Experience Has Edge on Gavaldon

It’s called a home-court advantage, but on this day, it worked against one local player for a while.

A San Diegan advanced to the quarterfinals of the $225,000 Great American Bank tennis tournament, but that seemed to escape the notice of most.

Escondido’s Ros Fairbank-Nideffer, a native of South Africa, staged a courageous comeback against teen darling Angelica Gavaldon of Coronado Wednesday afternoon at the San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club. But the crowd of 2,910 was mostly disappointed after Fairbank-Nideffer’s 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory.

“It was funny walking out onto the court,” Fairbank-Nideffer said, “everyone was shouting, ‘Angelica, Angelica! Get her autograph.’ And I’m thinking, ‘No one evens knows me here.’ It’s a strange position to be in, because I’m not an underdog, I’m expected to win. But a lot of the crowd feels like she’s the big player in San Diego.”

In an earlier center court match, fifth-seeded Zina Garrison had an easier time against Aspen’s Gigi Fernandez, winning 6-2, 6-2. And in the featured evening match, Florida’s Kathy Rinaldi hung on longer than most against the best female player in the world, stretching it to 77 minutes before losing to Steffi Graf, 6-3, 6-4.

“I was just terrible,” Graf said. “I really didn’t play well at all. I was angry with myself.”

Evidently. But Rinaldi begged to differ.

“She’s not dominant like she was before,” Rinaldi said. “I’m not trying to take anything away from her, she’s still incredible, she’s still a phenomenal athlete, but people are starting to catch on.”

Once the No. 7 player in the world but now ranked 72nd, Rinaldi’s budding career was stopped short after she broke her thumb in the 1987 French Open and sat out all of 1988.

“I feel so much better when I walk on the court,” she said. “I’m just happy to be playing now.”

Graf conceded that Rinaldi made some great shots and had a good first serve, but she was mostly hard on herself.

“She hit some good shots,” Graf said, “but I didn’t finish them up. I didn’t come in, I didn’t step in and finish them right away.”

Third-seeded Garrison, weakened from the flu and having had very little to eat all week, said she almost had to withdraw, but officials delayed her first singles match, giving her adequate time to recuperate.

Martina Navratilova withdrew Tuesday because of an ankle injury, and Garrison’s appearance ensured that the tournament hadn’t lost another top draw, the world’s fifth-ranked player.

“I was close to pulling out,” she said. “But I was able to get a late start. Maybe it was meant for me to get some rest.”

Fairbank-Nideffer’s victory was as much psychological as it was physical. Two years ago here, she lost to Ann Grossman, then 17, in a weak draw, and last year Gavaldon, now 16, upset her in the first round.

Fairbank-Nideffer said she battled the fans and lost focus on those occasions. And when she was down a set and trailed, 2-5, in the second, that possibility again reared its head.

“When I was down, 5-2, a lot of things were going through my head,” she said. “I could have exploded and let the match go.”

Instead, she turned it completely around. Although Gavaldon served for the match at 5-3 and had a match point, a nerve struck Fairbank-Nideffer.

“I kept thinking, ‘What am I going to say to these press people?’ ” she said. “It’s just a matter of a couple of points. I just reminded myself that it was that close.”

Fairbank-Nideffer started rushing the net, forcing Gavaldon into errors from the backcourt.

“That put more pressure on her,” Fairbank-Nideffer said. “I believed I could come back. I never thought I wouldn’t win.”

For Gavaldon, who turned professional after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier in the year, it was another reminder that although she has come a long way since winning high school championships on these same courts, she still has a lot to learn.

“One of my problems is, I never play exactly the way I should play. I always let a few games slip by,” Gavaldon said. “I can’t afford to give games away, especially with a player who has so much experience.”

After taking her 5-2 lead in the second, Gavaldon lost 11 consecutive games.

Fairbank-Nideffer could have easily won a sportsmanship award for her gesture after she won the second set.

Gavaldon hit a shot both players thought was good, but the linesman saw it as long. It gave Fairbank-Nideffer the set, but she appealed to the umpire.

“I just couldn’t do that to her on set point,” she said. “I didn’t want to win the set that way.”

The umpire nonetheless upheld the call. Fairbank-Nideffer, who married sports psychologist Bob Nideffer in May, 1989, said her new mental approach is a far cry from what it used to be.

“I used to make excuses,” she said. “I’d be afraid to play someone, and so I’d make up excuses if things went wrong.”

Such as?

She explained that in a tournament several years ago, she complained that there was too much fuzz on the court. That’s right. Fuzz.

“I created a scene,” she said. “The reason I did it was because I was nervous to play that particular player.”

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS Center court, 12:30 p.m.: Zina Garrison (3) vs. Nathalie Herreman, followed by Barbara Paulus (6) vs. Ros Fairbank-Nideffer.

Center court, 6:30 p.m.: Ann Grossman vs. Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere (4), followed by Maleeva-Fragniere/Lori McNeil vs. Patty Fendick/Garrison.

Court 9, 12:30 p.m.: Isabelle Demongeot/Claudia Porwik vs. Lise Gregory/Gretchen Magers (3).

Site: San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club, 4848 Tecolote Rd.

Tickets: For information, call 276-LOVE. Some sessions, including Sunday’s finals, are already sold out.