Martina to Play Here in Tuneup for the U.S. Open

Pre-U.S. Open fever whips into high gear this week as the tour’s top women tennis players barge into town for the $250,000 Virginia Slims of Los Angeles tournament at Manhattan Country Club, running today through next Sunday.

The players will relish this as a chance to prepare for the hard courts at the U.S. Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, N.Y., site of the Open, which starts Aug. 24. For the players who participated in the Federation Cup at Prague, it will be a chance to adjust from the slower clay to the faster hard courts.

Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, the world’s No. 1 player, is seeded No. 1 here. Chris Evert Lloyd is No. 2, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch is No. 3, Pam Shriver is No. 4, Helena Sukova is No. 5, Manuela Maleeva is No. 6, Gabriela Sabatini is No. 7, Zina Garrison is No. 8, Stephanie Rehe is No. 9 and Catarina Lindqvist is No. 10.

Navratilova and Lloyd both played in the Federation Cup, which the U.S. team won. It was an emotional return to her homeland for Navratilova, and she was clearly touched by the warm response of the Czechs.

Lloyd is holding steady at No. 2, even though her breakthrough win over Navratilova in this year’s French Open seemed to be the stimulus she needed to rejuvenate her career.

Wild-card entry Melissa Gurney is coming off back-to-back wins in Berkeley and San Diego. The 17-year-old from Palos Verdes beat Rehe, her rival from the juniors, last week in the final at San Diego.

Shriver has weathered a topsy-turvy season. Shriver, No. 6 in the world, had the ignominy of being eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon. She rebounded, however, with a win in Newport over Lori McNeil, who is also in this tournament.

Shriver lost to Sukova in the final of the Canadian Open Sunday but seems to be back in her aggressive serve-and-volley form.

Sabatini, 16, is showing maturation after her first year as a pro. Once thought of exclusively as a clay court specialist, the Argentine has shown strength on other surfaces.

Another closely watched player, Carling Bassett, is seeded 11th here. Bassett has earned the respect of the tennis community with her courageous rebound from the death of her father this summer. The Canadian lost to Lloyd in the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Hana Mandlikova, who had been entered here, withdrew because of a sprained ankle.

Sessions today through Thursday are at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday play is at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday’s semifinal matches are at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday’s final is at 2 p.m.