McNeil Falls to Unseeded Anne Minter

The pressure got to Lori McNeil, once again.

McNeil, the top seed in the San Diego Virginia Slims tournament, has had difficulty dealing with the pressure of being ranked 11th in the world.

On Saturday, unseeded, 60th-ranked Anne Minter of Melbourne, Australia, was the beneficiary of McNeil’s struggles. In a 2-hour, 10-minute match, Minter beat McNeil, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

“I’ve been trying to play a different game because I’m No. 11,” McNeil said earlier in the week.

McNeil, 23, who was born in San Diego when her father, Charlie, was playing cornerback for the Chargers, cracked the top 20 last year. But since she lost in the first round of the French Open in May, she has struggled.

“I started trying to change things. I was losing touch with reality--with my game,” she said. “With each loss, I lose a little more confidence.”

Before Saturday’s match, Minter seemed well aware of McNeil’s problems.

“I think it’s to my advantage,” she said about the differences in rankings of the players. “There’s no pressure on me.”

Minter seemed relaxed in the semifinal match. She broke McNeil’s serve five times in the third set and had effective passing shots, which she credited for the win.

At 3-3, in the longest game of the third set, McNeil double-faulted twice and couldn’t get to Minter’s shots.

“I’m not taking credit away from Anne, but she didn’t really win the match,” McNeil said. “I lost the match.”

But Minter, who had considered withdrawing from the tournament because of slight tendinitis in her right wrist, disagreed.

“In the end, she made a couple of errors . . . but I think a bit more credit should go to me,” said Minter, who had her wrist wrapped. “I had the confidence to do anything today.”

Confidence is exactly what McNeil said she is lacking, especially when she is ahead in a match.

After she came from behind to beat Peanut Louie Harper and came back from a second-set deficit to win the tiebreaker against Elly Hakami, McNeil conceded that she concentrated better when she was behind.

But Saturday, she trailed by 3-0 in the second set and still couldn’t find the spark.

“I felt flat a little bit,” she said.

Friday night, McNeil won back-to-back singles and doubles matches, but she said her problems didn’t stem from fatigue.

“It will take a commitment from myself to be consistent,” she said. “I have to work that out myself.”

Meanwhile, Minter, who last beat McNeil three years ago when their rankings were similar, is playing some of the best tennis of her career.

Minter, 24, won tournaments at Singapore and Taipei, Taiwan, in April. She attributes her success to her net play, her improved service, and to her relationship with her coach, Graham Harris, who also is her fiance.

“He’s good as a coach because we can get out there on the court and work on things all the time,” Minter said. “And it’s good emotionally. It’s a lot more fun on the circuit now.”

Raffaella Reggi, who will be Minter’s opponent in today’s final, also seems to be having fun now.

Reggi, who has insisted all week that she is not playing well enough to win the tournament, defeated Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-4, 6-3, in Saturday’s second semifinal match.

“I’m not feeling happy-happy, but I’m definitely happier than yesterday,” Reggi said about her play. “My form was on, and my concentration was there from the beginning.”

Reggi, third-seeded in the tournament, has complained about her overall level of play and her serve in particular. Saturday, she said she was helped by coaching from Jose Higueras of Palm Springs, with whom she plans to work this winter.

“He helped me with my strokes and I felt much, much better,” she said. “In my forehand, I could really tell the difference.”

Because of her concern about her game, Reggi had said on Friday that she planned to practice all afternoon. But plans are made to be changed.

“I blew it,” she said. “I went home, lay on the couch and watched TV. I went to bed at 9:30.”

After sleeping 12 hours, Reggi seemed more prepared to play than she had earlier in the week, when she had 9 a.m. matches on two consecutive days.

“I like it much better,” she said, about the later start. “Tonight I will cook some pasta, go to bed early again and get up late tomorrow.”

Reggi did not let her family sleep late, however. After her semifinal victory, she called her parents in Faenza, Italy, where it was 3 a.m.

Tournament Notes Lori McNeil said she never plays well in San Diego. “It’s hard to take a loss anywhere,” she said. “But I would have liked to win here.” Among her friends in the crowd this week has been Leslie O’Neal, the Charger defensive end who is sidelined while he recovers from knee surgery. Though Charger football would seem to be the obvious McNeil-O’Neal connection, O’Neal said he knew McNeil from their days as student-athletes at Oklahoma State. “I didn’t even know Charlie McNeil was Lori’s father,” O’Neal said. “I just found out.” . . . In doubles, No. 4-seeded Elise Burgin and Sharon Walsh-Pete defeated No. 2-seeded McNeil and Eva Pfaff, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 7-5, and No. 7-seeded Jana Novatna and Catherine Suire defeated No. 3-seeded Rosalyn Fairbank and Candy Reynolds, 6-2, 6-3.