Frazier Is Solidifying Role as Dukes’ Child Star : TeamTennis: Since joining them out of high school in 1990, she has emerged as the backbone of the Newport Beach team.

Amy Frazier had her foot in the door, but that was about all when she left Rochester Hills, Mich., to play for the Newport Beach Dukes in the summer of 1990. The youngest player in TeamTennis playing on the league’s newest team. It fit.

At the time, her resume seemed a little thin. The few highlights included seven national singles titles as a high school junior and victories at Virginia Slims tournaments in Kansas (1989) and Oklahoma (1990).

Just about what you’d expect from a 17-year-old who was new to the professional tour.

So, TeamTennis seemed to be the perfect showcase for an up-and-coming player like Frazier. Besides, it would offer the chance to play on a team and since Frazier decided to skip college tennis to go pro that seemed like fun.

Although the Dukes flopped in the standings that season, Frazier was named TeamTennis’ female rookie of the year.

And every summer since, Frazier has returned to Newport Beach to play in the month-long league. Every summer she seems more poised, more polished, more professional.

Now 19, Frazier has emerged as the backbone of the Dukes, who are on the verge of their first playoff appearance in franchise history.

In three seasons with the Dukes, she’s beefed up her resume considerably. Forget Oklahoma and Kansas, Frazier advanced to the semifinals of the ’92 Australian Open and has been to the fourth round of Wimbledon two years in a row. This year, she knocked off seventh-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the fourth round.

There’s no question that she’s not the same player she was in 1990.

Here’s what Martina Navratilova had to say after outlasting Frazier, 6-4, when the Atlanta Thunder played the Dukes earlier this month:

“She’s had some great wins. She hits the ball hard, so you really have to be ready for her. If she served better, she’d be really dangerous. Her shots are as good as anyone else’s, though.”

Greg Patton, the Dukes’ coach, can’t stop raving about her play this season. He’s mentioned her in each post-match meeting with reporters, repeatedly describing her--as only he can--as tough and unyielding.

“Amy wasn’t giving up that pocketbook. I don’t care how many muggers were around her,” Patton said Friday after Frazier beat Sacramento’s Debbie Graham, 6-2, and helped Ronnie Bathman win the match-clinching mixed doubles set over Patty Fendick and David MacPherson, 6-5 (5-4).

“Let’s start with Amy (Frazier),” Patton said after Saturday’s victory over Wichita. “She played flawless. She’s playing so well right now she makes my heart go thump-a, thump-a.”

Through injury and disappointment on the court and barely a ripple of interest at the box office, Dukes owner Fred Lieberman has counted on Frazier to be his star attraction.

“You nurture them when they’re young and develop some loyalty,” he said of Frazier before the season.

Indeed, a summer without the Dukes would seem a little empty to Frazier. The Dukes have been just as good to her as she has been to them.

“I had just finished high school and I decided not to go to college,” she said. “This was something I really wanted to do. You can’t compare tournament play and TeamTennis. I love what I do on my own, but I love this, too.

“It’s totally different. You want to win for the team. You want to win every point because it helps the team win.”

That seems to be the bottom line in TeamTennis. Everyone from Navratilova to Jimmy Connors--playing his second season for the Los Angeles Strings--to Frazier points to the team concept as the reason they’re playing.

Unlike Navratilova and Connors, Frazier also plays to improve. There are elements of her game that need to be improved and she’ll be the first to admit it.

Start with her serve, which often flutters over the net with little pace on it. And if her serve were more damaging, she might come to the net more instead of hanging back on the baseline. When she does come forward, however, her volleys are usually sharp and well-placed.

“On the baseline . . . that’s where I’m most comfortable,” Frazier said. “Everything can be improved. My serve can be improved. I could come to the net a little more.

“I’m working on it. I’m still improving. I don’t set any ranking goals. I set goals to improve my game and if I do, hopefully my ranking will improve.”