Better get this started before it's 2014...

Thanks Ms A-I'm looking forward to it!

These yearly threads are open to ALL to share pictures, stories, articles or memories from that year.

Let's have fun with this!

 

1983 Recap and summary:

 

An old thread where we discussed Curry Kirkpatrick's recap of the 1983 French Open in Sports Illustrated.

http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=166810

 

My favourite year - I'll dig those scrapbooks out of the loft soon with my Wimbly, Brighton and Wightman Cup clippings. I'm managing TT Aussie Open on MTF so it'll be after that.

 

If Capriati and Jaeger had been teen-age contemporaries, I could imagine them going off on some kind of petty crime spree together or forming heavy metal chick band in their spare time.


LENDL, CONNORS, BORG WIN IN LITE CHALLENGE
The Miami Herald
Thursday, January 6, 1983
From Herald Wire Services

Ivan Lendl needed only 68 minutes to defeat Sandy Mayer in the $250,000 Lite Challenge of Champions tennis Tuesday night in Rosemont, Ill.

Lendl hit 17 aces in beating Mayer, 6-2, 7-5, in the late match and appeared ready to join Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe in a four-way fight for No. 1.

Connors overcame a shaky baseline game to defeat Henri Leconte, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in the opening match. His usual consistency was upset by the 19-year-old Frenchman, who in the second set pelted topspin forehands against the reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion.

Connors regained his form in the third set, holding serve and then breaking Leconte with a powerful net rush game.

In the second set, Borg strengthened his return to the professional tennis circuit with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Vitas Gerulaitis.

After losing the first five games quickly, Borg changed the tempo to his methodical approach, driving topspin shots from the baseline. He rebuilt his confidence with a strong serve.

With five aces and many other disarming shots, Borg stuck to his plan to keep Gerulaitis away from the net.

* *

The pages on the calendar may show a new year, but for the opponents of Martina Navratilova it looks like the same old story.

Last year, Navratilova enjoyed the greatest year any women has ever had on the professional tennis circuit, winning 90 of 93 matches and over $1.5 million in prize money.

A two-week holiday behind her, the world's top-ranked player picked up where she left off, whipping Leigh Thompson, 6-2, 6-1, in the opening round of the $150,000 Virginia Slims tournament in Washington, D.C.

Navratilova's play gave little evidence of her two-week layoff. She displayed a variety of ground strokes and passing shots in putting Thompson away in a little more than an hour.

"I stayed in shape playing basketball," Navratilova said. "It improved my timing so that despite not picking up a racquet for days I found myself going to the ball better than before the break."

Navratilova suffered what she described as a brief mental lapse after taking a 5-0 lead in the first set. Her placid play allowed Thompson to capture two straight games.

"I was just trying to keep the ball in play instead of trying to create something. I have to remember to stay mean and keep that killer instinct to nail down an opponent," she said.

In a second match, No.2 seed Andrea Jaeger turned back Candy Reynolds' upset bid, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.

Reynolds got a boost from a crowd that screamed for the upset.

"When you're seeded No.2 the crowd is looking for someone, anyone to beat you off the court," said the 17-year-old Jaeger. "When you are 13, 14, 15 years old and you are doing well, that's just great because you are the 'little darling of the court.' But that goes on just so long."

Another winner Tuesday night was Canada's Carling Bassett, 15, the recent winner of the girls' 18-and-under division of the Orange Bowl junior tennis tournament. In her pro debut, Bassett scored an impressive victory, defeating Alycia Moulton, 7-6, 6-1.

 

Novotna learned from the best when it comes to double-faulting.

TENNIS
Lexington Herald-Leader
Saturday, January 8, 1983

Mary Lou Piatek stunned fourthseeded Barbara Potter 6-3, 6-4 and second-seeded Andrea Jaeger rallied past JoAnne Russell 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 yesterday to reach today' s semis in the $150,000 Virginia Slims of Washington.

West Germany's Sylvia Hanika defeated No. 3 Hana Mandlikova, taking advantage of 13 double faults to record a three-set victory.

Quarterfinal play was to be completed last night with top seed and defending champ Martina Navratilova playing Czechoslovakia's Helena Sukova.

Piatek has not won a tournament in two years and is ranked only No. 37. Potter is the world' s sixth-rated player.

In London -- Defending champions Heinz Gunthardt and Balazs Taroczy saved a match point in the 12th game of the final set before rallying to beat Brian Gottfried and Raul Ramirez 6-7, 6-3, 6 n the WCT World Dou- 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6bles championship at the Royal Albert Hall.

The American-Mexican pair of Gottfried and Ramirez dropped to 2-1 in round-robin play but joined Hungarian Taroczy and his Swiss partner, who were 3-0, in today' s semis.

Former Wimbledon doubles champs Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee of Australia clinched a semifinal spot against Gottfried-Ramirez by downing Americans Ferdi Taygan and Sherwood Stewart 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Kriek honored -- Johan Kriek, who won won the Australian Open for the second straight year, was named Volvo Grand Prix tennis player of the month for December.

Kriek, a native of South Africa, was recently granted United States citizenship. He defeated Steve Denton in the Australian finals to cap his finest year as a professional and clinch a spot on the Volvo Masters tournament, to be held in New York Jan. 18-23.

Borg exhibition -- Bjorn Borg and Roscoe Tanner, a hometown favorite, will play each other Feb. 3 at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga' s new $15.5 million sports arena, nicknamed the Roundhouse.

Tanner and Borg dueled each other in the 1979 Wimbledon finals, with the Swede winning.

At Rancho Mirage, Calif. -- Defending champion Rodney Harmon of SMU downed Southern Cal' s Matt Anger 6-4, 6-3, to advance to the semifinals of the Marriott National Collegiate Tennis Classic.

Harmon, the tournament' s top seed, will meet Tom Warneke of Trinity in the semifinals. Warneke defeated Rich Rudeen of Clemson 7-6, 6-1.

 

HANIKA SPILLS JAEGER IN D.C.
The Miami Herald
Sunday, January 9, 1983
From Herald Wire Services

West Germany's Sylvia Hanika, down 5-2 in the final set, staged a brilliant comeback to upset second-seeded Andrea Jaeger, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5, Saturday night and gain the final of the $150,000 Virginia Slims of Washington tennis tournament.

Hanika will meet top-seeded Martina Navratilova, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Mary Lou Piatek, in Monday night's final.

Hanika, seeded sixth, appeared headed for her 10th loss in 11 meetings with Jaeger when she fell behind in the third set. But she started her match-winning rally by holding serve and then breaking Jaeger in the ninth game to pull to 4-5.

After she held serve in the 10th game, she broke Jaeger, the world's third-ranked player, for the sixth time in the match.

Navratilova, the No. 1 women's player in the world, has intimidated the field in this touranment, losing only 10 games in four matches. She breezed through the first set in 20 minutes, abandoning her serve-and-volley game and relied mostly on a powerful forehand.

Piatek did manage to break Navratilova's serve twice during the match, something no other player had done previously in the tournament.

"I'm not happy because my serve was broken twice," Navratilova admitted. "I made some bad mistakes during those games."

Piatek made a brief run at her in the second set. "I figured I couldn't do any worse, so I tried coming into the net and hitting out more," Piatek said.

More tennis

Jimmy Connors outdueled John McEnroe at his own game, using service placement to maximum advantage en route to a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 semifinal victory in the $250,000 Lite Challenge of Champions in Chicago. Bjorn Borg met Ivan Lendl in the other semifinal later Saturday night. While McEnroe, the world's top- ranked player, dodged a match point in the second set, he was unable to return Connors' service with authority ... Brian Gottfried and Mexico's Raul Ramirez upset Wimbledon champions Peter McNamara and Paul McNamee, 7-6, 7-5, 6-2, to gain today's final of the $200,000 World Doubles championships in London. They will face either defending champions Balazs Taroczy of Hungary and Heinz Gunthardt of Switzerland or Czechoslovakia's Davis Cup pair of Pavel Slozil and Tomas Smid, who met later Saturday.

Swimming

East Germany's 16-year-old Kristin Otto broke her own world short-course record in the women's 100-meter backstroke in the U.S. International meet at Indiana University's Natatorium in Indianapolis. Otto, who had set a U.S. Open record during the 100-meter backstroke trials with a time of 1:00.77, bettered that in the final with a clocking of 59.97 seconds. Short- course events are in 25-meter pools, instead of the 50-meter long-course distances. Former record-holder Tracy Caulkins was fourth in the final but won the 400-individual medley in 4:42.16.

College football

Former NFL All-Pro linebacker Maxie Baughan was named coach at Cornell University, succeeding recently retired Bob Blackman. Baughan, 44, had served as the Detroit Lions' defensive coordinator for three years ... Larry Rutledge resigned as coach at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and was succeeded by assistant Bob Campiglia. Rutledge, who compiled a 7-21 record in three seasons, including a 2-7 mark last season, said he was resigning for personal reasons.

Other sports

Detroit Express owner Sonny Van Arnem said he has decided not to purchase the Jacksonville Tea Men of the North American Soccer League, and will keep the Express in the American Soccer League. "I don't think any leagues have really established themselves as major league," Van Arnem said ... David Leighton, president of the 1988 Winter Olympic organizing committee, has resigned his position in Calgary, Alberta, after 10 months, citing major differences in management philosophy with other officials ... Joan Benoit, running for Athletics West, came within 16 seconds of the world and American 5,000-meter indoor record at the 14th annual Dartmouth College Relays. Benoit, the American marathon record-holder, covered the distance in a meet- record time of 15 minutes, 50.34 seconds.

 

HANIKA GETS SHOT AT NO. 1 MARTINA
The Miami Herald
Monday, January 10, 1983
Author: From Herald Wire Services

Sylvia Hanika of West Germany, one of only three women to beat Martina Navratilova last year, will get another shot at the world's top-ranked player tonight in the final of the $150,000 Virginia Slims of Washington tournament at Landover, Md.

Hanika advanced to the final Saturday night by rallying from a 5-2 deficit in the third set to upset second-seeded Andrea Jaeger, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5. Navratilova, who has lost only 10 games in the tournament, breezed past Mary Lou Piatek, 6-1, 6-3, although Piatek did manage to break Navratilova' s serve twice during the match, something no other player had done previously in this tour-opening event.

Navratilova, who won 90 of 93 matches last year, believes her presence on the court is sometimes enough to rattle opponents.

"I know back in 1973 and 1974, Chris [Evert Lloyd] had that aura about her. She would beat up on people pretty bad. They would go into the match thinking they couldn' t win, just wondering how many games they would win. I don' t know if I' m at that point yet," Navratilova said. "I may be getting there, too.

"I think some players, when they go against me, think their own game isn' t good enough and try to do too much with their shots. The other girls feel they have to play over their heads to beat me. They know I'm not going to beat myself."

But Hanika, ranked No. 10 in the world and seeded sixth in the tournament, is not conceding the title.

"I am not awed by Martina," said Hanika, who has won two of their last four meetings. "I will probably play a serve-and- volley game, but I'll have to see how she does early to dictate how I will play."

More tennis

Defending champions Heinz Gunthardt and Balazs Taroczy defeated Brian Gottfried and Raul Ramirez, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6, to win the WCT World Doubles Championship at London. Gunthardt and Taroczy split $72,000; Gottfried and Ramirez split $36,000 ... Australian Wally Masur rallied past American Juan Farrow, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, to win the $40,000 West Australian Open at Perth.

Swimming

East German Birgit Meineke earned her third individual gold medal in the U.S. Swimming International meet at Bloomington, Ind., winning the 100-meter freestyle in 53.99 seconds, a world short-course record.

Meineke, 18, earlier won the 50- and 200-meter freestyles.

Teammate Cornelia Sirch, 16, won the 200 backstroke in 2:07.74, a world short-course record.

In the 400 freestyle relay, Meineke, Sirch, Kristin Otto and Carmela Schmidt set a world short-course record of 3:41.74. Short-course records are set in 25-meter pools instead of the standard 50-meter pools.

Jeff Kostoff of Upland, Calif., and Kim Linehan of Sarasota, Fla., set American records in the men's and women's 1,500 freestyle. Kostoff's winning time was 14:50.37; Linehan's was 15:50.96.

Mary T. Meagher of Louisville won the 200 butterfly in 2:08.23, almost three seconds off her world record.

Although no team scores were kept, the United States won 16 gold medals. East Germany won 12.

Skiing

West German Irene Epple, snapping a streak of disappointing performances, won the first women's World Cup super-giant slalom race at Verbier, Switzerland. Hanni Wenzel of Lichtenstein was second and Tamara McKinney third ... Erwin Resch of Austria won his second World Cup downhill race as a treacherous bend wiped out one-third of the field at Val D'Isere, France. Peter Luescher of Switzerland was second.

Other sports

The New York-Pennsylvania League awarded a franchise to Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. League president Vincent McNamara said the club would be operated by Roger Kahn, author of The Boys of Summer ... World Boxing Association junior-flyweight champion Katsuo Tokashiki of Japan succesfully defended his title for the fourth time with a unanimous decision over South Korean Kim Hwan-Jin at Kyoto, Japan ... Geir Kyernmo of Norway, running his first marathon, won the inaugural Greater New Orleans Marathon in two hours, 20 minutes and 18 seconds, beating more than 2,000 competitors ... Northrexford Drive, ridden by Terry Lipham, rallied in the stretch to edge Sequoyah Sunday by 1 1/4 lengths in the $113,500 California Breeders' Champion Stakes at Santa Anita. The winner covered seven furlongs in 1:22 2/5 and paid $6.80, $3.60 and $2.60.

 

TENNIS
Lexington Herald-Leader
Tuesday, January 11, 1983
Wire Reports

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova crushed West Germany's Sylvia Hanika, 6-1, 6-1, Monday night to win the $150,000 Virginia Slims of Washington tournament at Landover, Md.

Earlier Monday, Navratilova was named the No. 1-ranked women's tennis player in the United States for 1982 by the U.S. Tennis Association.

Navratilova's victory, her 16th in her last 19 tournaments, was worth $28,000. Hanika got $14,000.

Navratilova, the world's top-ranked woman player, wasted little time in taking control, building a 4-1 lead within 15 minutes. Hanika, who had played brilliantly in beating second- seeded Andrea Jaeger Saturday, was ineffectual, as every facet of her game appeared to abandon her.

Navratilova, a native of Czechoslovakia, was last ranked No. 1 in the United States in 1979 and held the third spot in 1980 and 1981.

Chris Evert Lloyd, the 1982 U.S. Open champion, was ranked second for '82. Andrea Jaeger moved up one spot to No. 3, breaking up the triumvirate of Navratilova, Evert Lloyd and Tracy Austin, who have had a lock on the top three spots for the past three years.

Austin is now ranked fourth, the lowest she has been since she made her debut in that spot in 1977. Pam Shriver remained in fifth place.

The remaining top 10, in order, are: Bettina Bunge, Barbara Potter, Billy Jean King, Anne Smith and Zina Garrison.

King returns to the top 10 after one year's absence. She has now been ranked in the U.S. top ten a record 18 times since 1960.

At Milwaukee -- University of Kentucky netters Joe Leytze and Allison Evans routed their first-round opponents, while Andy Jackson had to come from behind in the Milwaukee Tennis Classic yesterday.

Jackson rallied by John Wayne of Wisconsin-Oshkosh 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. UK' s No. 2 has the tall order of facing second-seeded Mark Flur of Duke today in this prestigious collegiate tournament at Marquette University. Tennessee All-American Paul Annacone is the top seed.

Leytze, the No. 1 Wildcat, whipped David Leudtke of Wisconsin-Oshkosh 63, 6-0. The all-Southeastern Conference player meets Rice's Don Tomasco today. UK teammate Paul Varga, who had a first-round default, takes on Laird Dunlap of Wake Forest.

Eliminated were UK' s Pat McGee, who lost 6-1, 6-2 to Arizona' s Andis Luters, and John Varga, who lost a qualifier to Chris Weils of Oshkosh.

Freshman Allison Evans, a Lady Kat walk-on, thrashed Gretchen Tritschler 6-1, 6-0 in the women' s draw.

Robin Harrelson, a walk-on from Louisville like Evans, lost 6-1, 6-1 to fourth-seeded Barbara Gerken of UCLA. UK' s Kristin Buchanon fell to Northwestern' s Tina Oechsle 6-1, 6-0.

UK freshman Jamie Plummer played a late match against Kathleen Lilly of Southern Cal.

The top seeds are Louise Allen of Trinity and Micki Schillig of San Diego State.

 

Although unrelated to women's tennis, the first story demonstrates that the crowd in the 1992 Lipton final wasn't so bad, comparatively speaking.

Tennis
Lexington Herald-Leader
Wednesday, January 12, 1983
Wire reports

Tennis Play was delayed for more than an hour on center court yesterday during the New Zealand international grand prix tournament at Auckland after overnight damage to the surface by gasoline bombs thrown by anti-apartheid demonstrators.

The demonstrators, protesting against the appearance of South African Bernie Mitton, threw in tennis balls containing gasoline which made small craters on the court surface.

Mitton proceded to beat Aussie Ross Case 6-2, 3-6, 8-6.

* Joe Leytze is the only Kentucky Wildcat survivor after two days in the collegiate Milwaukee Classic. The allSoutheastern Conference performer routed Don Tomasco of Rice 6-2, 6-2 and will face Brad Cherry of Southern Cal today.

UK' s Andy Jackson fell in the second round to No. 2 seed Mark Flur of Duke 6-1, 6-4 and Paul Varga lost to Laird Dunlap of Wake Forest 6-1, 6-4.

Freshman Allison Evans was the last Lady Kat to bow out, losing 6-1, 6-3 to South Carolina' s Ellen Oxreider.

* Something bad always seems to happen to Andrea Jaeger when she plays in Texas.

She kept the jinx intact Tuesday night, losing to hometown favorite Zina Garrison, 6-1, 6-3, in a first-round match of the $150,000 Virginia Slims of Houston tennis tournament in Astroarena.

"I may have to do something about my playing schedule," Jaeger said. "Something always seems to happen to me here."

Garrison, who started her playing career as an 11-year-old in nearby McGregor Park, is what happened to Jaeger Tuesday night. To the delight of a partisan crowd, Garrison never let the heavily favored Jaeger get into the match. Garrison broke Jaeger in seven of the eight games she served and put down minor challenges in the second set.

"I've played her three times before and she always started off as if she didn't care," Garrison said. "Usually, she just takes you wider and wider. But this time, the shots weren't as bad as they usually are."

In the other featured match Tuesday night, third-seeded Tracy Austin of the U.S. defeated Claudia Monteiro of Brazil, 6-4, 6-0.

 

TENNIS
Lexington Herald-Leader
Friday, January 14, 1983
Wire Reports

* Tracy Austin, untroubled by a power failure after the first set, beat JoAnne Russell 7-5, 6-0 last night at the Virginia Slims of Houston.

Hometown heroine Zina Garrison, who upset second-seeded Andrea Jaeger the night before, beat Andrea Leand of Brooklandville, Md., 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, and fourth-seeded Pam Shriver rallied from a 4-3 deficit in the first set to beat unseeded Susan Mascarin 6-4, 6-1.

In earlier matches, sixth-seeded Bettina Bunge beat Peanut Louie 6-2, 7-5; No. 8 Anne Smith defeated NCAA champ Alycia Moulton 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; and No. 7 Sylvia Hanika of West Germany beat Wendy White 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

* Sweden's Bjorn Borg, who is out to recapture his No. 1 world ranking after a year's hiatus, outlasted Sandy Mayer 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 in an exhibition last night in Albuquerque.

*Unseeded Kentucky Wildcat Joe Leytze added to his growing list of upset victims yesterday with a 6 3, 4-6, 6-1 victory over second seeded Mark Flur of Duke in the quarterfinals of the Milwaukee Classic.

Flur, the Blue Devils' No. 1 player, is currently 20th in the collegiate rankings. Leytze, an all-Southeastern Conference performer last year, had already beaten the tourney' s top seed earlier in the season. The senior from Cincinnati upset Tennessee All-American Paul Annacone in the Kentucky Fall Invitational.

Leytze meets fourth-seeded Roberto Saad of Wichita State in today's semis at Marquette University.

 

Found a slightly more detailed wire report....


TENNIS
Lexington Herald-Leader
Saturday, January 15, 1983
Wire Reports

At Houston -- Top-seeded Martina Navratilova overcame the occasionally brilliant shot-making of defending champion Bettina Bunge for a 6-1, 7-5 victory in a quarter-finals match of the $150,000 Virginia Slims of Houston.

Navratilova, the No.1-ranked player in the world, had to recover from two service losses in the second set before finally dispensing with Miss Bunge, who has never beaten her in nine tries.

Third-seeded Tracy Austin routed eight-seeded Anne Smith, 6-1, 6-2 for the spot opposite Navratilova in today' s semifinals.

Earlier, seventh-seeded Sylvia Hanika defeated fourth-seeded Pam Shriver 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Eva Pfaff eliminated hometown favorite Zina Garrison 4-6, 7-6 (14-12), 7-6 (7-4). Hanika lost five straight games in the first set before rebounding to victory

Earlier, Hanika denied that she had been offered cocaine at a tournament in the Philippines, as reported by the Neue Revue magazine of West Germany. She also said she was unaware of drug use by fellow players.

 

NAVRATILOVA ROUTS AUSTIN IN HOUSTON
The Miami Herald
Sunday, January 16, 1983
From Herald Wire Services

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova gave Tracy Austin a lesson in power tennis Saturday night, blasting the No. 3 seed, 6-2, 6-2, despite a controversial call at match point to gain the finals of the $150,000 Virginia Slims of Houston tennis tournament

Navratilova, who has lost only three of her past 102 matches, moved into today's finals against seventh-seeded Sylvia Hanika, who defeated fellow West German Eva Pfaff, 7-5, 6-1, in the other semifinal.

Navratilova broke Austin in the fourth and eighth games of the first set, did it again in the second game of the second set and wrapped up the match by gaining another break in the eighth and final game with a controversial backhand volley that nicked the line at the first match point.

Despite the protests of the capacity crowd, the linesman called the ball good and the umpire upheld the decision.

Other tennis

Australian John Alexander and New Zealand's Russell Simpson gained the singles final of the Benson and Hedges Open in Auckland, New Zealand. Alexander beat New Zealand's No. 1 player, Chris Lewis, 7-6, 6-4, and Simpson topped Australian Rod Frawley, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 ... In a late match Friday night, John McEnroe reacted to unfavorable calls by stomping his foot, yelling and tossing his racquet during a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Guillermo Vilas during an exhibition in Milwaukee ... In Tampa Friday night, Vitas Gerulaitis downed Bjorn Borg, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5, to win an exhibition. It was only his fourth victory over the Swede in a 10-year rivalry.

 

Interesting comments about the "psych out" job done by the press and MN's comments about who is #1 (even though Evert had won the last 2 majors and would win the French).

NAVRATILOVA'S DOMINANCE TAKING TOLL ON OPPONENTS
The Miami Herald
Tuesday, January 18, 1983
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

Officials should rename the Virginia Slims circuit Martina's March.

Using a powerful service game and fighting a lack of concentration, Navratilova beat Sylvia Hanika, 6-3, 7-6, and then teamed with Pam Shriver to win the doubles, 6-4, 6-3 over Barbara Potter and Jo Durie.

Thus Navratilova continues to move up on the legendary Chris Evert, but she hints she will never reach that plateau.

"I'm way behind Chris," Navratilova said. "It's not even close. I haven't even won the U.S. Open. I'll keep chasing her. But Bill Tilden didn't win the Open until he was 27 and I'm 26."

Navratilova earned $33,500 and hammered herself even more strongly into the psyches of the many struggling young women on the tour.

Tracy Austin, one of the few left who can challenge Navratilova, says that members of the press, of all people, are partially responsible.

"I'm not taking anything away from Martina; she's playing great. She's had an outrageous year. But you guys [reporters] are helping her. It's unbelievable the way the girls talk in the locker room. It's like they walk out on the court [against Navratilova] defeated. You have to forget who you're playing," Austin said. "It's not the press' fault or Martina's fault. It's the players' fault for thinking about who they are playing instead of playing the ball."

Martina's response to the media types? "Keep writing; keep building that aura."

Hanika, the 10th-rated player in the world, did not admit to having defeatist thoughts despite having to play Navratilova six days after losing 6-1, 6-1 to her in the Washington, D.C., final. Hanika said she thought she had Navratilova when she led 5-4 in the second set Sunday.

But Hanika suffered a case of nerves at the thought of winning one set from Navratilova.

"I missed two easy forehands. I just wanted it too badly," Hanika said. "I felt she was getting a little shaky but I blew my chance."

Hanika's errors filled the second-set tie-breaker that ended 7-5.

Navratilova won her 100th match in the last 103, her second title in two tournaments this year, her sixth in eight circuit tournaments over two years. Her last loss was to Evert in the Australian Open in December.

Navratilova considers herself the No. 1 player right now -- a belief that is shared by most of the world's tennis observers.

"There's no question. I'm No. 1. That's the end of discussion. She [Evert] admits I was No. 1 last year. She said watch out for next year, and I'm watching out," Navratilova said.

Over the years, Evert has won many more major titles than Navratilova, giving her an edge when the two are compared. As an indication that Navratilova will concentrate more on the world's most prestigious titles, she is leaving the winter tour now for four weeks of relaxation.

She said she would not hit a tennis ball for 2 1/2 weeks.

"That should rejuvenate me for the rest of the circuit," she said.

 

From the Avon Cup on Marco Island, FL.


THIS OLD LADY IS TENNIS' KING
The Miami Herald
Tuesday, January 11, 1983
JIM MARTZ

The Grand Old Lady of tennis, as Billie Jean King calls herself, probably has retired as many times as Muhammad Ali.

But nothing seems to KO her. Not five knee operations nor one on an ankle. Not age (she'll turn 40 this year). And not hostile reaction to Marilyn Barnett's "galimony" suit against her resulting from their admitted affair.

People scoffed when King entered the singles draw at Wimbledon last summer. Wouldn't her bones creak too much? Why couldn't she retire "with dignity" as she had promised back in 1975?

Yet, King conquered players young enough to be her daughter en route to reaching Wimbledon's semifinals, losing to Chris Evert Lloyd. The Old Lady taught those whippersnappers a thing or two about court savvy and determination.

But was that her last hurrah? Will she finally hang up her racquet, at least in singles play? And what will life after tennis be like for the woman who generally is regarded as being the most influential person in bringing tennis out of the country clubs and to the masses?

"I'd like to do some other things in life, though I'm sure it will be related to tennis," King said at the Tennis Industry's National Buying Show that ends today at the Miami Beach Convention Center. "I've thought all year about what I should do.

"I'd like to get into motivation, probably through lectures and books. I talked to coaches, athletes and teachers about motivation at Minneapolis last year and really enjoyed it.

"I've also thought about having a baby. But maybe I'm too old. At 39 you get a little nervous. Maybe I'll adopt."

King will adopt a wait-and-see attitude concerning her future on the court. She'll continue to play singles, at least through Wimbledon. She'll compete in the $100,000 Avon Cup at Marco Island, Fla., beginning Monday, but will pass up the Murjani Cup at Palm Beach Gardens the following week "because I haven't had a vacation."

She'll also play in four or five tournaments on the newly created over-30 women's circuit. ("It should be over-35 because I'm 39," she joked). And she'll compete in Team Tennis, the league her husband Larry heads.

"Then I'll re-evaluate things in August," she said.

King, who has won six singles titles and a record 20 over- all titles at Wimbledon, wants to win another. "I'd like to win mixed doubles, if I can find a partner," she said. "I still think I'm good enough."

What about more television commentary as she has done occasionally for NBC?

"I'm not sure," she said. "Everybody has been nice to me, but I'm not sure if it's really for me. Maybe it's too inactive for me. If I were a producer or director, it would be more meaningful. Or if I was a super commentator like Bud Collins or Dick Enberg. I'd rather be in the background creating."

Billie Jean always has been creating. She helped found the Women's Sports Foundation, was the first woman to coach a coed team in professional sports when she took over the Philadelphia Freedoms of World Team Tennis in 1974, and helped launch the magazine Women's Sports.

How about politics? How about Billie Jean for senator?

"If I felt I could be really effective, I'd be interested," she replied. "I wouldn't be in it just for winning votes. But I'd probably want to be in the background."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Maybe I could motivate the country -- like a prime minister."

King says only a small percentage of people have reacted negatively against her since Barnett's lawsuit in the summer of 1981. The damage mainly has been financial. She says her business managers estimate she has lost at least $1.5 million in potential income.

"Yonex rackets (which she represented at the equipment show) and Nike are the only two to stay by me," she said.

The first firm to sign her since the suit is the Terraces of Turnberry, a development in North Miami Beach in which she is buying a condominium. Her coach, Owen Davidson, also is buying there.

"I thought, after Wimbledon, I would get at least one phone call (of a business nature)," King said, "but I got nothing."

A visitor to the equipment show asked her if she thought that was unfair.

"That's life," King said. "You learn about people. But I think things will start changing."

 

FULL HOUSE GREETS AVON TOURNAMENT
The Miami Herald
Tuesday, January 25, 1983
JEFF LEEN

With capacity crowds and seesaw matches, the $100,000 Avon Cup tournament got off to a booming start Monday at Marriott's Marco Beach Resort.

In the tournament's main draw, Diane Fromholtz of Australia, a relative veteran of the women's professional tour at 26, pulled the biggest upset of the day with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over eighth-seeded Yvonne Vermaak of South Africa.

In other opening-day matches, Kathy Jordan of the United States downed fellow American Alycia Moulton 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; Duk Hee Lee of South Korea beat American Barbara Jordan 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; Catherine Tanvier of France defeated Wendy White of the United States 0-6, 6-1, 6-3; and Leigh Thompson of the United States edged fellow American Pam Teeguarden 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

In the qualifying matches, which will allow eight players to move into the main draw, Sally Solomon upset second-seeded Julie Harrington 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Solomon, sister of men's professional tennis star Harold Solomon, is from Fort Lauderdale.

Susan Flickinger, director of public relations at the resort, said about 700 persons watched the afternoon matches Monday and all 1,600 stadium-court seats were sold out for the evening matches.

The 2,300 seats sold on the tournament's first day of main-draw matches nearly equaled the 3,000 seats sold during the entire $100,000 Pinch Scotch Invitational held on the island last month. The Pinch Scotch tournament featured a 16-man field of 35-and-over men tennis professionals.

"I think that maybe there was a little bit more publicity," at the Avon tournament, Flickinger said. "There was certainly a lot more community support for this one."

Flickinger also cited the promotional involvement by the players. Billie Jean King held a press conference two weeks before the tournament, Evonne Goolagong meet the press after warming up on the resort's courts last week, and several players gave telephone interviews.

In addition, Flickinger said young, up-and-coming female tennis players such as 15-year-old Kathy Rinaldi and 17-year-old Andrea Jaeger were proving their drawing power.

"The people like to watch a lot of the youth of today play," Flickinger said. "Especially, the 16-year-olds."

Flickinger said the evening matches on Thursday and Sunday were also sold out, and Saturday's evening matches were headed for a sell out.

 

JAEGER ROMPS IN AVON
The Miami Herald
Friday, January 28, 1983
From Herald Wire Services

Top-seeded Andrea Jaeger easily disposed of JoAnne Russell, 6-3, 6-1, Thursday in third-round play of the $100,000 Avon Cup tennis tournament at Marco Island, Fla.

"She outsteadied me, no doubt about that," Russell said after the match. "My game plan, which failed, was to bring her to the net. I'm just not patient enough for this kind of game."

In other matches, 15-year-old Michelle Torres eliminated Lee Antonoplis, 6-1, 6-1. In earlier play, Torres had upset No. 2 seed Wendy Turnbull, 6-1, 6-1.

Virginia Ruzici defeated Helena Sukova, 7-5, 6-0; Hana Mandlikova beat Camille Benjamin, 6-1, 6-4; Zina Garrison topped Marcella Mesker, 6-2, 6-4; Dianne Fromholtz whipped Susan Mascarin, 6-4, 6-2; Andrea Temesvari downed Terry Phelps, 6-4, 6-4, and Kathy Rinaldi of Jensen Beach, Fla., ousted Leigh Thompson, 6-2, 6-0.

More tennis

Swedish star Mats Wilander demolished Ramesh Krisnhan, 6-1, 6-1, to gain the semifinals of the $255,000 Guaruja (Brazil) Grand Prix. Top seed Jose-Luis Clerc of Argentina defeated Francisco Gonzalez of Paraguay, 6-4, 6-4; Belgian Bernard
Boileau upset third-seeded Andres Gomez of Ecuador, 7-5, 6-1, and fourth-seeded Tomas Smid of Czechoslovakia stopped Pat Dupre of the U.S., 6-2, 6-2, in other quarterfinals.

Boxing

World Boxing Association featherweight champ Eusebio Pedroza will defend his title for the 16th time when he meets No. 1 contender Rocky Lockridge March 5 in a nationally televised 15- round bout at the Showboat Hotel in Las Vegas. Pedroza, who turns 30 two days before the fight, has a 34-3-1 record. Lockridge, 28, of Paterson, N.J., is 28-2 ... Scott Frank of Oakland, N.J., scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Steve Zouski, Brockton, Mass., in a heavyweight bout Wednesday night in Totowa, N.J., boosting his record to 19-0-1 with 14 knockouts.

Other sports

The Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League signed Florida State tailback Ricky Williams and continued their pursuit of All-America offensive tackle Jimbo Covert of Pitt, their first-round draft pick. Covert met with Bugsy Engleberg, director of football operations for the Bandits but said he might hold off until after the NFL draft in April before making a decision on which league he will join ... Swiss skiing ace Peter Mueller is recovering in a Sarejevo, Yugoslavia, hospital after suffering a concussion and a kidney injury during a downhill practice run Wednesday.

 

BATTLE OF 15-YEAR-OLDS: TORRES UPSETS RINALDI
The Miami Herald
Saturday, January 29, 1983
From Herald Wire Services

In a match of 15-year-olds, unseeded Michelle Torres upset eighth-seeded Kathy Rinaldi, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, Friday to reach today's semifinals of the $100,000 Avon Cup tennis tournament in Marco Island, Fla.

Torres, who knocked off second-seeded Wendy Turnbull in the first round, reached the semifinals of a tournament for the first time in her professional career.

"This is the toughest she [Torres] has ever played," said Rinaldi, who had experience against Torres in junior tennis tournaments.

In other matches Friday, top-seeded Andrea Jaeger coasted by Dianne Fromholtz, 6-4, 6-2, Hana Mandlikova topped Zina Garrison, 6-3, 6-4, and Andrea Temesvari edged Virgina Ruzici, 6-3, 6-2. Jaeger will play Torres and Mandlikova will meet Temesvari in today's semifinals.

* *

Chris Evert Lloyd, Andrea Jaeger, Wendy Tunrbull, Hana Mandlikova, Virginia Ruzici, Zina Garrison, Kathy Rinaldi and Rosalyn Fairbank were named the top eight seeds, in order, for the Murjani Cup women's tournament, which will begin Monday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.

Seeds nine through 14 will be Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Andrea Leand, Kathy Jordan, Leslie Allen, JoAnne Russell and Catherine Tanvier. Goolagong will play Rosie Casals Monday afternoon, and Mandlikova will play Monday evening against an opponent to be determined. All of the other seeds will begin play Tuesday. Qualifiers will play today and Sunday at 10 a.m.

* *

Jimmy Connors, on the strength of his victories in Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, was ranked No. 1 in the world for 1982 by World Tennis Magazine despite a season-ending loss to Ivan Lendl. Lendl was ranked second, with John McEnroe third ... Jose-Luis Clerc and Mats Wilander won advanced to the final of a $255,000 men's tournament in Guaruja, Brazil. Clerc defeated Bernard Boileau, 6-1, 6-2, and Wilander beat Tomas Smid, 6-1, 6-4. Clerc will meet Wilander today, with $36,000 going to the winner and $18,000 to the runnerup.

 

AT MARCO, DIFFERENT STROKES FOR TWO DIFFERENT ANDREAS
The Miami Herald
Sunday, January 30, 1983
JEFF LEEN

The opening semifinal at the $100,000 Avon Cup tournament here was a battle between Andreas -- two blond, high-school-age girls with two-handed backhands and two vastly different games.

The better Andrea turned out to be Andrea Jaeger, the 17-year-old from Lincolnshire, Ill., who is ranked No. 3 in the world.

Relying on the baseline game that has allowed her to beat Chris Evert-Lloyd on clay, Jaeger outsteadied Andrea Temesvari, a 16-year-old Hungarian, 6-3, 6-2. The match took 87 minutes on the Har-Tru surface at the Marriott's Marco Beach Resort.

Temesvari had upset fourth-seeded Virginia Ruzici of Romania 6-3, 6-2, to earn the right to play Jaeger, the tournament's first seed.

"She's very steady," Temesvari said after the match. "Against her, you have to hit balls and go to the net."

Temesvari sliced backhands and swatted sharply angled forehands but she could not come up with the approach shots to successfully gain the net against Jaeger, who was content for most of the match to sit back and let Temesvari miss.

In the first set, each Andrea held her opening serve and the early games consisted mainly of long rallies pitting two-handed backhand against two-handed backhand.

Jaeger went up 4-2 in the first set when Temesvari lost her
serve on a double fault, and from that point on it was all Jaeger.

As she fell behind, Temesvari began going for the lines and missing, while Jaeger hit looping "moon balls" at her.

The pattern continued into the second set, where Jaeger broke Temesvari's serve to take a 2-1 lead. Temesvari held serve one more time, but Jaeger won the last three games and ran out the match.

Afterward, Temesvari, who has made the quantum leap from No. 146 in the tennis world to No. 34 in the space of a year, contrasted the playing styles of the Jaeger-generation of American players and the Temesvari-generation of European players.

"Every European, I think they want to go in to the net," Temesvari said. "They serve, rally, slice, dropshot and try to go in. They have more variety. In America, they're very steady. They do the same thing 20 times."

Temesvari, who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 125 pounds, said she is already a recognizable figure on the streets of Hungary.

"I'm famous, yeah," she said when asked.

For Jaeger, the match seemed to be business as usual in her drive up the mountain of computer rankings.

"I'm a defensive player," Jaeger said after the match. "Although my game is basically the same, I play a little differently against each player. If someone wants to stay back, I'll stay back with them. I feel pretty confident with my clay- court game. If someone attacks, I can attack. But in the matches I've played here, I haven't had to. Basically, I just waited [against Temesvari]."

Jaeger described her game as an "all-around type game. I don't have anything that stands out nor do I have any big weaknesses."

She said if anything stood out for her right now, it was her mental attitude, which she displayed when she was asked if she wanted to be number one. Noting the absence of Martina Navratilova and Evert-Lloyd, Jaeger said she didn't think she should talk about being number one without having the opportunity to prove it.

"If you're going to talk," she said. "You might as well do it with your racquet."

In today's final, Jaeger will play Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia, who beat Michelle Torres of the United States, 6-4, 6-4, later Saturday.

 

JAEGER TOPS MANDLIKOVA IN AVON FINAL
The Miami Herald
Monday, January 31, 1983
JIM MARTZ

The shrill sound of a burglar alarm going off accidentally in the Mercedes parked across the street may have been what awakened Hana Mandlikova in the second set of Sunday's Avon Cup final with Andrea Jaeger.

Or maybe the second-seeded Mandlikova was fed up with making unforced errors and decided to play up to her considerable potential. Whatever, the 20-year-old Czechoslovakian rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie at 3-3, then had two break points on the top-seeded Jaeger.

But Mandlikova lost form again, hitting two backhands long, a lob long and a backhand into the net to allow Jaeger to hold serve. Jaeger then regained command to capture the championship, 6-1, 6-3, before a capacity crowd of 2,204 at Marriott's Marco Beach Resort.

It was the first championship for the 17-year-old Jaeger since she won an Avon tournament in Oakland, Calif., last February. Already the youngest player ever to earn $1 million on the tour, she pocketed $18,000.

Jaeger picked up another $3,000 later in the day when she teamed with Mary Lou Piatek to win the doubles final, 7-6, 6-4, over top-seeded Rosie Casals and Wendy Turnbull.

In the singles final, which lasted only one hour and nine minutes, Jaeger's steady groundstrokes kept Mandlikova pinned to the baseline for much of the match. When Mandlikova did venture to the net, Jaeger often passed her with shots deep to the corner or with lobs floating just inside the baseline.

"I figured I had to make her stay back and not serve and volley and hit a lot of service winners," said Jaeger. "For my first match on clay in a long time, I was really pleased with the way I was playing. The first time I ever played Hana on clay [1980], she wiped me off the court, 6-0, 6-3."

As balmy breezes blew in from the Gulf of Mexico a block away, Jaeger did the wiping Sunday afternoon. But Mandlikova contributed to her own downfall with numerous unforced errors, usually at crucial points.

"I think I was missing many, many balls," Mandlikova said in an understatement. "It looked like I had a chance at 3-3 in the second set, but I just played badly."

That seems to be the story of Mandlikova's life. Showing a repertoire of shots in the mold of Czech native Martina Navratilova, she rose to world's No. 5 ranking in 1981. But instead of reaching the top three as predicted last year, she dropped to No. 9.

She suffered several embarrassing early-round losses and also was hampered by a nagging back injury. Mandlikova, who owns a home at Boca West in Boca Raton, would look like a world- beater one day and Raggedy Ann the next.

"She's a streaky player," said Jaeger, who is now 5-5 lifetime against Mandlikova. "She plays well or poorly. In one game, she'll have three great shots and go up, 40-0, then lose the game.

"She has so much talent, but maybe it's not good to have so much. On a short ball, she can hit five different ways, but maybe she doesn't know which one to use."

Mandlikova doesn't dispute that. She figures it's just going to take longer for her to refine her talents than it would, say, a baseline player like Jaeger.

"I like the way I have my game," Mandlikova said. "It takes a little longer to develop, like Martina's game. I still have time. People like my style of play, and I do, too. I don't have to stay on the court three or four hours."

Both players are entered in the $150,000 Murjani Cup, also on clay, that begins today at Palm Beach Gardens.

"I hope I don't have to play Andrea until the semifinals or final," said Mandlikova. "She plays her best on clay. She has more time to prepare for every ball. If she's on grass or a faster surface, she doesn't have as much time for her big swing."

Jaeger, a senior at Adlai Stevenson High in the Chicago suburbs, is ranked third on the Women's Tennis Association computer behind Navratilova and Chris Evert Lloyd. Navratilova is not entered at Palm Beach Gardens, though she was in town Sunday for meetings of the WTA, of which she is president.

Evert is entered at Palm Beach Gardens and is top-seeded. Jaeger and Evert, who waged a fierce rivalry last year, could meet in this week's final. Jaeger upended her three times early last year, including a 6-0, 6-3 victory in the French Open semifinals.

But Evert struck back to win the last four meetings, including a 6-1, 6-0 verdict in the Australian semifinals. Jaeger says, however, that knocking off Evert is not necessarily one of her goals.

"I haven't really set any goals for this year," said Jaeger, who is looking for her first Grand Slam title (Wimbledon, U.S. Open, French Open and Australian Open). "I will play a lot of tourneys. But after next week, I'll go back and try to finish high school [where she's an A student]."

 

MANDLIKOVA, JAEGER TOP 'KIDDIE' OPPONENTS
The Miami Herald
Sunday, January 30, 1983
JIM MARTZ

Welcome to the Kiddie Corps Open -- alias the $100,000 Avon Tennis Cup women's tournament -- in which 20-year-old Hana Mandlikova was the old lady of Saturday's semifinals.

If a driver's license were required for entry in this tournament, officials would have had trouble filling out the 56- player draw. Two unseeded teenagers advanced to the semifinals, leaving veterans and other members of the Kiddie Corps in their wake.

Saturday afternoon, top-seeded Andrea Jaeger, 17, defeated 16-year-old Hungarian Andrea Temesvari, 6-3, 6-2, before 2,117 spectators at the Marriott Marco Beach Resort. Saturday night before another 2,100, third-seeded Mandlikova edged 15-year-old Michelle Torres of Northbrook, Ill., 6-4, 6-4.

Jaeger, from Lincolnshire, Ill., and Mandlikova will meet in today's 1 p.m. final, with the winner earning $18,000 and gaining momentum heading into this week's Murjani Cup at Palm Beach Gardens.

Asked how it felt to be the oldest player in the semifinals, Mandlikova grimaced and said, "I don't think I'm old. I've got 10 more years left."

But she said she welcomes the addition of more teenage phenoms on the circuit. "It's very good for tennis," said Mandlikova, who won the French Open at age 19 in 1981. "It's a change for the future."

Temesvari, ranked 34th on the Women's Tennis Association computer, knocked off Laura Arraya, 17, and fourth-seeded Virginia Ruzici en route to Saturday's match with Jaeger. Torres, an amateur whose first tennis lesson was given to her by Jaeger's father six years ago, knocked off second-seeded Wendy Turnbull and 15-year-old Kathy Rinaldi, who was seeded eighth, to reach the semifinals.

Because Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert Lloyd and Tracy Austin aren't entered here, Jaeger inherited the role as the player to beat. She said the added pressure doesn't bother her, though.

"I'm sure a lot of people are expecting me to win," she said. "And I'm pretty comfortable with my clay-court game right now.

"I always go into a tournament expecting to win, but I'm not going to go all over the place talking about it. If you're going to talk, you might as well talk with your racquet."

That's what Jaeger did as she gave Temesvari a lesson in clay-court patience, moon balls and stamina.

The Mandlikova-Torres match featured 14 service breaks in 20 games. After Mandlikova squandered a match point at 5-3 and double-faulted to lose service, she broke Torres to win the match.

Mandlikova has a 5-4 career record over Jaeger. They have not met since Jaeger won, 6-1, 6-3, in the Citizen Cup last spring at Palm Beach Gardens.

"She plays every match the same," Mandlikova said. "Everything depends on me, not on her. It's very important how I serve. If I serve well, I'm going to beat her; if I don't, it will be very difficult."

In the doubles semifinals, Jaeger and Mary Lou Piatek beat Kathy Jordan and Paula Smith, 6-1, 1-6, 7-6, and Rosie Casals and Turnbull beat Yvonne Vrmaak and Kathy Horvach, 7-5, 6-2.

 

Murjani Cup.


EVERT TO FACE FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE IN '83 DEBUT
The Miami Herald
Sunday, January 30, 1983
JIM MARTZ

In commercials plugging the $150,000 Murjani Cup women's tennis tournament beginning Monday in Palm Beach Gardens, Chris Evert Lloyd says that 17 of the top 20 players will be competing.

That statement is inaccurate, although Evert was only reading cue cards written by tournament officials. Five of the top 10 players in the Women's Tennis Association computer rankings are not entered.

"When we got the original list from the WTA, it had 17 of the top 20," said Janice Brown, assistant tournament director. "But there were several changes, and it was hard to change the ads to reflect them."

Nevertheless, a formidable field awaits Evert in her first tournament of 1983 as she attempts to regain the No. 1 ranking she lost to Martina Navratilova in 1982.

Navratilova will not compete at Palm Beach Gardens. Neither are No. 4 Tracy Austin, No. 6 Pam Shriver, No. 8 Barbara Potter or No. 9 Bettina Bunge. But the 56-player field does include third-ranked Andrea Jaeger, fifth-ranked Wendy Turnbull, seventh-ranked Hana Mandlikova and 10th-ranked Sylvia Hanika, in addition to Evert.

Other notable entries include two-time Wimbledon champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley; Kathy Rinaldi of nearby Jensen Beach, Fla.; Virginia Ruzici, Ann Smith and Zina Garrison.

For several years, the women's tour traditionally has played indoors from January to April. But this year, it's making two outdoor stops on clay courts in Florida, the $100,000 Avon Cup this past week at Marco Island and the Murjani Cup.

"I think it's a nice change, and I think a lot of the players will enjoy it," said Evert.

Ruzici, winner of the 1982 U.S. Clay Court title, added, "I think it's good for us to have a choice and to get to play on clay for a change before April."

Evert has been skipping most or all of the winter circuit in recent years to recharge her batteries and travel to tournaments with her husband John, who plays on the men's circuit. But she's eager to reach peak form in time for the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments, her main goals this year.

In last year's French Open, Evert suffered her worst loss ever on clay, 6-0, 6-3, to Jaeger in the semifinals. She dropped the Wimbledon final to Navratilova in three sets.

The Murjani Cup will be the second of four women's tournaments in southern Florida this year. The second annual Citizen Cup, a four-player event offering $250,000 in prize money, will be played April 2-3, also at PGA National. And the $125,000 Lynda Carter/Maybelline Classic will return to Deer Creek in Deerfield Beach Nov. 7-13.

Evert already is entered in the Citizen Cup, and invitations are being extended to Navratilova, Jaeger and Austin.

"I'll play all the South Florida tournaments," said Evert, a native of Fort Lauderdale who now calls Amelia Island, Fla., home. "If they arrange it, I'll be there."

MURJANI CUP AT A GLANCE 98

What -- $150,000 Murjani Cup women's tournament.

Where -- PGA National Resort at Palm Beach Gardens (three miles west of I-95 on PGA Boulevard).

Field -- 56-player main draw headed by Chris Evert Lloyd, Andrea Jaeger, Wendy Turnbull, Virginia Ruzici, Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Kathy Rinaldi.

Schedule -- Today: qualifying matches, 10 a.m.; Monday through Thursday: matches at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Friday: quarterfinals at noon and 6:30 p.m.; Saturday: semifinals at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday: finals at 2 p.m.

Admission -- Today, $3 and $5; Monday through Wednesday, $6 and $8 per session; Thursday and Friday, $8 and $10 per session; Saturday, $10 and $12.50 per session; Sunday, $12.50 and $16. For ticket information, call 627-LOVE in Palm Beach Gardens.

 

MURJANI CUP OPENS TODAY WITH CHANGES IN SCHEDULE
The Miami Herald
Monday, January 31, 1983
HERALD STAFF

The $150,000 Murjani Cup women's tennis tournament opens today at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens with some late schedule changes.

The match between Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Rosie Casals and Hana Mandlikova's match with a qualifier have been postponed until Tuesday afternoon because Casals and Mandlikova played Sunday in the Avon Cup at Marco Island, Fla. Tournament director John Korff said persons who present stubs from tonight's matches will be admitted free to Tuesday afternoon's matches.

Top-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd will play her first match Tuesday night at 7 against the winner of today's meeting between Kathy Horvath and Michelle Torres, who reached the semifinals at Marco Island. Second-seeded Andrea Jaeger, the winner Sunday over Mandlikova, also will play Tuesday night against today's winner between Barbara Hallquist and Mary Lou Piatek.

Today's schedule:

Stadium court: 10 a.m. -- Sabrina Simmonds vs. Camille Benjamin, followed by Leigh Thompson vs. Wendy White, Marcella Mesker vs. Leslie Allen, Kathy Horvath vs. Michelle Torres, followed by doubles.

Stadium court: 7 p.m. -- Dianne Fromholtz vs. Yvonne Vermaak, followed by Kathy Jordan vs. Corinne Vanier.

Court Eight: 9:30 a.m. -- Paula Smith vs. Jennie Klitsch, followed by Katerina Skronska vs. Anne White, Dana Gilbert vs. Betsy Nagelsen, Catherine Tanvier vs. Marcela Skuherska, Lucia Romanov vs. Shelly Solomon, followed by doubles.

Court 10: 10 a.m. -- Pat Medrado vs. Amy Holton, followed by Louise Allen vs. Susan Mascarin, Vicki Nelson vs. Ann Hobbs, Manuela Maleeva vs. Sue Leo.

Sunday's qualifying

Shelly Solomon d. Kim Sands, 6-3, 6-3; Amy Holton d. Felicia Raschiatore, 6-4, 6-1; Anne Hobbs downed Kim Steinmetz, 6-0, 6-1; Kim Shaeffer d. Michaela Pazderoza, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Susan Leo d. Laura Bernstein, 6-2, 6-4; Paula Smith d. Stacy Margolin, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4; Lea Antonopolis d. Christine O'Neil, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; Terry Phelps d. Marcela Skuherska, 6-2, 6-2.

 

What a circus! Imagine Susan Leo vs. vintage Martina Hingis!


WOMEN RAISE A RACKET IN FIRST-ROUND MURJANI MATCH
The Miami Herald
Tuesday, February 1, 1983
JIM MARTZ

Who says you need Wimbledon's Center Court and John McEnroe to have a little spice in a tennis match?

Way out on court 10 Monday, before a grand total of eight spectators at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, there was a match highlighted by racquet throwing, whimpering, arguments with fans, a ball being slammed toward a spectator and a warning from the umpire. And McEnroe wasn't within hundreds of miles.

The combatants were Manuela Maleeva and Susan Leo, who are ranked 60th and 90th, respectively, in the world and aren't exactly big names on the women's tennis circuit. But their first-round match in the $150,000 Murjani Cup illustrates that the men haven't cornered the market on controversy.

"God hates me, yes He does," groaned Leo as she looked to the sky. She was losing her cool and her 3-0 lead in the second set.

Maleeva uttered most of her complaints in her native Bulgarian. Maleeva, you may recall, is the 15-year-old who forfeited the championship match of the Orange Bowl World Junior tournament in December at Miami Beach to Carling Bassett.

Her mother waved her off the court in the second set of the Orange Bowl to protest what she claimed was "cheating" by American linesmen. She refused to allow her daughter to accept the runnerup trophy.

Monday, mom was at courtside again. But she bit her tongue when close calls went against Maleeva. It was Leo, a 20-year-old Australian, who reached the boiling point.

Her wrath was taken out on a tournament volunteer worker who was standing near the court and watching the match. The volunteer's sin was applauding a point won by Maleeva.

"Volunteers should shut up." Leo shrieked. "Can you sit down?" Leo then pleaded to the umpire, "Tell her to sit down, she's distracting me."

When the volunteer clapped after another point that Maleeva won, Leo hollered, "Kiss off." The umpire issued a warning to Leo.

A moment later, Leo slammed a ball toward the sideline that missed the volunteer but nearly hit Maleeva's mother, Julie, in the head.

"Point warning," said the umpire. But a linesman reminded him that points can be taken away in men's tennis but not women's tennis, because there's no such penalty system for the women's circuit.

Maleeva, who looked toward her mother every time she made an error or lost a close line call, eventually won the match, 6-3, 6-4. Afterward, both Maleevas said they had no second thoughts about the forfeit at the Orange Bowl, the first ever in the final round of that prestigious junior tournament.

"I'm just trying to forget the Orange Bowl," said Manuela.

Her mother said she would wave her daughter off the court again if she had to. "There's no pride, nothing worth that humiliation," Julie Maleeva said.

Asked if there had been any problems with line calls in the three pro tournaments Manuela has played in since the Orange Bowl, Julie said, "No, they are always making errors, but it's for both players."

All but three of the seeded players in the Murjani Cup were off Monday, though many of the top players on the women's circuit were busy Sunday and Monday with board meetings of the Women's Tennis Association, which is headquartered at PGA National. Martina Navratilova, the WTA president who is not entered in this week's tournament, presided at the meetings but said she didn't have time for interviews with the press because of "business commitments."

Leslie Allen, the 12th seed, beat Marcella Mesker, 7-6, 7-5, but No. 14 Catherine Tanvier was jolted by Terry Phelps, 6-1, 6-0.

No. 11 Kathy Jordan defeated Corinne Vanier, 6-1, 6-2, in one late match, while Yvonnne Vermaak surprised Dianne Fromholtz, 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.

Top-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd will play her first match of 1983 tonight at 7 against Kathleen Horvath, who won Monday, 6-3, 6-1, over 15-year-old Michelle Torres. Torres was a surprise semifinalist in last week's Avon Cup at Marco Island, Fla.

Two matches originally slated for Monday night were rescheduled. Ninth-seeded Evonne Goolagong Cawley will meet Rosie Casals this afternoon, and fourth-seeded Hana Mandlikova will play Wednesday night against the winner of today's match between Kim Shaeffer and Jenny Klitch.

Second-seeded Andrea Jaeger, winner of the Avon Cup, will play her first match Wednesday night against today's winner between Paula Smith and Barbara Hallquist. Third-seeded Wendy Turnbull plays this afternoon against Beth Herr. Persons who have ticket stubs from Monday night's matches will be admitted free this afternoon.

Monday's Results

SINGLES

Anne White d. Katherina Skronska, 6-3, 6-4; Betsy Nagelsen d. Dana Gilbert, 6-4, 6-3; Terry Phelps d. Catherine Tanvier, 6-1, 6-0; Shelly Solomon d. Lucia Romanov, 6-1, 6-0; Amy Holton d. Patricia Medrado, 6-2, 6-1; Susan Masca=rin d. Louise Allen, 6-1, 6-2; Vicki Nelson d. Anne Hobbs, 7-5, 6-4; Manuela Maleeva d. Susan Leo, 6-3, 6-4; Sabina Simmonds d. Camille Benjamin, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Wendy White d. Leigh Thompson, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; Kathleen Horvath d. Michelle Torres, 6-3, 6-1; Leslie Allen d. Marcella Mesker, 7-6, 7-5; Yvonne Vermaak d. Dianne Fromholtz, 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4; Kathy Jordan d. Corinne Vanier, 6-1, 6-2.

DOUBLES

Vairvank-Stove d. Garrison-Mascarin, 6-1, 6-2; Nagelsen- Rinaldi d. Margolin-Shaefer, 6-4, 6-1; Antonopolis-Jordan d. Budarova-Skuherska, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5.

Today's Matches

Stadium court: 10 a.m. -- Andrea Temesvari vs. Pam Casale, followed by Anne White vs. Virginia Ruzici, followed by Wendy Turnbull vs. Beth Herr, followed by Evonne Goolagong Cawley vs. Rosie Casals, followed by Hana Mandlikova-Virginia Ruzici vs. Dianne Fromholtz-Andrea Temesvari.

Stadium court: 7 p.m. -- Chris Evert Lloyd vs. Kathleen Horvath, followed by Kathy Rinaldi vs. Vicki Nelson.

Court Eight: 10 a.m. -- Joanne Russell vs. Duk Hee Lee, followed by Petra Delhees vs. Sabina Simmonds, followed by Rosalyn Fairbank vs. Wendy White, followed by Andrea Jaeger-Mary Lou Piatek vs. Vicki Nelson-Julie Harrington, followed by Zina Garrison vs. Manuela Maleeva, followed by Andrea Leand-Sabina Simmonds vs. Camille Benjamin-Corinne Vanier.

Court 10: 10 a.m. -- Iva Budarova vs. Terry Phelps, followed by Paula Smith vs. Barbara Hallquist, followed by Lea Antonoplis vs. Andrea Leand, followed by Kim Shaeffer vs. Jenny Klitch, followed by Kathy Jordan-Paula Smith vs. Pam Casale-Kim Sands, followed by Lucia Romanov-Duk Hee Lee vs. Katerina Skronska-Debbie Jarrett.

 

EVERT BEGINS PUSH FOR TOP WITH VICTORY
The Miami Herald
Wednesday, February 2, 1983
SANDY KEENAN

Chris Evert Lloyd has lost the luxuries that go with the world's No. 1 ranking, the perks that accompany the top perch of women's professional tennis.

No longer can she afford to take three-month respites at the beginning of a year. No longer can she attend tournaments as infrequently as heathens attend church.

"I'm afraid the vacation is over now," said Evert after disposing of Kathy Horvath, 6-2, 6-3, in the second round of the $150,000 Murjani Cup, which will run through Sunday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.

In her first match of the year, Evert dished up lethal dropshots, spliced a few lines with her characteristic groundstrokes and toyed with a whipping wind. The 28-year-old Fort Lauderdale native tagged her own performance at 25 per cent below her optimal skill.

"It's going to take awhile to get back," said the tournament's top seed. "I was happy to get the first match over with, to get through the night, but I think I can play better."

Andrea Jaeger is the second seed in the 56-player tournament played on Evert's favorite surface -- soft, slow clay. Before Tuesday, Evert's last match was on Dec. 12, when she fell to Martina Navratilova, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the Toyota Championships and surrendered all hope of being named the No. 1 women's player in the world.

"I don't want to play catch-up tennis all year," said Evert. "In the past, I've taken two to three months off and come into the season more eager."

No longer.

Horvath proved a tougher match psychologically than physically for Evert's 1983 debut in front of a sellout crowd of 3,204. The 17-year-old from Largo, Fla. -- ranked 45th in the world -- pushed Evert to two match points at the Italian Open in 1981.

"Ever since I almost beat her, she always plays me tough," said Horvath, jovial after the match despite the loss. "She doesn't take me lightly."

Horvath tried to mix up shots and throw off Evert's baseline barrage, but she couldn't put together an impressive portfolio. After winning the first game of the match, Horvath lost her luster while Evert picked up momentum. The crowd was quiet as the wind swirled crazily during the 90-minute match.

Evert played before her parents and her sister, Jeanne Evert Dubin, as she beat Horvath for the fourth time in three years. Thursday, Evert will meet the winner of today's match between Yvonne Vermaak and Kathy Jordan.

"The second match will be easier," said Evert. "It's going to take awhile to get back to the way I was playing at the end of last year."

Tuesday's match against Horvath was Evert's 858th career victory, according the Women's Tennis Association figures. Her winning percentage is roughly 92 per cent.

Still, No. 2 must try harder.

Tuesday's results

SINGLES

First round -- Joanne Russell d. Duk Hee Lee, 6-2, 6-1; Andrea Temesvari d. Pam Casale, 6-1, 6-3; Petra Delhees d. Sabina Simmons, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5); Paula Smith d. Barbara Hallquist, 7-5, 6-2; Rosalyn Fairbank d. Wendy White, 6-1, 6-3; Lea Antonopolis d. Andrea Leand, 7-5, 6-2; Jenny Klitch d. Kim Shaeffer, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4; Zina Garrison d. Manuela Maleeva, 6-1, 7-5; Rosie Casals d. Christine O'Neil, 6-2, 7-5; Kathy Rinaldi d. Vicki Nelson, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Second round -- Iva Budarova d. Terry Phelps, 6-4, 6-1; Anne White d. Virginia Ruzici, 6-3, 6-7 (8-10) 7-5; Wendy Turnbull d. Beth Herr, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; Chris Evert Lloyd d. Kathy Horvath, 6-2, 6-3.

DOUBLES

First round -- Andrea Jaeger-Mary Lou Piatek d. Vicki Nelson-Julie Harrington, 6-0, 7-5; Kathy Jordan-Paula Smith d. Pam Casale-Kim Sands, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1; Andrea Leand-Sabina Simmonds d. Camile Benjamin-Corinne Vanier, 6-1, 6-4.

Today's schedule

Stadium Court (10 a.m.) -- Barbara Potter-Sharon Walsh vs. Ann Henrickson-Barbara Hallquist; Yvonne Vermaak vs. Kathy Jordan; Joanne Russell vs. Susan Mascarin; Rosie Casals-Wendy Turnbull vs. Pam Whytcross-Chris O'Neil; Joanne Russell-Anne White vs. Kathy Horvath-Yvonne Vermaak.

Stadium Court (7 p.m.) -- Andrea Jaeger vs. Paula Smith; Hana Mandlikova vs. Jenny Klitch.

Court 8 (10 a.m.) -- Leslie Allen vs. Amy Holton; Betsy Nagelsen vs. Rosie Casals; Lisa Bonder vs. Andrea Leand; Leslie Allen-Lele Forood vs. Helena Sukova-Catherine Tanvier; Wendy White-Leigh Thompson vs. Lisa Bonder-Beth Herr.

Court 10 (10 a.m.) -- Felicia Raschiatore-Kim Steinmetz vs. Pat Medrado-Claudia Monteiro; Anne Hobbs-Susan Leo vs. Hana Strachonova-Laura Arraya; Shelly Solomon vs. Andrea Temesvari; Laura Dupont-Nancy Yeargin vs. Petra Delhees-Marcella Mesker. Barbara Jordan-Lea Antonoplis vs. Andrea Leand-Sabina Simmonds.