spain won both singles rubbers in their 2-1 victory over Belgium.

RESULTS: First round: Spain bt Belgium, 2-1 (Spanish names first): C Martinez bt D Monami, 6-1, 6-4; A Sanchez Vicario bt S Appelmans, 6-1, 6-2; Sanchez Vicario and N Perez lost to Monami and Appelmans 5-7, 4-6. Australia bt Bulgaria, 2-1 (Australia names first): R McQuillan lost to M Maleeva, 6-7, 2-6; N Provis bt K Maleeva, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0; Provis and R Stubbs bt K Maleeva and M Maleeva, 6-2, 6-1. Sweden bt Switzerland, 2-1 (Swedish names first): C Dahlman bt E Zardo, 6-2, 6-3; C Linqvist lost to M Maleeva-Fragniere 0-6, 2-6; M Lindstrom and M Strandlund bt Maleeva-Fragniere and M Strebel, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Austria bt Romania, 2-1 (Austrian names first): P Ritter lost to R Dragomir, 4-6, 1-6; J Wiesner bt I Spirlea, 6-0, 6-3; Ritter and J Wiesner bt Dragomir and Spirlea, 7-5, 6-3. Canada bt South Africa, 2-1 (Canadian names first): R Simpson-Alter bt Mariaan de Swardt, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2; P Hy bt A Coetzer, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2; J Hetherington and H Kelesi lost to E Reinach and de Swardt, 4-6, 3-6.

France bt China, 2-1 (French names first): M Pierce bt Chen Li, 6-2, 6-2; N Tauziat lost to Li Fang, 1-6, 7-6, 3-6; Tauziat and I Demongeot bt Li Fang and Tang Min, 6-3, 7-6. CIS bt Finland, 2-1 (CIS names first): E Makarova bt N Dahlman, 7-6, 6-4; E Manyukova lost to P Thoren, 7-5, 4-6, 5-7; Makarova and Manyukova bt Dahlman and Thoren, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Czechoslovakia bt Hungary 3-0 (Czechoslovak names first): R Zrubakova bt A-M Foldenyi, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1; J Novotna bt A Temesvari, 6-2, 6-1; Novotna and A Strnadova bt Temesvari and V Csurgo, 1-6, 7-5, 7-5. South Korea bt Italy, 2-1 (Korean names first): Il-Soon Kim bt L Ferrando, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Sung-Hee Park lost to S Cecchini, 4-6, 0-6; Jeong Myung Lee and Kim bt Ferrando and Cecchini, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3. Argentina bt Mexico 3-0 (Argentine names first): F Labat bt L Novelo, 6-2, 6-1; M Paz bt A Gavaldon, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2; Paz and P Tarabini bt Novelo and Gavaldon, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
 
#633 ·
U.S. eases past Denmark
Houston Chronicle
Thursday, JULY 16, 1992
Houston Chronicle News Services

FRANKFURT, Germany -- The United States team knew hardly anything about Denmark, its second-round Federation Cup opponent. It found out the hard way and it took a long time before the Americans could sigh with relief.

Gigi Fernandez and Lori McNeil ran into some determined opposition from their rivals, who are ranked low but are comfortable on clay, before the U.S. team completed a 3-0 victory Wednesday to earn a berth in the quartefinals of the women's version of the Davis Cup.

"It took a long time to get to know them; today they played quite well," said U.S. captain Marty Riessen, who had admitted before the match that Denmark was an unknown entity to his team.

On paper, the match should have been no contest. Sofie Albinus, Denmark's top player, is ranked 330th in the world. Karin Ptaszek is No. 462.

By comparison, Lori McNeil is 22nd and Gigi Fernandez 25th.

Still, Fernandez had to rally for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Ptaszek, and McNeil encountered problems before beating Albinus 7-5, 6-0.

The Americans are not quite comfortable yet on the red clay in Frankfurt, especially without Jennifer Capriati and Mary-Joe Fernandez, who are skipping the event to prepare for the Olympics.

"You get nervous in the Federation Cup, you feel the pressure," Riessen said. "This was clay court tennis today, we couldn't get away with serve and volley."

Ptaszek is a two-fisted hitter from the baseline and Albinus has a ferocious lefthanded forehand. Fortunately for McNeil, she also has a tendency to produce a lot of double-faults.

Fernandez dropped her serve three times in the first set.

Both players had trouble holding serve in the second set but Fernandez finally pulled ahead by breaking for a 4-2 lead. She cruised in the decisive set, clinching the match with a serve on the line.

Three double-faults helped McNeil gain three set points and she made good on the third and won the first set when Albinus sent a lob long. The second set went more according to the rankings and McNeil took it when Albinus double-faulted on the last two points.

In today's quarterfinals, the Americans will meet fourth-seeded France, which beat the Commonwealth of Independent States 3-0 without losing a set.

Germany made sure of going through by sweeping the singles against the Netherlands, with Anke Huber beating Nicole Muns-Jagerman 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 and Wimbledon champion Steffi Graf defeating Brenda Schultz 6-3, 7-6.

Spain, the No. 2 seed, had to win the doubles after Helen Kelesi had upset Conchita Martinez 7-6, 6-2.

Czechoslovakia, France, Poland, Argentina and Australia also advanced.

Also today, Germany will face Poland, a surprise 2-1 winner over Sweden.

Argentina, a 2-1 victor over Japan, will face Spain on Friday; third-seeded Czechoslovakia, which beat South Korea 3-0, will play Australia, which ousted Austria 2-1.
 
#634 ·
SPAIN, U.S. REACH QUARTERFINALS
THE SEATTLE TIMES
Thursday, July 16, 1992
AP

FRANKFURT, Germany - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario knows quite a bit about clay-court tennis and the Federation Cup.

The U.S. team, however, needs to learn a lot about both.

Sanchez Vicario last year almost single-handedly lifted Spain to its first Federation Cup title, carrying the team to a victory over the United States in the final.

She carried Spain to victory again yesterday, this time after Spain had fallen behind Canada with Helen Kelesi's 7-6, 6-2 victory over Conchita Martinez.

But Sanchez Vicario took over, disposing of Patrici Hy 6-4, 6-2 and teaming with Martinez for a decisive victory in doubles as Spain advanced to the quarterfinals.

In last year's final against the U.S., Martinez also had lost her singles, against Jennifer Capriati, but Sanchez beat Mary Joe Fernandez and carried Martinez to a doubles win.

This year, the U.S. team doesn't include Capriati and Mary Joe Fernandez, who are skipping the event to prepare for the Barcelona Olympics.

It does include Gigi Fernandez, who played doubles last year.

She was first on court yesterday for the Americans' match against Denmark, a team they hardly knew anything about.

Fernandez, ranked 25th in the world, beat No. 462 Karin Ptaszek 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

"I was very slow at the start, to say the least, I was tight," Fernandez said. "I had never seen her on the tour."

Lori McNeil, ranked 22nd, put the issue beyond doubt by beating Sofie Albinus, rated No. 330, 7-5, 6-0. Pam Shriver and Debbie Graham then completed the sweep by winning the doubles to put the sixth-seeded Americans into the quarterfinals.

Today, the United States played France and Germany met Poland.
 
Top