Navratilova wins

Press, 27 February 1984, Page 21

Navratilova wins

NZPA-Reuter East Hanover New Jersey Martina Navratilova continued her 14-month domination of Giris EvertLloyd by beating her arch rival for the eighth consecutive time to win the United States women’s national indoor title here on Saturday. Seeded world number one, Navratilova used her power and speed to trimph 6-2, 7-6 after Evert-Lloyd rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to force a tiebreak. Navratilova’s victory cut Evert-Lloyd’s winning lead in their meetings to 30-26, and Evert-Lloyd, second

seed here, has not beaten her Czechoslovak-born rival since the 1982 Australian open final. Navratilova, who did not lose a set in five matches on her way to the indoor crown, appeared to have the match under control by scoring five breaks in Evert-Lloyd’s first seven service games. Evert-Lloyd started to turn the tide with a service break in the sixth game of the second set, and brought her fans to their feet with a backhand passing shot that levelled the set at 5-5. The final went into the tie-break when Navratilova produced a love game in the twelfth,

her crunching serve earning her three quick points. “There was nothing I could do in that twelfth game,” said Evert-Lloyd. "Martina hit four great serves. When the chips were down, she came through.” A costly error in the tiebreak gave Navratilova the match. Evert-Lloyd over-hit on a forehand approach shot and Navratilova had a minibreak for the 5-4 lead. A backhand volley winner by Navratilova set up a match point, and she pressed to the attack again to force an error on a defensive lob to clinch the win.