Tennis Roundup : Navratilova Isn’t Slowed by Layoff

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova, returning after a five-week layoff, needed only 52 minutes Wednesday to overpower Terry Phelps in the second round of the $300,000 Family Circle Magazine tennis tournament at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Navratilova, who won the tournament in 1982 and ‘83, polished off Phelps, 6-1, 6-1.

“I haven’t played for five weeks and I haven’t played on clay since the French (Open), so I’m a little rusty,” Navratilova said.

“I wasn’t as aggressive as I wanted to be, but I’m pretty comfortable sliding around, playing the points correctly, biding my time before I come in.”

In other matches Wednesday, No. 2-seeded Gabriela Sabatini defeated fellow Argentine Patricia Tarabini, 6-1, 6-2; No. 3 Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria ousted Karen Schimper of South Africa, 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany defeated Elly Hakami, 7-5, 6-4, and No. 5 Lori McNeil defeated Federica Bonsignori of Italy, 6-1, 7-5.

No. 7-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez withdrew with a fever.

Top-seeded Jimmy Connors took advantage of unforced errors to score a 6-3, 6-2 second-round win over Lawson Duncan in a $315,000 Volvo tournament at Chicago.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals was third-seeded Brad Gilbert, who defeated Sammy Giammalva, 6-4, 6-4.

In first-round play, Jim Pugh beat Juan Farrow, 6-2, 6-1, and Argentina’s Horacio de la Pena overwhelmed Britain’s Jeremy Bates, 6-2, 6-3.