Turnbull’s Victory Is a Stunner : 33-Year-Old Aussie Upsets Mandlikova

The Jimmy Connors of women’s tennis upset the defending champion late Monday night in the fourth round of singles at the U.S. Open. And no one is surprised.

Thirty-three-year-old Wendy Turnbull of Australia, who hasn’t won a tournament in three years, beat fourth-seeded Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Mandlikova’s defeat was the earliest elimination of a defending champion at the Open since Billie Jean King’s loss to Julie Heldman in a third-round match in 1973.

It sometimes seems that only Mandlikova, long on talent and short on intensity, would be capable of such a lapse.

“I wouldn’t call her a careless player, that’s just the way she plays,” Turnbull said. The two have been doubles partners for nearly two years. “She’s got to hit out. She goes for broke. She cares. I know her, and she cares.”

Pam Shriver, who has also played doubles with Mandlikova, describes the 24-year-old Czech as “wacky’ in reference to the frequent ventures of Mandlikova’s concentration into outer space.

It is widely held that Mandlikova is the most physically gifted player on the women’s tour--she won two Grand Slam titles before her 20th birthday. But she is also an enigma. Until she beat Martina Navratilova in the final here last year, Mandlikova had a reputation as a choker.

She did not give up Monday night, she just couldn’t keep up. Turnbull, ranked No. 17 in the world and unseeded here for the first time since 1976, put together the best tennis of her career. Turnbull was ranked as high as No. 3 in 1985. She said she gained incentive when she found out she was unseeded here.

“It was an added incentive to prove to myself that I still had it in me,” Turnbull said. “It was a shock to my system when my ranking dropped to 17 and I was unseeded. But, as it turned out, it was the best thing for me. At least now it will go up a little bit.”

This is the first time in 13 tournaments this year that Turnbull has made it to the fourth round. Turnbull, with the absence of Connors, also 33, is the oldest player left in the singles.

The 5-foot, 4-inch Turnbull has the nickname “Rabbit” because of her quickness on the court. That was 10 years ago, when Turnbull was faster of foot and slimmer of profile. Now, she’s slower but smarter.

“I respect her, she played very well,” Mandlikova said. “I don’t want to say that she’s old. . . . I’m just saying she’s older than I am. It’s respect. I think she’s a hell of a good player and a very smart player.”

Mandlikova didn’t help herself with her five double faults in the match. Turnbull had four, but it seemed Mandlikova’s came on the crucial points.

Mandlikova double faulted in the sixth game of the third set to lose her game point and bring it to deuce. She then held off five break points before Turnbull finally got the break and the lead at 4-3.

Mandlikova was up 40-love in the last game of the match, but a double fault set off a string of three points for Turnbull, who eventually broke for the match.

Mandlikova appeared calm in the post-match press conference, even smiling and laughing. But in the locker room after the match she had been slumped in a chair, crying. “It means a lot to her,” Turnbull said of the loss. “It might (not) come across that way. She really cares, especially about the Grand Slam events.”

Mandlikova said she was unhappy with the way she played, but, because of an injury suffered in early August, she said she was happy to be in the tournament.

“It’s disappointing and not disappointing to me,” Mandlikova said. “Before the Open I was not sure that I was going to play because of my sprained ankle. Actually, I’m happy that I got this far. But the ankle is no excuse. Wendy deserved to win.”

There was a mild upset in other fourth-round matches Monday, as ninth-seeded Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria defeated sixth-seeded Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6.

In other women’s matches, top-seeded Martina Navratilova defeated 11th-seeded Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, 6-4, 6-2; second-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd beat No. 14 Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; eighth-seeded Bonnie Gadusek defeated No. 13 Stephanie Rehe, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2; third-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany beat unseeded Raffaella Reggi of Italy, 6-1, 3-6, 6-0; fifth-seeded Pam Shriver defeated No. 15 Kathy Jordan, 6-4, 6-4, and seventh-seeded Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia defeated No. 12 Zina Garrison, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. .

In the fourth round of men’s singles, top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia defeated Brad Gilbert, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, and fourth-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden defeated Dan Goldie, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.