Tennis Roundup : Navratilova Sets Herself Up to Win Wimbledon Title

Martina Navratilova appears to be on her way to another Wimbledon title.

Saturday, Navratilova won the $200,000 grass court championships at Eastbourne, England, for the fifth straight year, beating Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

It was the seventh time Navratilova had reached the Eastbourne final. She also won in 1978, and lost to Chris Evert Lloyd in 1979. Each time, she had gone on to win at Wimbledon.

“As soon as I got to the final, I knew that I had Wimbledon won,” she said after Saturday’s victory, then quickly added, “Please make sure you put in there that I’m joking.”

Navratilova, however, was hard pressed Saturday to win her first tournament since the Virginia Slims championships at New York in March. Since then, she has lost in finals to Steffi Graf and Lloyd.

“I haven’t lost three tournaments in a row for five years, and I didn’t want to start it here,” she said.

“She was playing so well and seemed to be in the right place at the right time,” Navratilova said of Sukova, who almost upset her in the French Open two weeks ago and did beat her in the Australian Open semifinals in 1984.

“I lost my serve once the whole match, and that wasn’t my fault,” Navratilova said. “She hit winners.”

Sukova, who has lost 14 of 15 career matches to Navratilova, said she always believes she can beat the world’s top player.

“You’ve got to believe you’re going to win, otherwise you may as well quit,” she said. As for the two close matches in the last two weeks, she added, “What can I say? I hope it will be the next time.”

Navratilova returned to the court to team with Pam Shriver to win the doubles final from Sukova and Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, 6-2, 6-4. Navratilova thus collected $38,000 for singles and $7,000 for doubles.

At Wimbledon, which begins Monday, Navratilova is predicting she will again meet Lloyd.

“I’d put my money on Chris and me in the final,” she said. “I’ve said it many times before, but I’d be surprised to see anyone else out there. Betting she’ll be there against me isn’t quite as safe as investing in government bonds, but almost. . . . “

At Bristol, England, Vijay Amritraj of India won his first singles title in two years, beating top-seeded Henri Leconte of France, 7-6, 1-6, 8-6.

Amritraj, who has played just three Grand Prix events this year, said the win swept away any ideas of retirement. “I am enjoying my tennis so much and feel I still have the ability to entertain,” he said. “I must carry on a while longer.”