Tennis : Jordan Stuns Evert Lloyd in First Round

Playing nearly flawless tennis from the backcourt, Kathy Jordan shocked second-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, Tuesday night in the opening round of the $500,000 Virginia Slims Championships.

It was only the third time in 10 meetings that the right-hander from King of Prussia, Pa., had beaten Evert Lloyd, the world’s No. 2 player.

With the hard-fought victory, Jordan, ranked 12th by the Women’s Tennis Assn., advanced to a second-round meeting against Kathy Rinaldi in the 16-player field.

In the night’s second singles match, third-seeded Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia defeated 18-year-old Andrea Temesvari of Hungary, 7-5, 7-5.

Defending champion Martina Navratilova, the top-seeded player, will play her first-round match tonight against Lisa Bonder.

Known for her serve-and-volley tactics, Jordan, 25, played a baseline game against Lloyd.

“She (Lloyd) wins most of the crucial points,” Jordan said after the match. “I was just a little more determined . . . I wanted to win the crucial points.”

Said Lloyd of Jordan: “She has a good game to beat my style of play. And she really hit her backhand really well. Usually she’ll miss a few backhands.

“She sliced very well, served very well and didn’t make any errors from the back of the court. She played a smart game, and I give her a lot of credit for that.”

Jordan broke Lloyd’s service to open the match, but Lloyd is known for her slow starts. Then, in the fifth game, Jordan broke serve again, then held her own to pull out to a 5-1 lead.

After Jordan wrapped up the first set, she attempted to continue her success as Lloyd served the first game of the second set. But Lloyd fought off five break points before finally holding serve.

Lloyd ripped off 13 consecutive points as she rolled out to a 3-0 lead, which she later increased to 4-0, breaking Jordan’s serve in the fourth game. And although she lost her own service in the fifth game, it was of no consequence as she took the next two to level the match at one set apiece.

Jordan then jumped out to a 3-0 lead, breaking Lloyd’s service in the second game. And, continuing her brilliant groundstrokes--slicing her backhand and using topspin on the forehand side--Jordan kept Lloyd pinned to the baseline most of the time.

Lloyd, serving at 2-5 and being urged on by the Madison Square Garden crowd, jumped out to a 4-15 lead, one point from pulling to 3-5.

But she netted a backhand, then Jordan jumped on a second serve and rocketed the return cross-court, pulling the score to deuce.