Tennis Roundup : Navratilova Beats Zvereva; to Skip Olympics

Martina Navratilova completed her preparations for Wimbledon Saturday by beating Natalia Zvereva, 6-2, 6-2, in the final of the $250,000 Pilkington Glass tennis championships at Eastbourne, England.

Navratilova, who lost to the 17-year-old Soviet player in the fourth round of the French Open on clay, took just 57 minutes to gain revenge on her favorite surface, grass.

Navratilova, who starts her campaign Tuesday for a record ninth Wimbledon women’s singles crown, collected $50,000 as she won this warm-up event for the seventh time.

Navratilova also told reporters that she will skip the Olympic Games at Seoul, South Korea, in September because they aren’t important enough and because she doesn’t want to be treated “like a child.”

This year, tennis is returning to the Olympic Games as a medal sport for the first time since 1924.

David Pate of Las Vegas defeated South African Christo Van Rensburg, 7-6, 6-4, to win the Wirral International grass-court tournament at West Kirby, England.

Pate, seeded fourth, won the first-set tiebreaker, 7-5, then went on to break Van Rensburg’s serve at the start of the second set.