Navratilova Wins, Reaches L.A. Final for the 11th Time

Martina Navratilova trounced third-seeded Gabriela Sabatini 6-1, 6-1 in 51 minutes Saturday to advance to her 11th final in 13 years at the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles in Manhattan Beach.

Navratilova, the second seed, will try for her eighth Slims title Sunday against the winner of Saturday night’s semifinal between top-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and No. 10 seed Lori McNeil.

Navratilova hasn’t lost a set in four matches and has lost just 14 games. She was equally dominant in a 6-4, 6-1 quarterfinal victory on Friday over No. 7 seed Amanda Coetzer that lasted 42 minutes.

“I’ve played four flawless sets in a row and I can’t remember the last time I did that,” said Navratilova, 36. “Today I felt very young.”

Sabatini, who dropped to 5-15 lifetime against Navratilova, never got her heavy topspin groundstrokes going against her net-rushing opponent.

“We never got into many rallies,” Navratilova said. “She never had a chance to hit deep and get me running.”

Navratilova won 25 of 32 points (78 percent) on her first serve and converted five of six break chances.

“This wasn’t my day,” Sabatini said.