Tennis Roundup : Connors Defeats Duncan and Gains Quarterfinals

Top-seeded Jimmy Connors breezed into the quarterfinals of the $200,000 D.C. National Bank tennis tournament at Washington Thursday night, routing Lawson Duncan, 6-1, 6-2.

Duncan, who starred at Clemson University, winning a record 64 matches last year, was the NCAA runner-up in 1984, but he proved no match for Connors.

“As long as I keep taking my game up a notch each round, I don’t have to worry,” Connors said.

“He sent the ball really deep and hard and low,” said the 20-year-old Duncan, who turned pro last year. “I couldn’t really get much power with my forehand.”

Unseeded Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland also advanced to the the quarterfinals, beating Guy Forget of France, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6. Hlasek plays Connors Saturday.

In a second-round match, sixth-seeded Jose-Luis Clerc of Argentina used an unrelenting serve to down Slobodan Zivojinovic of Yugoslavia, 7-6, 6-2.

Zivojinovic, ranked 66th in the world, beat Mats Wilander at Wimbledon last month.

Also advancing to the third round was fourth-seeded Miloslav Mecir of Yugoslavia, who beat Juan Avendano of Spain, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Trailing 4-2 in the second set, Chris Evert Lloyd rallied to beat Hu Na, 6-2, 7-5, to advance to the third round of a Virginia Slims tournament at Newport, R.I.

Hu, who is ranked No. 106 in the world, said she was nervous when she took the court against the No. 1-ranked player in women’s tennis.

“The first set I was not very confident. I was a little scared to come to net. But, in the second set, I have to try. That’s my game, “ said the 22-year-old Hu, who defected from China to the United States three years ago.

Lloyd broke Hu’s serve three times in the first set. She lost her own serve once.

In the second set, there were seven service breaks, and Hu saved five break points to hold serve in the fifth game.

“When she gets her first serve in, it’s a weapon. She’s a good little player,” Lloyd said.

“In the fifth game of the second set, my serve started coming back, and I served great. I charged every ball, and I had a chance to come to the net,” Hu said.

She actually broke ahead, 4-2, in the second set, but Lloyd broke right back. Lloyd broke in front in the 11th game and held serve in the 12th for the match.