Tennis Roundup : After Stumbling Start, Navratilova Finishes Strong to Beat Herr

Martina Navratilova lost the first three games Wednesday, then came back strong to defeat Beth Herr, 6-4, 6-1, Wednesday in the first round of a $150,000 Virginia Slims tennis tournament at New Orleans.

Navratilova, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, blamed the rubberized surface of the Lakefront Arena for her slow start.

“I haven’t played on this surface since the New York championship,” she said.

Navratilova will meet Lori McNeil in the second round. Earlier, McNeil defeated Janine Thompson, 6-3, 6-3.

In a second-round match, third-seeded Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina beat Lisa Bonder, 6-0, 6-1.

In another match, Anne White beat Kim Sands, 7-6, 7-5.

Seventh-seeded Henrik Sundstrom of Sweden was defeated in the second round of a $100,000 clay court tournament at Palermo, Sicily, losing to Corrado Aprili of Italy, 6-3, 6-4.

Sundstrom is the second seeded player to be eliminated from the tournament. Tuesday, No. 4 Diego Perez of Uruguay lost to Marian Vajda of Czechoslovakia. Wednesday, Vajda lost to Jimmy Brown, 6-4, 6-4.