TENNIS WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT AT INDIAN WELLS : Only a Linesman’s Forehead Gets in Navratilova’s Way in 6-2, 6-1 Win

Who would have thought that the Bulgarian flag and a linesman’s head would prove significant at a tennis tournament?

Bulgaria’s flag--all white and green and red horizontal bars, with a lion on its hind legs surrounded by wheat sheaths--was missing when Katerina Maleeva of Sofia, Bulgaria, scanned the flags of nations around the two main courts at Hyatt Grand Champions Friday.

Her reaction?

“I am a little bit surprised,” Maleeva said.

But Maleeva’s shock couldn’t come close to matching that experienced by Bob Capron, a linesman from Glendale, Ariz., was more than a little surprised when he received a golf ball-sized bump on his head when Martina Navratilova accidentally socked him with her racket.

How hard had Navratilova swung?

“H-A-R-D,” Capron said.

It was a classic case of forehand meeting forehead, but only part of the highlight film from the quarterfinal round of the $350,000 Virginia Slims of Indian Wells.

In between the missing Bulgarian flag and a potential case of linesman’s compensation, Navratilova, Maleeva, Helena Sukova and 17-year-old Amy Frazier reached today’s semifinal round.

Navratilova continued her march through 1990 by allowing just seven points on her serve and beating Nathalie Herreman, 6-2, 6-1, in 47 minutes.

Her semifinal opponent is Maleeva, who sent Stanford Shakespeare student Meredith McGrath back to study hall, 6-1, 6-2, in a quarterfinal match.

Sukova reached a semifinal matchup with Frazier after overpowering Isabelle Demongeot, 6-4, 6-3.

Then coach-boyfriend-trainer Jaromir Jirik realigned Sukova’s spine, which has bothered her recently. Against Demongeot, she said her back hurt only when she walked, adding: “I didn’t have any trouble running.”

Frazier, who turned pro in January and won the Virginia Slims of Oklahoma last week, had no difficulty solving the game of 12-year pro Ros Fairbank, 6-2, 6-3.

Katerina, 20, is the middle sister of the three female Maleevas playing professional tennis. Manuela is 23, and Magdalena is 14. Following in defending champion Manuela’s sneakerprints, Katerina had moved quietly through the early rounds--until Friday.

The mid-Maleeva said she is accustomed to being taken for granted. “I think people never pay much attention to us here because we are not Americans; we are Western Europeans,” she said. “Maybe they will notice us if we continue to win.”

Nevertheless, if not for the missing flag, Maleeva might still be attempting to vault into the public eye. Some players check the stands before a match looking for familiar faces, but Maleeva turns her attention to the flags flying overhead and looks for Bulgaria’s.

“Every time I go to a tournament, I look,” Maleeva said. “But this is the first time I realize that the flag is not there.”

Where was the flag? Apparently, it was placed out near an entrance to the grounds by mistake. Maleeva said she was not insulted by the absence of her flag, but saddened by it.

“There are flags flying from countries which have no players participating in the tournament,” Maleeva said.

The lump on linesman Capron’s head was another story. Navratilova led, 4-2, 30-0, in the first set when Herreman hit an overhead down the line. Navratilova chased down the ball behind the baseline, but, when she swung her racket, she struck Capron squarely on his head.

The stunned linesman was examined on the court and wanted to continue, but he was excused for the rest of the match as a precaution.

Navratilova said that Capron was too close to the court and that his position may have meant interference. However, linesmen are considered parts of the court, such as the net or posts, and Capron’s position was correct in order to see the far line.

Still, Navatilova had a mixed reaction to the incident.

“I was very shaken when it happened and then I thought, ‘Wait a minute, I lost the point when I hit this guy,’ ” she said.

Navratilova was so shaken she lost only six other points on her serve in the match and spent her postmatch interview trying to come up with something she hadn’t done well against Herreman. The best she could come up with wasn’t much. “I returned badly those three games she won,” Navratilova said.

In 12 matches this year, Navratilova has lost just 37 games. But until Friday, she had never lost a point because of hitting a linesman’s head instead of the ball.

“I was planning on smacking the hell out of the ball,” Navratilova said. “I knew I didn’t hit the fence, I just didn’t know what I had hit.”

Capron knew immediately. “She swings that racket pretty well,” he said.