Tennis : This Swede Is a Sweet Doubles Player, but Singles Game Is Sour

The line of succession among Sweden’s tennis stars had been drawn long ago, for all to see. After Bjorn Borg, after Mats Wilander, but before Stefan Edberg, there was Anders Jarryd.

Jarryd, the craggy faced native of Lidkoping, was 23 years old in 1985 when he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon--and lost to eventual champion Boris Becker. Buoyed by his fine showing at Wimbledon, Jarryd’s ranking reached No. 5 two weeks later that July.

Since then, Jarryd has sunk like a stone in singles--he’s No. 53 now--and at age 28, he not only isn’t his country’s top player, but instead shares billing with John Fitzgerald of Australia as one half of one of the world’s top doubles teams.

What happened to Jarryd? He said there is a simple answer.

“I didn’t play so well, really,” he said.

Except for one notable exception--the 1986 WCT Finals--Jarryd has been winless in singles since March of 1985. Jarryd and Edberg won the bronze medal at Seoul and although Jarryd has continued to be a great doubles player, it is singles that establishes and maintains reputations.

There are some who expect Jarryd to make a comeback in singles and climb up the rankings again, but he does not sound as confident.

“I only want to try to get my ranking back,” he said. “I’m happy with that.”

In 1987, when Jarryd’s ranking was still as high as No. 15, he underwent his third knee surgery to repair cartilage. Jarryd’s knee is all right, it’s just that his attitude about tennis needs some work.

A killer instinct? Not the way he talks.

“There are a lot of things . . . sometimes it’s difficult to get psyched up,” he said.

“And my family (girlfriend Lotta Sundren, 1 1/2-year-old son Niklas), I want to be home sometimes,” he said. “Tennis is not everything for me right now. I still like it.

“I’m not discouraged or anything, because tennis has given me so much. I’ve seen the world, made money, met a lot of people. It would be nice to win a Grand Slam title, but there aren’t too many players who can do it.”

Until Jarryd gets that Grand Slam singles title (he has won five in doubles), he said he will continue to enjoy traveling around the world, just as he has for 10 years.

“The game has been giving me so much,” Jarryd said.

Incredible Hulks? According to No. 24-ranked Kevin Curren, the trend in tennis is for bigger bashers, who with new rackets are altering the style of the game forever.

Curren said rackets are getting lighter, more powerful and more artificial because of the material used in making them, which means that players who stay back and hit the ball as hard as they can produce more upsets than ever before.

“It’s like Russian Roulette out there,” he said.

“You’re not going to see a guy like McEnroe come around anymore, a guy with all that finesse. That day is over.”

Asked to explain Michael Chang’s success, Curren pointed out that the 17-year-old’s best result was on clay at the French Open in June. “Michael Chang has got great speed and a lot of concentration, but he’s starting to get beat some.”

If tennis is going to the power brokers, Chang has missed the trend. He said tennis is fair, no matter what the size. As for his own build, the 5-foot-8 Chang said he’s happy with it.

“I don’t think I’m a small guy,” he said. “I don’t think I’m a stick or anything.”

Add Hulks: “Tennis is a great equalizer,” Chang said. “If they raise the nets a little, it might be different.”

He needs a vacation after his vacation: Aaron Krickstein had a busy five days, beginning Monday.

After enjoying his victory over Chang in the Volvo/Los Angeles tournament final, Krickstein awoke Monday to the news his ranking had improved from No. 16 to No. 12. He flew Tuesday to Boca Raton, Fla., and from there to Paradise Island in the Caribbean. Then it was back to Boca Raton, where he got a quick lesson on serves from coach Tim Gullikson, and from there, on to his parents’ home in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.

Krickstein left Friday for Basel, Switzerland, where he will play another tournament.

Herb Krickstein said winning the Volvo/Los Angeles title meant a great deal to his son’s confidence. It was Krickstein’s first victory in a Super Series, or important tournament, in five years.

“He’s certainly not afraid of anybody anymore,” the elder Krickstein said. “That was not the case a year or so ago.

“How high can he get? I think he can be in the top five. But I’m his father. I’m prejudiced.”

When 13-year-old Jennifer Capriati was given the green light to turn pro before her 14th birthday, one of those who spoke in her favor was Chris Evert.

Evert, to whom Capriati has been compared, was the only Women’s International Tennis Assn. board member who voted last year to allow the Florida teen-ager to play selected pro events. Capriati had to wait for her chance, which will come sooner than expected.

Last week, the women’s tennis pro council agreed with a new WITA board decision that will allows teens to play beginning in the month of their 14th birthday. Capriati, who turns 14 on March 28, can play in the Virginia Slims of Florida, March 5-11, and the Lipton International Players Championships, March 16-25.

Capriati, of Lauderhill, Fla., won the French Open and U.S. Open junior titles this year. She told Jim Sarni of the Fort Lauderdale News that she was happy with last week’s ruling.

“I can’t wait,” Capriati said. “I’m glad the decision was made because I want to play my first tournament in Florida. I want to play Steffi Graf in the first round or I want to play Chris. I want to play a top-ranked player to see how I do against them.”

Many expect her to do pretty well, although Capriati’s best will probably come later. Evert, 32, may play in the Virginia Slims of Florida, even though she announced her retirement from major tournament tennis at the U.S. Open.

Courting Capriati: Capriati has been doggedly pursued by the Big 3 of tennis’ management companies. Who has the inside track? It’s IMG and John Evert, Chris’ brother.

Chris Cross America: Evert’s exhibition tour with Martina Navratilova stopped in Denver and Seattle last week. Then they took off for Tokyo, where they join Pam Shriver and Zina Garrison on the U.S. Federation Cup team.

The Southern California sectional tennis championships will be played Friday through Oct. 15 at the Racket Centre of Universal City. Expected to be among the top men’s players are Dexter MacBride of Calabasas, a teaching pro; Pepperdine freshman Alejo Mancisidor of Palm Springs and UC Irvine sophomore Mike Roberts of Beverly Hills.

Michael Joyce, an 11th-grader at St. Monica’s High School, and Matt Holt, a freshman at Pepperdine from Larkspur, are also expected to be in the running for honors.

Some of the top women who will compete are 1988 champion Shandra Livingston of Carson and runner-up Noelle Porter of Chatsworth, teaching pro Helen Park Bates of Pasadena and juniors Anne Mall of Laguna Niguel.

Tennis Notes

A rising star on the men’s tournament circuit, there is an impressive entry list for the $1.3 million Paris Open Indoor tournament, which next year becomes a $2 million event. So far, top 10 players Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Michael Chang, Brad Gilbert, Tim Mayotte, Jakob Hlasek and Alberto Mancini have entered the event, Oct. 30-Nov. 5. Others who will play are Jay Berger, Yannick Noah, Aaron Krickstein, and Miloslav Mecir. . . . This year’s Nabisco Masters tournament, Nov. 28-Dec. 3, will be the last, because it disappears in the new ATP Tour. Replacing the 19-year-old Masters in 1990 is the ATP World Championship, which will be held 1990-92 in Frankfurt, West Germany. . . . The men’s top 10 last week was No. 1 Ivan Lendl, No. 2 Boris Becker, No. 3 Stefan Edberg, No. 4 John McEnroe, No. 5 Michael Chang, No. 6 Brad Gilbert, No. 7 Andre Agassi, No. 8 Tim Mayotte, No. 9 Jakob Hlasek and No. 10 Alberto Mancini. New rankings come out Monday.