TENNIS WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS AT NEW YORK : Graf Makes Her Point in 6-3, 6-4 Victory Over Novotna

Steffi Graf, in one spectacular stroke, summed up the difference between the No. 1 and No. 11 players in the world. At least that’s the way her opponent, Jana Novotna, saw it.

With the score tied, 3-3, 30-30, in the first round of the $1-million Virginia Slims championships, Novotna sent a topspin lob over the head of Graf, who had been at the net. Graf got to the lob, whirled around, pulled her racket into her body and unleashed a stunning cross-court backhand passing shot that made even the low-key West German smile.

The effect was immediate. Novotna lost 13 of the next 14 points en route to a 6-3, 6-4 loss to the world’s top-ranked player at Madison Square Garden.

“After that point I felt, ‘This is what No. 1 plays like,’ ” said Novotna, the Czech whose ranking has risen from No. 45 a year ago. “This is the difference between No. 1 and No. 11. She can play the most important points and win them.”

For Graf, just playing the match was a victory. All week she has been nursing a severe ankle sprain suffered during practice last week and, until shortly before the match, was not sure she could play.

“I was in so much pain this morning,” Graf said of her 45-minute practice session. “I thought maybe I’d have to quit after three or four games. I just couldn’t believe that I was able to play the way I did.”

Novotna, who once pushed Graf to three sets, isn’t intimidated.

“Every match is getting closer between us,” she said. “I was surprised she was so excited to beat me. I was supposed to be depressed that I lost, but she seemed so happy that I thought, ‘Wow, she’s scared of me.’ ”

In another match, eighth-seeded Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria defeated Hana Mandlikova, 6-1, 6-1, in 47 minutes. Maleeva will next play fourth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain.