Tennis Roundup : Navratilova, Shriver Win and Face One Another in Washington Final Tonight

Martina Navratilova defeated Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, 7-5, 6-3, Sunday to set up a showdown with doubles partner Pam Shriver.

The top-seeded Navratilova and second-seeded Shriver, close friends who teamed to win 109 straight doubles matches, meet tonight for the $27,000 top prize in a $150,000 tournament at Washington.

Shriver overpowered Manuela Maleeva in her semifinal match, 6-3, 6-4.

Navratilova has won 22 of 25 career matches against Shriver.

Navratilova, the world’s No. 1 player, has not lost a set in the tournament. Although she was tested in the first set against Kohde-Kilsch, she needed only 65 minutes to become a finalist here for the ninth time in 11 tries. She has won the tournament seven times.

In beating Khode-Kilsch for the 14th time in 16 attempts, Navratilova never trailed and lost her serve only once.

That service break temporarily thrust Kohde-Kilsch back into the match. Serving for the first set with a 5-3 lead, Navratilova held a 30-15 advantage before losing the last three points and the game. Each player held serve before Navratilova won the set when Kohde-Kilsch, serving at 5-6, hit a forehand into the net at 15-40.

“I should have won the set long before she could get back into it,” Navratilova said. “With a bit of luck, it could have been 6-1 or 6-2.”

In the first set, with the exception of the ninth game, Kohde-Kilsch could manage only three points off Navratilova’s service.

In the second set, Navratilova got the only break she needed in the eighth game.

Kohde-Kilsch said Navratilova’s net game was a factor. “She put a lot of pressure on me whenever she attacked the net. That, and her serve, were too much to overcome.”

Like Navratilova, Shriver used a formidable serve-and-volley game to win her match in 78 minutes. She has won all three of her career meetings with Maleeva.

Heinz Gunthardt of Switzerland and Balazs Taroczy of Hungary won the $200,000 World Doubles championship for a record third time, beating Australian Open champions Paul Annacone and Christo Van Rensburg in five sets.

Winners previously in 1982 and ’83 and reigning Wimbledon doubles champions, Gunthardt and Taroczy won, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, in 3 1/2 hours on the Supreme surface at London’s Royal Albert Hall, earning the $72,000 first prize.

Experience was the vital factor, as Gunthardt, 26, and Taroczy, 31, blunted the booming serve of Annacone, 22, of the United States, and slowed Van Rensburg, 23, of South Africa.

Annacone had 13 aces, but, after 36 games without a service break, it was his serve that eventually cracked.

In the fifth set, there wasn’t a service break until Annacone faltered. Gunthardt produced a stunning service return, setting up an easy volley for his partner. Thus, the first break point of the match against Annacone was match point for his opponents.

Brad Gilbert enhanced his chances of playing for the U.S. Davis Cup team, defeating Aaron Krickstein, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, to win a $50,000 tournament at Portland.

In the women’s final, Eleni Rossides, a Stanford freshman, defeated Carol Coparanis, 7-5, 6-3.