Tennis Roundup : Kohde-Kilsch Beats Navratilova in Three Sets

Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany shocked Martina Navratilova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, Friday to advance to the semifinals of the $280,000 women’s Canadian Open tennis tournament at Toronto.

It was only the fourth loss in 61 matches this year for the No. 2-seeded Navratilova. Two of her defeats came against Chris Evert Lloyd, the other against Hana Mandlikova.

The 6-foot, 21-year-old Kohde-Kilsch had beaten Navratilova only once before, in a first-round match in 1981. In between, there were 11 consecutive losses, all but one in straight sets.

Friday, however, Navratilova was unable to break Kohde-Kilsch, the No. 5-seeded player, in the final two sets.

“I think I’m playing the best tennis of my life. I didn’t miss anything, especially the important shots,” said Kohde-Kilsch, who made good on 80% of her first serves.

Navratilova offered no excuses.

Asked what went wrong, she said: “I’m still trying to figure it out because I thought I played a good match.

“There was nothing I did wrong. She played great. You can’t take anything away from her. That’s the best I’ve ever seen her play.”

The last time Navratilova left a tournament this early was in 1982, when she lost to Pam Shriver in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.

Kohde-Kilsch, winner of last week’s Virginia Slims of Los Angeles tournament, is ranked No. 7 on the Women’s Tennis Assn. computer.

Earlier, Mandlikova, seeded No. 3, had a surprisingly easy time beating No. 7 Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, 6-3, 6-0, and the No. 1-seeded Lloyd breezed past Molly Van Nostrand, 6-2, 6-1.

In today’s semifinals, it will be Lloyd against Mandlikova and Kohde-Kilsch against No. 4 Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia, who beat No. 8 Carling Bassett, 6-1 6-1, in a night match that lasted 47 minutes.

At Stratton, Vt., John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors rolled into the semifinals of a $315,000 Volvo tournament without dropping a set.

Losing only six points on his serve, the No. 1-seeded McEnroe overwhelmed No. 12 Paul Annacone in 65 minutes, 6-2, 6-3, and today will meet doubles ace Robert Seguso, who upset No. 6 Scott Davis, 6-2, 7-6.

No. 2 Lendl defeated Brad Gilbert, 6-3, 6-3. The Czech will play No. 3 Connors, who beat No. 5 Tim Mayotte, 6-4, 6-0.

“I’ve always wanted to play McEnroe in singles--I just want to go out and see what happens.” said Seguso, who with Ken Flach won the doubles match for the United States in Davis Cup play against West Germany. “I won’t do anything special, just serve and volley and play my normal game.”

It’s the first time this year that Seguso has made the semifinals in a tournament. He ranks 142nd on the tour.

Said McEnroe, who has beaten Annacone in all three meetings: “My concentration was better today. This was easier because I’m getting more used to the way he plays. It’s just being better prepared.”

Diego Perez of Uruguay, who upset Wimbledon champion Boris Becker of West Germany in the first round, was beaten by Kent Carlsson of Sweden, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, in the third round of the Austrian Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Henri Leconte of France, at the time the highest seeded player remaining at No. 4, defeated Edoardo Bengoechea of Argentina, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, in the third round, but then lost to Marian Vajda of Czechoslovakia, 6-2, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.

Friday, Becker lost in the doubles. He and Pavel Slozil of Czechoslovakia, the top-seeded pair, were beaten in the quarterfinals by Italy’s Paolo Cane and Claudio Panatta, 6-4, 7-6.