John Lloyd Finished With Singles Play

John Lloyd, the British husband of Chris Evert Lloyd, announced his retirement from singles play after losing here Tuesday to Christo Steyn of South Africa. The scores were 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.

“I think now is the time to retire,” Lloyd said. “I find it very difficult to get charged up. It’s no big drama. I just don’t enjoy it out on the court.”

Lloyd was ranked as high as No. 24 in singles before marrying Evert in 1979 and fell to No. 356 by 1980. His game had improved in recent years, however, and by the end of 1985 he was ranked No. 42.

Always a top doubles player--he was Wimbledon mixed doubles champion in 1983-84 with Wendy Turnbull--Lloyd said he expects to enter the doubles competition at the U.S. Open. But the loss to Steyn persuaded him to give up his singles career, he said.

“It pushed my retirement forward,” he said. “If I had really wanted it and enjoyed it out there, I think I would have won, but there was no spark.

“I think I’ve had a very good career. I haven’t been top 18 or 20, but I don’t think that’s a failure. If I had wanted it more, maybe I could have gone higher, but that wasn’t in my makeup. Maybe I didn’t have the champion’s mentality, sacrificing everything for one aim.

“I think Chris knows I’m pretty stubborn when I make my mind up. I think in the back of her mind she felt if I played well, I might change my mind. In the back of my mind, maybe I thought so, too. I thought maybe I could do something special here, but it hasn’t happened. I’ve been doing this since I was 8, and now all of a sudden it’s finito. I feel relieved.”