Tennis Roundup : Navratilova Gets Scare but Beats Potter; Shriver Wins

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova had an early scare Friday night but switched to more conservative tactics and overcame sixth-seeded Barbara Potter, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Virginia Slims of Dallas.

Navratilova will meet fourth-seeded Zina Garrison in today’s semifinals. Navratilova, 18-0 against Garrison in career matches, has won seven of the last nine Dallas events.

Pam Shriver, the second seed, fought off the first-set challenge of 16-year-old Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union, 7-5, 6-1, to advance to the other semifinal spot opposite third-seeded Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria.

Potter took charge of the first set by beating Navratilova to the net while Navratilova was trying to be too fine. But Navratilova decided to keep more balls in play, and she said that tactical change ultimately won the match.

“I had to dig in my heels,” Navratilova said. I knew I was in for a dogfight because she’s a fighter. But I started to get into the flow of the match in the second set.”

Navratilova got a service break in the second game of the second set, then broke again in the eighth game to even the match.

She broke again in the second game of the third set and broke again in the fourth game to take control.

Shriver fell behind, 4-3, in the first set after losing her serve in the third and seventh games. But Shriver broke back in the eighth game to even the set.

Both players held serve until the 12th game when Zvereva, seeded eighth, was broken in a game that went to three deuces.

Zvereva lost her serve in the third game of the second set, double-faulting on the decisive point. She was broken again in the sixth game, and Shriver held to take the match.

Manuela Maleeva had little trouble in eliminating Mary Lou Daniels of Chicago, 6-2, 6-1.

Garrison advanced with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Maleeva’s younger sister Katerina, who was the seventh seed.

Yannick Noah of France, American Todd Nelson and Yaya Doumbia of Senegal all scored quarterfinal victories in the a $280,000 Grand Prix tournament at Lyon, France.

Noah downed Australia Brod Dyke (Australia), 6-4, 6-2; Nelson eliminated Frenchman Philippe Pech and Doumbia sidelined Jeremy Bates of Britain, 6-4, 7-5.