TENNIS / WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT AT MANHATTAN BEACH : Sabatini Takes Her Time in Defeating Rinaldi

As far as perfumes go, Gabriela Sabatini leads the women’s tour by having two of her very own. As far as her tennis goes, well, it went a very long way Tuesday night at the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles.

Sabatini, who has introduced two different brands of perfumes, unveiled a new tennis product. It’s called Slow Time.

It took 2 hours 4 minutes for Sabatini to win her first match, a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) decision over Kathy Rinaldi that could have been timed with an hour glass--especially a second set that took 1 hour 27 minutes.

At that rate, Sabatini will be ready for the U.S. Open by about January.

“It was a very long match,” said Sabatini, the inspiration behind fragrances that use her name.

One is simply called “Gabriela Sabatini,” oddly enough, which the subject describes as “sweet and strong.”

The second, which goes by the name “Magnetic,” is “not as strong, but made with flowers,” she said.

Entire gardens could have reached maturity before Sabatini managed to subdue Rinaldi, who lost to Sabatini for the sixth consecutive time without a victory.

While it was not really a scintillating peformance by the 1990 U.S. Open champion, Sabatini believes she is on the right track to get herself back into the trophy presentation ceremony at some tournament in the very near future.

She hasn’t taken part in one since she won the Italian Open 15 months ago, but who’s counting? Sabatini isn’t.

“I’m not concerned,” she said. “I’ve been playing good tennis. I’m just going to do the best I can.

“The game is there. I think I am fine. I need the confidence to get the good wins. That is all.”

Sabatini, who hasn’t played since Wimbledon when she lost to Jana Novotna in the quarterfinals, wasn’t sharp against Rinaldi. Her serve came and went--one ace, three double faults--and she stayed clear of the net most of the time.

Rinaldi might have had a better chance if her own serve had worked a little better. Eight double faults and no aces may have made the difference in a close match, Rinaldi said.

“I wasn’t missing by much,” she said.

Rinaldi, who lost to Sabatini in straight sets in the second round at Wimbledon, said Sabatini’s serve wasn’t as soft as it may have looked.

“Well, she threw in some hard serves, but I don’t think the serve was a real big key out there. I felt like I could break her,” she said.

“She definitely is not coming into the net as much as she used to, but she made her reputation as a baseliner. I think she’s just more confident from the baseline.”

Fresh from a singing appearance on the Aresenio Hall Show the night before and some tight off for rafting in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Sabatini said it’s natural that she might have her total tennis package put together right now.

For that reason, she felt good about what happened at Manhattan Country Club.

“That was what I needed, to have a tough match,” she said. “I haven’t played any matches for awhile, so it was good. It was my first match, but I’m playing a lot better now than when I won the U.S. Open.

“My serve, my groundstrokes, everything is better. I just need more confidence to come to the net more.”

Tennis Notes

Who’s No. 3? It’s a battleground out there, all right. Last week, Martina Navratilova got the ball rolling with: “I’m, you know, the third best player in the world, I feel . . . I know Arantxa (Sanchez Vicario) is ranked ahead of me, but I feel I’m a better player than she is, although I haven’t been able to prove it because we haven’t played each other that much.” After defeating Michelle Jaggard-Lai, 6-2, 6-1, Sanchez Vicario was asked about Navratilova’s statement. “She can say whatever she wants. She’s No. 4 and I’m No. 3. I mean, I’m No. 3 because I play very good since the beginning of the year. I deserve to be there. So I have no comment about that, but I’m there and she’s not.” . . . Navratilova, who could meet Sanchez Vicario only in the final, plays her first match at 7 p.m. against 22-year-old Russian Elena Brioukhovets, who is ranked No. 118. There is no dispute about that.