Olmedo Shows He Still Has a Good Shot : Tennis: Encino man, who won Wimbledon in 1959, advances to final of USTA senior tournament.

His forehand still pops. His backhand still has eyes for the cross-court opening. And his drop shot still stops as if it had fallen softly off the edge of a table.

Alex Olmedo is 58, but his tennis game is still silk. The smooth, crisp strokes--well-known on the pro tour in another era--have not deserted him, even if age has made him a step or so slower.

“Not bad for an old guy, huh?” said Olmedo, the 1959 Wimbledon champion who lives in Encino. He was smiling after his 6-0, 6-4 victory Saturday in the semifinals of the U.S. Tennis Assn. National 50-55 Hardcourt Championships at Lindborg Racquet Club.

His victory over Les Dodson of Kalamazoo, Mich., moved Olmedo into the 55-and-over division final against Larry Dodge of Piedmont, Calif., at 11:30 a.m. today. Dodge defeated Irvine’s Jim Nelson, 6-2, 7-6.

Olmedo will be seeking his third consecutive 55 singles championship and his fourth overall, having won the 50 title in 1990.

Today’s other championship match has Leland Housman of San Diego challenging Richard Johnson of St. Louis for the 50-and-over title at 9:30 a.m. Housman defeated Larry Rabineau of Los Angeles, 6-3, 6-1, and Johnson ousted Len Saputo of Walnut Creek, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Dodge said he will have his hands full today with Olmedo.

“He’s my hero,” Dodge said, smiling. “Really, he’s the class of this place. I think he’s a better singles player than anyone else here. I played him once before in the open stuff a long time ago. I remember he beat me, but the score was closer than I thought it might be.”

Dodge, an architect who also owns a tennis club in Northern California, turned in a solid performance against Nelson, who is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the division. This is Dodge’s first year in the 55s.

Nelson scrambled back from a 4-0 deficit in the second set to take a 6-5 lead, but was broken in the 12th game, and Dodge won the tiebreaker, 7-3.

“I was just hoping I could get into a third set with him,” Nelson said. “It might have been different if I could have done that. Then you’ve got him thinking about what happened. But he hit three wonderful passing shots in that late game.”

Olmedo overwhelmed Dodson in the first set, but Dodson finally stopped the bleeding by winning the second game of the second set. Olmedo lost serve twice in the second set, once with two double-faults in the fifth game. “I think I got a little tired at that point,” he said.

A few double-faults not withstanding, Dodson said Olmedo “played absolutely perfect tennis today.” Olmedo beat Dodson in the finals of the 55s last year. That score was 6-0, 6-4.

Olmedo said he doesn’t play much tournament tennis anymore, but still enjoys it when he does.

“It’s still a lot of fun to play,” he said. “The competition keeps you keen in your mind. But this is only the second tournament I’ve played this year. I played the National 45s, but got beat there. They run me around more in the 45s, and it takes longer to recuperate.”

Tennis notes

Lenny Lindborg of Laguna Beach, owner and namesake of the host club, and Larry Dodge of Piedmont, Calif., beat Herman Ahlers of Dana Point and Hank Leichtfried of Irvine, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, to reach this afternoon’s championship match in the 55s. Lindborg and Dodge will face Bob Duesler and Jim Nelson of Newport Beach, who advanced with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Les Dodson of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Rollin Odell from Orinda, Calif. In the 50s, Dick Leach of Laguna Beach and Ken Stuart of Newport Beach will face Richard Johnson of St. Louis and Jody Rush of Olympia, Wash.