Tennis Roundup : If Lloyd Wins, She May Retire

Chris Evert Lloyd, the top-ranked women’s player in the world, hinted Thursday that she may consider retirement if she wins the Australian Open, which begins at Kooyong Monday.

“I can see the end of the road,” said Lloyd, 32, who has won six U.S Opens and three Wimbledon titles. “There is such depth in women’s tennis, with matches so close, that it really takes a lot out of me.

“If I do win the Australian Open, it might be a good idea to retire, although I won’t say that it’s going to happen.”

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova fought off unranked Belinda Cordwell of New Zealand for a 6-4, 7-6 victory and a spot in the quarterfinals of the $150,000 New South Wales Open at Sydney, Australia.

In other matches, Svetlana Cherneva of the Soviet Union upset fifth-seeded Zina Garrison, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1; Wendy Turnbull of Australia beat Elise Burgin, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, and second-seeded Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia ousted Larissa Savchenko of the Soviet Union, 6-3, 6-0.

All matches in a $200,000 men’s tournament at Hong Kong were postponed because of rain.