Hakami, With Two-Fisted Confidence, Reaches Quarterfinals

It is not surprising that Elly Hakami’s tennis hero is Jimmy Connors.

The unseeded 17-year-old, who will face top seed Lori McNeil today in the San Diego Virginia Slims tennis tournament, is--like Connors--hard-hitting, aggressive and supremely confident.

“I think I should be in the top 20 now, or soon,” Hakami said Thursday after defeating tour veteran Betsy Nagelsen, 7-5, 6-4.

Hakami is ranked 65th, but if she continues at her current pace, her lofty personal opinion may well be reflected in the world rankings.

Two weeks ago, Hakami, who hits two-handed from both sides, was ranked 87th. Since that time she won the California Open in Aptos, Calif., beating Camille Benjamin (No. 84), Kathy Jordan (No. 57), Melissa Gurney (No. 30) and Terry Phelps (No. 29).

Wednesday, at the San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club, she beat the tournament’s defending champion and fifth-seeded player, Gurney, again. Thursday’s victory over Nagelsen, 30, put Hakami into the quarterfinals against McNeil.

“She hits the ball pretty hard,” McNeil said about Hakami. “I’ve never played her before.”

Like McNeil, many players on the tour don’t seem to know much about Hakami. One player, watching Hakami’s powerful two-handed forehand returns against Nagelsen, whispered, “How did she get so good in the last couple of months?”

Said Hakami: “I’ve always known I have a game to go far. I believe in myself.”

Hakami, who lives in Tiburon, Calif., turned professional last November. This spring, while other players were in Europe, she stayed home and trained.

“I think I’m playing at my peak right now,” Hakami said. “If I play well, I have a chance against anyone.”

Hakami started playing when she was 8 years old. She developed her unusual forehand because the racket was too heavy for her.

Her father, who was born in Iran but played tennis at the University of San Francisco, has always been her coach.

Ray Hakami retired from his work as an architect to travel with his daughter.

“Some of the top pros I’ve studied had one parent devoting their time to tennis,” he said, mentioning Connors and Chris Evert as examples.

He and his daughter study books and videotapes to bone up on the competition. Thursday he made sure Hakami was at courtside to study McNeil’s game in preparation for today’s match.

His daughter missed graduating from her own high school to attend Bradenton Tennis Academy in Florida. Hakami also is ignoring interest from such schools as NCAA champion Stanford, California and Yale to pursue her professional career.

But her father doesn’t worry about Hakami missing what may be considered normal teen-age life.

“What is normal?” he asked. “If you are to excel in any field, you have to sacrifice in other fields.”

Hakami acknowledges that she doesn’t do much besides tennis, but she echoes her father’s views.

“It’s worth it,” she said. “I’ll have time to have fun later.”

Does the confident young woman think her hero has heard of Elly Hakami?

“If he hasn’t, he will soon,” she said.

Bucking the upset trend that has prevailed at the San Diego tournament, McNeil, the top-seeded player, came from behind to defeat Peanut Louie Harper, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.

McNeil’s early struggle in the match was characteristic of the problems she has had since losing in the first round of the French Open.

No. 2 seed Kate Gompert, of Rancho Mirage, defeated Sara Gomer, of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-2.

Gompert will face Nathalie Tauziat in the quarterfinals. Eighth-ranked Tauziat, who defeated Kathleen Horvath of Largo, Fla., 6-3, 6-1, is one of three French players to advance.

Another French player, Isabelle Demongeot, defeated Patricia Tarabini of Argentina, 7-5, 6-0. Today Demongeot will face No. 3 Raffaella Reggi of Italy.