Manhattan Beach Tennis Tournament : Navratilova and Sabatini Coast Into Quarterfinals

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova and No. 2 Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina rolled into the quarterfinals with straight-set victories Thursday in the $300,000 Virginia Slims of Los Angeles tennis tournament at Manhattan Beach.

Navratilova, a five-time winner of this event, erased an early deficit by winning 10 of the last 11 games en route to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 14 Terry Phelps.

Sabatini won the first 10 games while routing unseeded Mary Lou Daniels, 6-0, 6-2, in 46 minutes.

In today’s quarterfinals, Navratilova will play No. 4 Hana Mandlikova of Australia. Sabatini faces No. 8 Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden, a 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4 winner over Tami Whitlinger, a recently turned pro.

In Thursday night’s feature match, No. 3 Zina Garrison was to play Monique Javer of England.

Navratilova, whose victory took 60 minutes, improved her record against Phelps to 6-0.

“It took me a while to get reused to the court and the sunlight,” Navratilova said. “We both struggled in the beginning, but after four games I started to play my game.”

Navratilova trailed 3-2 in the first set, but the world’s No. 2-ranked player gained service breaks in the seventh and ninth games. She won four more games to start the second set to complete a run of eight in a row.

Navratilova, 32, has won all four meetings with Mandlikova this year and is 29-7 lifetime against her. But Navratilova said she is worried about playing against Mandlikova, who will be Navratilova’s doubles partner at the U.S. Open.

“I think she’s playing better this year,” Navratilova said. “She’s getting back to her old form. She’s putting her heart and soul into it, and it’s making a difference.”

Sabatini, 19, cracked impressive baseline winners against the 28-year-old Daniels.

“I played a great match today,” she said. “I didn’t make too many errors. I was almost perfect.

Sabatini claims she has never been in better form to capture her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.

“This could be the year,” said Sabatini, who has not made it to the finals of a Grand Slam event this year. “It’s the best I’ve ever felt entering the Open. I think it’s all coming together. I’m playing my best tennis now. I’m relaxed, and mentally I’m feeling great.”

Others advancing to the quarterfinals included No. 5 Mary Joe Fernandez, who beat No. 15 Gretchen Magers, 6-2, 6-3, and No. 12 Nathalie Tauziat of France, a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 winner over No. 6 Helen Kelesi of Canada.