Women’s Tennis Tournament at Indian Wells : Australia’s Byrne Upsets Shriver

Only two seeded players have made it to the semifinals of the $250,000 Virginia Slims tournament at Hyatt Grand Champions, and one of them, No. 4 Manuela Maleeva, had to stagger there on a twisted left ankle that could force her to default.

Even so, sympathy for the fallen--who now include Pam Shriver--was in short supply. Helena Sukova, the highest-seeded player still around at No. 2, said, well, that’s the way it goes sometimes.

“I don’t really care much,” she said. “It’s bad luck for them.”

And so, after five days, it’s anybody’s tournament. After Friday, anybody’s but Shriver’s.

The tournament’s third-seeded player was defeated by Jenny Byrne, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, which meant that Shriver was the last seeded player to lose, a record that lasted about 30 minutes, until sixth-seeded Catarina Lindqvist lost to Maleeva, 6-3, 6-1.

Shriver, who was playing her second singles match since the Australian Open, fell victim to a hectic 2 1/2 days of tennis that included 11 sets, 108 games, and two tiebreakers in four matches, counting doubles.

“If I was a pitcher, I would have asked my manager for three or four days off,” Shriver said.

Now, she can take off.

In something of a surprise, Byrne, 20, an Australian from Perth, has a berth in the today’s semifinals with Hana Mandlikova, who defeated Isabelle Demongeot, 6-3, 6-3.

Demongeot, the 22-year-old from France, said that Mandlikova has benefited from her six-month layoff.

“She is playing the same, but I think she is much better in her head,” Demongeot said.

Mandlikova is a Czech-born Australian citizen who at one time was not warmly welcomed by the Aussie women players. That problem has long since blown over, said Byrne, who jokingly suggested that they may share an Australian meat pie as a symbol of peace after they walk onto the court.

Byrne, a 5-foot 4-inch speedster, did not get into the 28-player main draw until she had won three matches in qualifying. Ranked No. 64 in the world, Byrne should have been a clear underdog against the No. 6-ranked Shriver, but not this time.

Some quick facts about Jenny Byrne:

--She scored her lone tournament victory in 1984 in Wyong on the Australian circuit.

--Two of her three sisters competed in the World Games in rhythmic gymnastics.

--Her golden retriever is named Boris.

Boris?

“I hope (Boris Becker) doesn’t mind, it looks a bit like him,” Byrne said.

Going into her match with Shriver, Byrne was brimming with confidence. She said later that she knew she could win. And Byrne did it under the pressure Shriver always bring to a match.

At 6 feet, Shriver always presents a good target as she charges the net, yet Byrne displayed an uncanny ability to hit winning passing shots, especially from her backhand.

Byrne led, 4-2, in the third set when a weary Shriver tried to come back on her serve, but couldn’t. She double-faulted to 15-15 and again at break point.

Byrne, who had serious service problems of her own in the second set, hung tough to serve out the match after Shriver had staved off one match point.

“I just didn’t have the same energy level,” said Shriver, who admitted the heat on Stadium Court had worn her down.

“I was looking for a roof there for a while,” she said.

Although her victory was her biggest this year, Byrne has been knocking on the door to a higher level of tennis. At Brisbane, she won two matches in qualifying and reached the semifinals before losing to Brenda Schultz.

Shriver said the book on Byrne has been about a classic underachiever, but that may be undergoing a rewrite. Too heavy? Too unmotivated? Byrne is playing too well for such characterizations.

“I think that she will go out and play a great match with Hana,” said Shriver, who said any one of the semifinalists has an outside chance of winning.

“Byrne is probably the outsidest of them all,” Shriver said.

The relentless Mandlikova’s victory over Demongeot enabled her to reach the semifinals for the second consecutive week. The difference is that instead of playing Steffi Graf, as she did last week in San Antonio, she meets Byrne.

Mandlikova’s reaction?

“Jenny is a nice girl,” she said.

No controversy here. There are also no seeded players left in Mandlikova’s top half of the draw, a fact for which she saw no reason to apologize.

“As I said at the beginning of the tournament, it’s not important who is in the draw, just to be happy,” she said. “Don’t worry, be happy.”

At the same time, Maleeva is too busy worrying to be happy. She turned her ankle at 5-1 in the first set, but chose to continue and actually played better in the second set.

Maleeva hopes that, after treatment, her ankle will improve. She will test it today and then decide if she is fit enough to play Sukova.

No one else, though, is as fit as Sukova, who hasn’t dropped a set in her two matches. Against Jana Novotna, her doubles partner, Sukova was forced to go to a second-set tiebreaker before pulling out a 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) victory.

Sukova is not about to put any pressure on herself at this stage of the tournament. Like Mandlikova, she just wants to feel good about herself.

“I feel all right,” Sukova said. “If I win, it’s great. If I don’t, I get more practice.”

It’s doubtful whether a completely fit Maleeva could beat Sukova, but a slightly hobbled one certainly has her work cut out for her.