Navratilova Withstands Seles’ Challenge; Sabatini Holds Off Garrison

Martina Navratilova heard the future of women’s tennis Thursday night at the $1-million Virginia Slims Championships, and the sound was memorable.

But the second-seeded player was able to pull out a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory over 15-year-old Yugoslav-born Monica Seles, whose grunts rang out on every stroke of the quarterfinal before 13,153 at Madison Square Garden.

In the other quarterfinal, third-seeded Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina spoiled Zina Garrison’s 26th birthday by beating the fifth-seeded player from Houston, 6-3, 5-7 6-3.

With a 6-3, 5-1 lead, Navratilova initially neutralized the power of the left-handed Seles, who swings two-handed off both sides.

But Seles climbed back into the match, taking six consecutive games, when she hit a series of passing shots that hugged the sidelines and took advantage of some double faults by Navratilova to force the match into a third set.

Seles’ constant barrage of shots were not a surprise to the 33-year-old Navratilova. The two met in the final of the Virginia Slims of Dallas in September, and Seles held two set points in the first set before losing, 7-6, 6-3.

“I was expecting (her power) because of Dallas,” said a relieved Navratilova, who reached the semifinals here for the first time since 1986.

“But she hit one ball tonight that was harder than any ball that’s ever been hit against me. Thank God, the linesman realized it was out, because I could barely even see it. That thing is like a bazooka. I don’t know what’s in her racket. It must be corked.”

For all of Seles’ power, she also has the youthful tendency to hit the ball with only one pace. When that fails, the ball goes out. Only on rare occasions did she alter her stroke for the sake of accuracy.

That allowed Navratilova to take command at the start, gaining a 4-0 lead by charging the net at every opportunity and using her trademark reflex volley to catch Seles off guard. But when Seles made her comeback in the second set, it was Navratilova who seemed to slide out of sync.

Navratilova finally regained her composure at the start of the third set, getting a service break for a 2-0 lead only to have Seles break right back. They remained on serve until 5-5, although Navratilova had to save three break points in the ninth game. Navratilova then took a 6-5 lead with two aces and a service winner that seemed to rattle Seles.

To end the match, Navratilova broke Seles’ serve. Navratilova calmly knocked off a winning backhand volley. Seles double-faulted, and then tried a drop shot from the baseline that nicked the top of the net and fell wide. Navratilova ended the match with an unreturnable inside-out forehand down-the-line return.

“I certainly played well, I can’t deny that,” said Seles, who had leg cramps for the first time in her career. “I just couldn’t win my service games. That’s never happened before.”