Austin Gives a Lesson in History : Tennis: Hall of Fame player beats a 17-year-old who had never heard of her, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

So it has come to this: Tracy Austin is playing people who have never heard of her.

For someone who won the U.S. Open twice and is already in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, this could be sort of, well, irksome. But now, at 30, Austin is a diplomat in tennis shoes.

“Who cares?” she said Wednesday, shortly after dusting off 17-year-old Elena Likhovtseva of Kazakhstan in the second round of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles.

“It’s in the record books,” Austin said. “I don’t mean to be snotty. Heck, Monica (Seles) was 5 months old when Martina (Navratilova) played Wimbledon the first time, so that stuff doesn’t really bother me.

“I mean, Zina (Garrison-Jackson) is 29 years old and nobody is asking Zina about her age. Let’s get her in here and ask her about it.”

Likhovtseva knows something about Austin now. First she absorbed a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 loss to Austin, then took a short pop quiz on tennis history.

Question: What did you know about your opponent?

Answer: “Nothing.”

Q: She won the U.S. Open in 1979 and 1981.

A: “Maybe.”

Well, she did. Actually, Likhovtseva’s knowledge of semi-current U.S. Open events is sort of limited. She said the first U.S. Open singles champion she knew about was Chris Evert in 1982.

News may not have traveled fast to Likhovtseva, but the shots produced by Austin’s forehand certainly did. On this matter, Likhovtseva knew a Hall of Fame shot when she saw one.

“She has a pretty good forehand,” she said. “She played well, you know.”

In truth, Austin played only all right. She had six double faults, lost her serve seven times, missed nine of 17 break-point chances and is probably fortunate to be advancing to the round of 16 against Gabriela Sabatini.

Austin knew what to call the type of victory she produced.

“That’s grinding it out,” she said.

It took 2 hours 13 minutes to decide the winner in a match with no aces, 15 double faults and 28 break points. But Austin felt good about coming back on the court and winning 14 hours after beating Gigi Fernandez.

After all, it takes a certain amount of courage for a Hall of Fame player to put her reputation on the line and cross rackets with a 17-year-old who didn’t care who she was.

“I love to compete,” Austin said. “It’s in my blood.”

Down a break in the third set, Austin climbed back to 4-4, broke for 5-4, served for the match and got broken, broke back for 6-5 and finally closed it out by holding serve with a volley winner on match point.

Austin was grateful to win, no matter the score.

“Well, 6-2, 6-2 would have been fine with me,” she said. “It felt great to tough it out like that. I feel positive. I just need to go out and play a lot of matches.”

Sabatini, at No. 5, will be the highest-ranked player Austin has played since she made her first comeback nearly four years ago.

“Can I beat Sabatini?” Austin said. “Who knows? I don’t know. There’s a possibility. She doesn’t hit the ball that hard, so it’s just a matter of out-steadying her.”

Tennis Notes

Tracy Austin began the week with no computer ranking. Even if she loses to Gabriela Sabatini today, her ranking will be about No. 158, according to the WTA. If Austin defeats Sabatini, she could be as high as No. 87. . . . .This is Austin’s fifth tournament since 1984. She said she will play in the Canadian Open next week. . . . Second-seeded Martina Navratilova needed 54 minutes to win her opening match, 6-2, 6-2, over Elena Brioukhovets, a 22-year-old Russian. Afterward, Navratilova walked into the interview carrying an ice pack for her knee and K.D., her 12-year-old miniature fox terrier. “She’s 12,” Navratilova said. “Finally, in dog years, she’s older than I am.” Navratilova, 36, said she isn’t sure how many times she will contend for the U.S. Open title, which she has won four times. “Five years ago, I said two more years,” Navratilova said. “Well, I’m still here and I still think I have two left.” . . . Navratilova’s next opponent is Rosalyn Nideffer.