Graf Shows No Effects of Layoff

Steffi Graf ended a 2-month layoff today with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Petra Langrova in the second round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships.

The world’s top-ranked women’s player showed no signs of rustiness in returning from a broken right thumb that had sidelined her since early February.

She needed only 45 minutes to defeat Langrova, ranked No. 65, and extend her winning streak to 53 consecutive matches, including a 12-0 record this year.

“Right from the beginning I felt pretty good,” said Graf, who was injured Feb. 6 in a fall on skis. “I thought it was the perfect first match for me.”

The highlight of the match for Langrova was breaking Graf’s serve in the third game of the first set. She struggled with her own serve, however, and attributed that to the strength of Graf’s game.

“I didn’t think I had any chance,” said Langrova, who defeated Penny Barg Mager 6-0, 6-0 in the first round. “She played with great confidence and I made a lot of mistakes.”

Graf, injured when she fell on her hand while filming a movie in Switzerland, originally planned to launch her comeback in a tournament in Hamburg, West Germany, later this month.

The injury healed faster than expected, though, and she decided to put her winning streak on the line here.

“It’s amazing,” said Graf, who has won eight of the last nine Grand Slam titles and compiled a 158-5 record the last two seasons. “I didn’t think I had any chance to play a tournament before Hamburg.”

The Amelia Island field includes three other top-10 players. Gabriela Sabatini, who beat Graf in the finals a year ago and in the semifinals in 1988, is the No. 2 seed. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is seeded third and Zina Garrison is No. 4.

Langrova said she took one look at the draw and all but conceded that she didn’t have much of a chance to survive past the second round.

“I said I’ll try to win the first (round) match and then,” Langrova said, hesitating before shrugging her shoulders, “what can you do? . . . She’s No. 1 in the world, and I have nothing to lose. All I can do is play my game.”

Like Graf, the tournament’s other high seeds drew first-round byes and were scheduled to play today.