Tennis, Flushing Meadow Style : WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE TOP PLAYERS ON ONE OF THE GAME’S TOUGHEST COURTS

The U.S. Open tournament, which begins Monday at Flushing Meadow, N.Y., in the borough of Queens, is part of tennis’ royalty, a Grand Slam event. It is also probably one of the easiest-to-watch sports events-and the hardest to play.

Who’s going to win? Probably whoever survives.

Kevin Curren, a South African living in Austin, Tex., and a 1985 Wimbledon finalist, once was asked what he thought about the U.”. Open.

“Bomb it,” he said bluntly.

Why such a drastic reaction? Well, the U.”. Open is sort of deceiving. It looks like great fun on television. Viewers will notice the lovely Manhattan skyline beyond the stadium and the dark green courts with pretty flowers in potted plants in the corners.

But what appears to be tranquility sits just a few miles from LaGuardia Airport’s Runway 13. Jet airplanes take off and land while tennis players are engaged in a match. The noise from the jets is so loud that it drowns out every other sound, making it impossible for players to hear the ball being struck, thus affecting their judgment of shots.

“It’s unbelievable and scary, too,” said Martina Navratilova, a four-time U.S. Open champion. “I saw John Fitzgerald playing doubles once and he actually whiffed on a ball. It was a mishit and he couldn’t hear it, so he swung way in front of the ball.”

The U.S. Open has been described as like playing on a freeway. Probably during rush hour.

Its home, the National Tennis Center, was built for $10 million in 1978 and designed to handle 250,000 fans, but more than 400,000 show up. Overcrowding is severe. Add to this the humidity and temperatures of a New York summer.

Last year, Brad Gilbert won four consecutive tournaments and was the hottest tour player going into the Open. He promptly lost in the first round.

Gilbert summed up his feelings about the Open: “It’s hot, best-of-five (sets), you got planes going over your head and you’ve got people walking all around the back courts.”

That about covers it, except possibly for Court 28, which may be the most difficult place of all to play. That’s where clouds of smoke blow over the court from the hamburgers grilled at a next-door concession stand.

“I lost a match out there once- 1982 to Kim Warwick in five sets- you choke, smell burgers and onions for five sets,” Gilbert said.

“You know, it’s incredible. And then you’ve got about 1,000 people standing around the rails of the Stadium Court, and they’re looking down and they’re dropping Coke cups and screaming. It’s tough. I mean I love it. I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else.”

Gilbert may have to. Plans are in the works to build a new facility on eight adjoining acres at a cost of $100 million. If it’s true, there won’t be too many more opportunities to watch such great players struggle in such atmosphere on their way to glory.

Last year, Boris Becker and Steffi Graf overcame adversity and the other elements to win the Open. Their challengers already are lining up to prevent a repeat. Here is a short list of contenders, The players to watch at the U.”. Open-providing the hamburger smoke clears.

MEN

(1) Ivan Lendl:

The hottest topic in men’s tennis is how the No. 1 player in tennis will be affected by losing his 11th time at Wimbledon. Former pro star Roscoe Tanner said this concern could be a moot point: “I mean, he’s lost Wimbledon before and still won the U.S. Open, hasn’t he?” Three times, actually.

The Czech played only one tournament between Wimbledon and the U.”. Open, apparently content to play golf and get away from it all. We know he wasn’t watching any soccer, which Lendl describes this way: “Ninety minutes of guys lying on the ground holding their legs.”

(2) Boris Becker: Groucho Marx was once asked what he thought to be the most difficult shot in golf. Groucho replied: “I find it to be the hole in one.” In tennis, it’s Becker’s serve.

The West German hits it so hard, opponents have trouble seeing the ball, much less getting their rackets on it. After Becker served 13 aces in last year’s Open quarterfinals to beat Yannick Noah, Noah was asked if he had a chance: “Maybe if you put the tape back to the beginning of the match and play it in slow motion.”

(3) Stefan Edberg: This year’s Wimbledon champion has never done very well at the Open-he’s only reached the semifinal twice.

Last year the Swede lost to 37-year-old Jimmy Connors and said he didn’t feel much like playing. This year may be different. Two facts about Edberg: He has the best volley in tennis and the worst-looking shirt. It looks as if someone dumped spaghetti on it. A fan asked him what the pattern was and Edberg replied that it was a London subway map. Fashion aside, don’t be suprised if he finds his way to the title.

(4) Pete Sampras: A long shot, Sampras, 18, is a serve-and-volley specialist from Rancho Palos Verdes whose game is maturing faster than expected, perhaps catching up to an already fairly developed quirky sense of humor.

Sampras is ranked in the top 20, and many believe he is destined for greatness. When reminded that England’s legendary former Wimbledon champion Fred Perry said he is certain Sampras will win Wimbledon in the next few years, Sampras shook his head slowly and said: “You’re out of control, Fred.”

(5) Goran Ivanisevic: The second most famous Yugoslavian tennis player (Monica Seles is first), this 18-year-old hits the ball so hard he reminded Becker o osomeone. “Me,” Becker said. Tall (6-foot-4), left-handed and lanky, Ivanisevic is a man of few words. Most of the time they are the same one. This was especially true when he played at Wimbledon. On serving: “I serve unbelievable.” On his performance: “I play unbelievable.” He’s probably not ready to win now, but if he does, it’ll be unbelievable.

Women

(1) Jennifer Capriati: This 14-year-old from Florida has a dog named Bianca, pink sheets and pink pillowcases, loves rapper M.C. Hammer, cracked the Top 15 in the rankings and was a millionaire through endorsements at 13.

Capriati may have the most pure tennis talent since her idol, Chris Evert, even though she has some growing up to do off the court. Sightseeing in Paris during the French Open, Capriati visited Notre Dame and wondered where the football field was. Visiting Napoleon’s tomb, Capriati referred to him as “the little dead dude.”

(2) Martina Navratilova: The nine-time Wimbledon champion is better suited for English grass courts than on the cemenencourts at Flushing Meadow, but Navratilova is plotting to overthrow Steffi Graf for the No. 1 spot anyway. At 33, Navratilova knows she doesn’t have many playing years left and should be free of pressure because of her Wimbledon victory. As for retirinin Navratilova doesn’t sound as if she is ready: “There’s no point in thinking about it. It’s like thinking when you are going to die. It’s not that drastic.”

(3) Steffi Graf: At this point, the life of West German Graf is looking more like a soap opera every day, largely because of reports linking her father/ manager, Peter Graf, with a topless model who claimed he fathered her child. The woman was later arrested and charged with extortion.

On top of that, Graf has failed to win her last three tournaments, which hasn’t happened since she became the No. 1 woman player.

Questions abound for Steffi: Can she find happiness and a steady forehand on the other side of the East River? Is she washed up at 20? Can she be dominant again? Will it be her way or the subway? This will probably prove to be Graf’s most difficult Open.

(4) Natalia Zvereva: This 19-year-old Soviet from Minsk has proven to be one unpredictable player-person. She reached the 1988 French Open final, then failed to win a game against Graf in 33 minutes, the swiftest defeat in the event’s history.

When Zvereva played the Virginia Slims of Chicago, she didn’t know where to park her rental car, so she drove it up on the sidewalk and left it. But it was also Zvereva who was the first to break publicly with the Russian Tennis Federation and vowed to keep her own prize money. She is due for a big break in tennis.

(5) Zina Garrison: At 26, this Texan is a late bloomer, largely because of changes in her lifetsyle. So far, Garrison has given up her beloved jelly doughnuts, cut down on her Flintstones cartoons, lost 25 pounds, gotten married and reached the finals of Wimbledon.

What’s next? Possibly her first Grand Slam triumph. She may be getting closer. A year ago in the Open’s quarterfinals, Garrison dispatched Evert and sent her off into retirement. At Wimbledon this year she knocked off Graf. Garrison may be on a roll that for the first time isn’t cinnamon.