Struggling Shriver Carries Problems Onto Court, Loses to Soviet, 6-2, 6-3

By Tuesday, it was already a bad week for Pam Shriver. Ninth-seeded at the U.S. Open, she lost her first-round match to Larisa Savchenko of the Soviet Union, 6-2, 6-3.

Shriver, whose ranking has dropped from No. 5 to No. 9 this year, has not won a tournament and is not exactly enjoying a run of luck.

Besides losing early at the Open again--she lost in the second round last year--Shriver has been dropped for the Open by Martina Navratilova, her doubles partner of nine years.

On top of that, she was not reelected to the board of directors of the Women’s International Tennis Assn., ending a seven-year term.

That came as a double blow, because she had thought she would be voted president of the board.

Tuesday, she was distraught and believed she might have carried her troubles onto the court.

“I was pretty upset about what happened there,” Shriver said. “I’ve never been one to say ‘OK, let’s put that off to the side and let’s worry about (the match). I’ve tended to dwell on it and think about it.”

Chris Evert, supporting Shriver, said: “Pam not being elected to the board was the biggest disgrace in women’s tennis. It just goes to show you that these young kids don’t have a clue . . .”

Shriver said she has been struggling on the court for more than a year. Finding a focus has been difficult.

“Right now, it’s sort of like writing a term paper with no topic,” she said. “I’m just writing.”