No Fast Comeback for Austin (0-2)

The second match of Tracy Austin’s comeback ended with another loss Monday night as she and Sweden’s Catarina Lindqvist were defeated by Jamie Kaplan and Themis Zambrzyski, 7-5, 6-4, in the first round of the $300,000 Virginia Slims of Los Angeles at the Manhattan Country Club at Manhattan Beach.

Kaplan and Zambrzyski took the first set, breaking Austin at 15 in the 11th game en route to winning. Kaplan, from Macon, Ga., was ranked No. 330 in the world at the end of 1987, and Zambrzyski was No. 387 and 8th in Brazil.

Austin, who hadn’t played in a sanctioned women’s tournament in four years, returned to the tour last week at San Diego.

“I concentrated really well last week,” Austin said of the difference between the two matches. “This week it wasn’t there. . . . I expected to play like this last week.”

Austin, who teamed with Robin White at San Diego, lost in the opening round, 7-6, 6-1, to Betsy Nagelsen and Dinky van Rensburg.

In other action Monday, three qualifiers won their first-round singles matches. Ronni Reis, who reached the singles semifinals in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament at Los Angeles last spring, beat qualifier Kim Steinmetz, 6-2, 6-1. Amanda Coetzer defeated Katrina Adams, 6-3, 6-3, and Penny Barg downed Camille Benjamin, 6-0, 6-3.