Graf, Navratilova to Meet Again : Evert Loses in What May Be Last Time at Wimbleton

Steffi Graf ruined what probably was Chris Evert’s last Wimbledon appearance today, beating the 34-year-old former champion 6-2, 6-1 for a spot in the women’s final for the third straight year.

Graf will try to retain her singles title Saturday against Martina Navratilova, who overcame an upset stomach and struggled before beating unseeded Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden 7-6, 6-2. She wrapped up the victory with her fifth ace to secure a spot in her 10th Wimbledon final.

Graf, the defending women’s champion from West Germany, saved six break points and boomed four aces in a lopsided victory over Evert that took just 68 minutes on a sweltering Center Court.

‘My Strength Now’

“Today there were a lot of close points, and I managed to get those points,” said Graf, who beat Evert for the eighth consecutive time after losing their first six meetings. “That was her strength usually, and it’s become my strength now.”

Evert said age took its toll.

“I thought, ‘Boy, if I was 10 years younger,’ ” Evert said. She added that she was “90% sure” she would not play Wimbledon again.

“I’d be real shocked if I came back and played this tournament next year,” Evert said. “It would take a transplant or something. . . . A couple of different parts.

“Obviously, I’m past my prime now. When I retire--it could be today, it could be the end of the year--I’ll know I played until I had nothing left.”

The crowd was for Evert all the way and politely applauded Graf’s victory. Going off court, a ball boy stopped Evert and asked for an autograph. She obliged, as Graf hurried into the locker room.

The Graf-Navratilova meeting will be their third in a row in the Wimbledon final, the first time that has happened since the tournament dropped the challenge round in 1921.

Graf stopped Navratilova’s consecutive title string at six last year, and it looked for a while as if Navratilova would not get a chance for revenge--or a record ninth singles crown.

‘Not Easy at All’

“It was not easy at all,” Navratilova said. “My stomach was a mess. I was walking, and all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t until six or seven games later that my stomach started settling down. . . . Everything happens to me in sight of the Royal Box.”

Navratilova said last year’s outcome would have no effect on either her or Graf in Saturday’s championship match.

“I want it badly. Steffi wants it badly,” she said. “This is what you live for. It’s the Super Bowl for us and the World Cup final for Europeans.”