Braces Off, Slump Over : Gurney Has Two Reasons to Smile

The braces are off. Her two-handed backhand is on.

And the money finally is starting to roll in.

These are the best of professional times for 17-year-old Melissa Gurney.

A star on the junior circuit, Gurney appears to be coming out of the slump that had plagued her since she turned pro.

On Sunday, Gurney beat Barbara Gerken, 6-1, 6-3, to win the $50,000 Berkeley Development Classic for her first professional title and a $9,000 paycheck--her biggest.

“Holding that check felt so good,” said Gurney, whose baseline style reminds people of Tracy Austin. “I didn’t want to let it go.”

But Gurney didn’t have much time to savor her win.

On Tuesday night, Gurney, ranked No. 73 in the world, upset No. 3-seeded Anne White in the opening round of the $75,000 Virginia Slims of San Diego tournament. The next afternoon, Gurney beat Wendy White to advance to today’s quarterfinal match against No. 5-seeded Betsy Nagelsen.

Gurney has a strained back, but she has no thoughts of resting it.

“I would be kind of disappointed if I had to retire or default,” Gurney said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence and I want to keep it going.”

Interestingly, the last time Gurney was in San Diego, she was playing well.

Gurney--then an amateur--lost in last year’s Virginia Slims semifinals to Annabel Croft. Croft won the tournament.

Then, Gurney was rather shy. Now she is anything but.

The difference? Last year, she was still wearing braces.

“When they first came off,” Gurney said, “I wanted to smile all the time.”

Gurney was relaxed when she was an amateur playing in professional tournaments. She had nothing to lose.

But relaxation turned to tension when Gurney turned pro right before Wimbledon in 1985.

“I had the best year I could have had in the juniors,” said Gurney, who won three national 18-and-under tournaments when she was just 15. “Everyone felt it was the right time to turn pro. I felt it was about as good a time.”

It wasn’t, apparently.

Gurney, unfortunate to consistently draw top-seeded players, lost in the opening round of five of her first seven professional tournaments.

“I didn’t think I’d be losing in the first round and losing in the first round,” Gurney said. “It wasn’t fun. It took a while to get used to.”

“Melissa suddenly went out of a child’s world into a pro world,” said her father, Ram, who is attending the tournament with his wife, Carolyn, and one of Gurney’s sisters, Cinda. “Melissa was suddenly worrying about contracts and agents instead of what boy was going to call her.”

The slump continued and the pressure mounted.

“I was getting really down,” Gurney said. “I felt I was letting my mother and father down. I was letting my companies down.”

Then her confidence began to suffer.

“Everybody said I could be good,” Gurney said. “But I was confused. I didn’t know what to think. I had no confidence. And I wasn’t used to failing.

“Everything was swirling in the back of my mind. I have to play well.”

Then came The Talk.

While driving home from Los Angeles International Airport in mid-December, after yet another disappointing match for Melissa, Ram had a discussion with her.

“My dad made it clear that they (parents) were always behind me,” Gurney said. “He asked me what he could do for me. It was a big surprise. It helped straighten things out.”

Said Ram: “Things were piling up. She didn’t seem like a happy child. The first thing I told her is that there are a lot of other things outside of tennis. That should not be the thought of as the sole dimension of her life.

“I’m sure our disappointment and everyone’s disappointment showed. I didn’t want her to think she was appreciated when she was a successful tennis player and not when she was losing.

“I think she needed to hear it from me at that time. But I didn’t realize it had such an impact.”

Gurney is close to her family and appreciates them.

“My parents scrapped up everything they could for us to play tennis,” Gurney said. “They sacrificed so much time and money. We’re always in kind of a money slump.

“My grandparents even set up a tennis fund for me. I have to pay it back. Well, I want to pay it back.”

The Gurneys are not your average Palos Verdes family--or your basic professional tennis family.

Ram, a Ph.D in Russian history, teaches European history and coaches tennis at Chadwick School, a private school where Melissa will be a senior in the fall. The family lives in a house on the school grounds.

“The kids at Chadwick are a wealthy group of kids,” Ram said. “We try to make Melissa aware that if she wants a car, she has to buy it. We can’t buy it for her.”

Gurney, who earned $21,724 last year, bought herself a car last summer.

In addition to understanding the value of money, Gurney’s father has instilled in her a respect for the English language.

“Dad hates when you act or talk like a dumb jock,” Gurney said. “He hates that so much. He’s from the East, and is more formal in language. He’s not the California hang loose sort of person. I’m more California, but not the total airhead.”

Not by any means. Gurney seems to have her priorities in order. “Dad says that spoiled kids have trouble later in life,” Gurney said. “And that it’s good that I had to learn to handle failure.”