Tennis Roundup : Lloyd Wins and Gets Back Her No. 1 Ranking

Top-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd regained the No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis from Martina Navratilova Sunday by winning the $175,000 Pretty Polly women’s indoor tournament at Brighton, England.

Lloyd picked up the $32,000 first prize with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over fourth-seeded Manuela Maleeva, improving her record to 7-1 against the 18-year-old Bulgarian.

It took Lloyd, who also won this event in 1980 and 1983, an hour and 37 minutes to wear down Maleeva, who is ranked 10th in the world.

“She has a game much like mine and I don’t relish playing her,” said Lloyd after winning her 141st singles title in a career extending 14 years.

“I prefer players who make a lot of winners but the same number of errors. Regaining No. 1 does not mean that much. I’m just pleased to have won the tournament.”

Czechoslovakia’s Ivan Lendl, playing with more confidence than ever before, required only 54 minutes to defeat Mats Wilander, 6-0, 6-4, and win the $375,000 Seiko tournament before a capacity crowd at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo.

Lendl dominated from the start, taking the first set in just 20 minutes and at times leaving his Swedish opponent shaking his head in disbelief.

“I have been very much more aggressive at net since this year’s U.S. Open,” Lendl said. “I have no complaints about my play today, but the reason is that Mats wasn’t able to keep his returns low.”

He dismissed suggestions that he was now unquestionably the best player in the world.

“You can’t ever say that anyone is far superior in the game of tennis,” Lendl said. “I’m doing my job, which I enjoy. If I do it well, I’m No. 1.”

Wilander, who won the French Open this year by defeating Lendl in the final, agreed with his rival that since winning the U.S. Open this year, Lendl has played with more confidence.

“As he played in the first set today, there’s no way to beat him,” said Wilander, who won $30,000 for second place. “He took me by surprise by hitting backhands down the line.”

Marty Davis defeated Paul Annacone, 6-4, 6-4, to win the $200,000 Black and Decker indoor tournament at Melbourne, Australia.

Davis, who lost to Annacone in three sets three weeks ago in a match in Brisbane, said he revised his tactics this time.

“I have learned how to do more with my second serve since Brisbane,” he said. “I moved it around more and I think that tactically I played better.”

Sweden’s Peter Lundgren upset Ramesh Krishnan of India, 6-3, 6-2, to win the $119,200 Cologne GoldStar indoor tournament at Cologne, West Germany.

The 20-year-old Lundgren, ranked 120th in the world, took just 65 minutes to defeat Krishnan, ranked 28th.

Former U.S. Open champion Ken Rosewall, 48, defeated 51-year-old fellow Australian Rod Laver, 6-3, 6-4, to win a Grand Masters tennis event at Princeton University in Princeton, N.Y.