1983 Virginia Slims of New Jersey

Ramapo College, Mahawah NJ, August 10 to 16, 1983

No hat-trick in Mahwah for Mandlikova

Hana Mandlikova at 1983 Virginia Slims of New Jersey was narrowly beaten in the final by Jo Durie, but she can still take satisfaction from her fine summer and her switch from wood to graphite rackets.

The erratic Czech star won in 1980 and 1981, when the tournament was called the Volvo Cup, and she was amongst the favorites to win in its first year as the Virginia Slims of New Jersey.

2d round in 1983 Virginia Slims of New Jersey : Hana Mandlikova vs Mary-Lou Piatek

Hana Mandlikova Overcomes Piatek’s Challenge to Secure Victory in Mahwah

At the 1981 US open, Mandlikova fought off a match point in a wild first-round match under the lights on the Stadium against Mary Lou Piatek. The American served at 5-4, 40-30 in the second set only for Mandlikova to hit a forehand winner and missed three consecutive setpoints in the tiebreaker before recovering from 0-2 in the final set to eventually win 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-3.

Since then, Mary Lou Piatek’s career has stalled. World Junior Champion in 1979, succeeding a certain Hana Mandlikova, she entered the WTA top 20 in 1981. What followed did not live up to expectations.

Although she reached the semi-finals in Washington at the first stage of the Virginia Slims Tour in 1983, she has subsequently lost in the first or second round of every tournament she has played.

In Mahwah, on the Ramapo College courts, the former prodigy was still a bit of an illusion for the first set.

Just long enough for Hana to get her strokes right, before winning the tiebreak in the first set 7-2 and taking the second 6-0.

3d round in 1983 Virginia Slims : Hana Mandlikova vs Andrea Leand

Mandlikova Emerges as Favorite after Top Seeds Falter at Mahwah

The seeds continue to fall on unfertile ground. Yesterday at the Virginia Slims of New Jersey at Ramapo College, top-seed Wendy Turnbull, fell in a third-set tiebreaker to Helena Sukova. The loss put Hana Mandlikova in an excellent position to win the championship here for the third timeTurnbull’s defeat left the Australian on a rock-heap of casualties that includes

Andrea Temesvari (3), Claudia Kohde (5), Bonnie Gadusek (8), Eva Pfaff (9), Carling Bassett (10), Ivanna Madruga-Osses (11), and Leigh Thompson (H).

Left at the top of the seeding list is Mandlikova, the talented Czech whose play runs as hot and cold as days and nights in a desert Mandlikova advanced last night with a straight-set victory over Andrea Leand, 6-3, 6-4.

“There are not many good players in this tournament,” Mandlikova said. “It is not that difficult to get to the final.”

There were difficult moments last night, particularly in the fifth game of the first set.

With Leand serving at 2-2. Mandlikova had three break points at 0-40 and lost them all. She fought off two game points, then went to break point five more times. Mandlikova finally won that game not with a racquet stroke but with a mental stroke. After Leand missed a first serve, Mandlikova walked 10 feet inside the baseline as if she were preparing to destroy Leand’s second serve. Leand took one look at her, tossed the ball up, and hit it off the top of the net and out of court for a double fault and the break. Mandlikova will play Virginia Ruzici this afternoon for a spot in the semifinals.

QUARTERFINAL in 1983 Virginia Slims of New Jersey : Hana Mandlikova vs Virginia Ruzici

Mandlikova Takes Giant Step Toward Title in Mahwah

There’s nothing a good breath of fresh air can’t cure. Hana Mandlikova, who’s known more for turning brilliance into ineptitude, should play all her matches in New Jersey. The talented but erratic Czechoslovakian took a giant step toward her third title in Mahwah as she turned back Virginia Ruzici of Romania, 6-2, 6-3, in quarterfinal action in the $125,000 Virginia Slims of New Jersey Friday afternoon.

“It must be the air here,” Mandlikova said. “I go to bed at 11 o’clock and wake up at 10. I’m usually up at eight It’s the fresh air, maybe, that makes me do well.”

Mandlikova has been a breath of fresh air for the tournament promoters.

The former Australian Open champion, Wimbledon finalist and two-time U.S. Open finalist has yet to win a tournament in 1983. She has reached a final only once, losing to Andrea Jaeger in straight sets at Marco Island in January.

“I want to play consistent but I try not to think about it,” Mandlikova said.
“I’m just trying to play hard every match. Lately, I think I’ve been pretty consistent”

The 21-year-old from Prague was visibly upset at numerous line calls throughout the match. With Mandlikova serving at 4-2 in the first set, Ruzici recorded a break point on a ball Mandlikova, and others, believed to be wide. A SHORT VERBAL assault on the chair umpire didn’t get any results, so Mandlikova promptly rocketed an ace past Ruzici to fight back to deuce. With a revengeful look in her eye, Mandlikova then held serve for 5-2.

In the second set, a fault call on Hana at 2-2 disturbed her again. This time she saved three break points with a polished serve-and-volley display to hold serve for 3-2.

“I wasn’t smiling very much on the court,” Mandlikova said. “Sometimes getting upset is good for me. When something happens that I think is wrong, I play better. But I still try not easy to get upset. Today, the calls weren’t good on either side.”

“I wasn’t worried about losing the first set There’s no time to worry when you’re going all out on every ball.”

Mandlikova last met her semifinal opponent (Benjamin) at Marco Island when she triumphed, 6-1, 6-4. Benjamin, the surprise in this tournament, needed only 55 minutes to dispatch Fairbank.

“I’ve played her (Benjamin) twice,” Mandlikova said. “She’s like a spot She’s all over the court”

Mandlikova-only connected on 39 percent of her first serves compared to Ruzici’s 58 percent The difference in the match was Ruzici’s seven break point opportunities. She converted only two of them. . .

Semifinal Hana Mandlikova vs Camille Benjamin

Mandlikova Advances to Final at Mahwah, Aiming for Third Title.

Hana Mandlikova yesterday ended Camille Benajmin’s finest week of professional tennis, and is poised for her third tournament victory at Ramapo College. The erratic Czech star won in 1980 and 1981, when the tournament was called the Volvo Cup, and she is the favorite to win in its first year as the Virginia Slims of New Jersey. She plays Jo Durie in the final

Durie lifted her game when she needed it. Potter fell victim to 15 double faults as Durie ran off the last 11 games in a row for the match.

Mandlikova was not as sharp in disposing of Benjamin, 6-1, 6-3, as she had been earlier in the week, but she was tough when she had to be. Benjamin, playing the first semifinal of her 15-month professional career, said she finally ran into an off day after a week of superb tennis.

“I wasn’t serving well. I was hitting everything late. I didn’t have much timing at all,” said Benjamin.

Her parents had flown in from Bakersfield, Calif., to watch her play.

“I don’t think I played that well, and she didn’t either,” said Mandlikova.

Hana managed only 38 percent on her first serves.

“She has good matches and bad matches. I think she has to be more consistent” Mandlikova said, “I’m not that consistent, either”

Benjamin never could get the range on her left-handed topspin forehand, which had launched screaming winners all week. Her serve, which had confounded third-seeded Andrea Temesvari in the second round of the tournament, deserted her. She put just 49 percent of her first serves in, allowing Mandlikova to attack her short, twisting second serve. With Mandlikova jumping on her second serve, Benjamin’s first serve was under even more pressure.

Three times, Benjamin double-faulted games away, including a double fault on match point On that point Mandlikova used a psychological ploy that had earned her a key break point against Andrea Leand earlier in the week. After the first fault at match point, Mandlikova ran a good 10 feet inside the baseline, then just before the serve she ran back to the baseline, but Benjamin was already finished. The serve dropped several inches long and Mandlikova was in the final.

“I just did it for fun,” Mandlikova said later.
“If Hana did that or not, I probably would have double-faulted anyway.”

Benjamin, ranked 48th on the WTA computer, double-faulted six times in the match, three of them on break points for Mandlikova.

It was Benjamin’s second meeting and second loss to Mandlikova, who beat her on clay earlier this year, 6-1, 6-4. At that tournament, played at Hilton Head, S.C., Mandlikova used the standard-sized wooden racquet she has used for 11 years since she was 10.

After Wimbledon, however, she switched to a midsized Wilson frame made from boron. She played Federation Cud with it the women’s equivalent of Davis Cup and helped Czechoslovakia win the world title.

She abandoned her Jack Kramer Wilson wood, an 11-year favorite, for a boron Wilson mid-size. The racket was deadly on her consistent approach shots to Benjamin’s backhand. “I practiced with it 10 days prior to the Federation Cup,” Mandlikova said

“Wilson isn’t making the wood racquet anymore. It was a difficult change to make,” Mandlikova said, but she is glad she made it “It’s good for my serve and my volley,” she said of the racquet. “Everything is much, much better. I don’t have to hit the ball as hard.”

Final in 1983 Virginia Slims : Jo Durie vs Hana Mandlikova

Durie upsets Mandlikova in Mahwah

Mandlikova, who won this tournament in 1980 and 1981 when it was known as the Volvo Women’s Tennis Cup, has been slumping this season. As sunday’s final match opened, she appeared ready to score a hat trick at Mahwah. In the opening game, Mandlikova broke Durie, who had played six sets of tennis in singles and doubles competition the previous night The 21-year-old Czechoslovakian held service, despite missing one first serve and then making an obscene gesture to a linesman. Mandlikova : overcame the calls and the warning from umpire Lee Jackson to take the first set easily. ..

“I got upset, but not enough to let it bother me,” said Mandlikova. “They were bad calls, so I just had to laugh about It”- .

Mandlikova is predictable only in her unpredictability. Her serve, the “nuke” of her arsenal, was erratic In the first set and simply deserted her in the second. Durie said that didn’t surprise her.

“I just took it, and said, Thank you very much,” Durie said. “You never know with Hana. She can be brilliant or Horrible.”

Undaunted by her first-set loss, the 5-foot-11 Durie began challenging Mandlikova more at the net in the second set.

Durie was not dazzling, but she played steadily in waiting out Mandlikova’s frequent mistakes Durie dug in, breaking Mandlikova in the last game of the set for a 7- 5 win.

“I was brave on the big points,” Durie said. “I just told myself, ‘Well, she was meant to win the first set, and I relaxed. Early In the second set I knew if I could hang in I’d have a chance.”

Mandlikova’s struggles became death throes early in the third set Durie took a 4-0 lead, breaking Mandlikova twice as the Czech double-faulted three times and made her first serve just twice In 16 tries in the two games.

But Mandlikova rallied to break Durie in the fifth and ninth games, and held serve to bring close the deficit to 4-5. However, Mandlikova won only one point in the 10th game an exciting rally at the net between the two volleyers before Durie sent a backhand volley deep into the corner that her opponent could not return. . Durie, who had been a semifinalist at Eastbourne in 1982 and at the French Open this year, collected a $22,000 check for her first major victory and her first tournament v win in the VS.

Mandlikova takes home $11,000. In accepting her runner-up trophy, Mandlikova apologized to the crowd of 3,828 for her gesture to the linesman.