1989 Australian Open

MANDLIKOVA RECAPTURES ZEST AFTER HER WORST 12 MONTHS

Hana Mandlikova enters 1989 Australian Open with a renewed sense of purpose and emotional clarity, after enduring a turbulent 1988 – marked by personal upheaval, a divorce and a 6-month-break from the tour.

Now based in Antwerp and coached by Martina Navratilova’s former mentor Mike Estep, she returns to Melbourne not just to compete, but to prove she still belongs among the elite.

1st round : Hana Mandlikova vs Clare Wood

Clare’s let-off for Hana

CLARE WOOD today became the second British player in a week to push former Australian Open champion Hana Mandlikova to the limit—then let her off the hook.

Wood, the 20-year-old right-hander from Littlehampton, led Mandlikova 3-1 in the final set of their opening round clash at the Australian Open but then faded as her more experienced opponent stepped up a gear.

Wood took advantage of a shaky display by the former world number three in the first set but once Mandlikova started to cut out the errors the British number four found the going tough.

Wood broke serve to lead 3-1 in the final set but failed to capitalise and Mandlikova swept through the last five games to snatch a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Just seven days ago Mandlikova escaped in similar fashion when Jo Durie had her on the ropes.

2d round : Hana Mandlikova vs Eva Pfaff

Mandlikova Shows Flashes of Brilliance in Win Over Pfaf

Minter, the tournament’s 14th seed, fought back after losing the first set to draw level at one set all. But then Schultz, ranked 36th in the world and rising, charged into the net in the final set and blitzed the Melbourne player 6-1.

Out on court two, Hana Mandlikova fared better than her compatriot Minter, winning in three sets against West German Eva Pfaff. Mandlikova, on the comeback trail after an extended break from the game, is still struggling to display her brilliance with any degree of consistency. She was in trouble after dropping her serve early in the third set, but finished with some scintillating tennis to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

3rd round : Hana Mandlikova vs Manon Bollegraf

Mandlikova Survives Match Points and Meltdown to Set Up Navratilova Clash

HANA MANDLIKOVA survived three match points – and several flashes of bad temper which earned her two official reprimands – to win a dramatic third round match and another confrontation with Martina Navratilova.

Mandlikova, again mixing brilliance and mediocrity, beat the Dutch girl Manon Bollegraf 3-6 6-3 9-7.

Mandlikova went within a few centimetres of being eliminated on the first of the three match points on her service in the 14th game of the third set.

That was the margin by which Bollegraf’s forehand missed the baseline. The stocky Dutch girl leapt and raised her hands, but there was bitter disappointment for her when the linesman correctly called the ball out.

A volley took care of the second match point, and then a forehand punched high won the third one for Mandlikova.

With the crowd right behind her, she cracked a couple of fine volleys to break Bollegraf’s next service and then held service with the loss of only one point to take the match.

The drama of the match came in the seventh game of the second set, when Mandlikova led 4-2. Earlier she had received a code of conduct warning for shouting.

When she was leading 40-15, a call went against her and she made an objection to the central umpire. The umpire said she could not see the ball and refused to alter the lineswoman’s call.

Mandlikova lost the point and then hit the ball into the backdrop, missing by a metre the lineswoman who made the call.

The central umpire called a point penalty.

Mandlikova said she would not stand a chance against Navratilova unless she lifted her game.

Round 4 : Martina Navratilova vs Hana Mandlikova

Navratilova Crushes Mandlikova’s Comeback Hopes

Navratilova defeated Hana Mandlikova in fairly easy fashion, 6-4, 6-1, on center court to advance to the quarterfinals.

The second-seeded Navratilova experienced trouble only briefly in the first set before Mandlikova’s balky serve turned the match around.

Mandlikova, who served 9 double faults, was serving to go up 4-2 in the first, but double-faulted to 15-30 and again on game point.

“Her serve still needs work,” said Navratilova. “For someone who likes to serve and volley, when your serve lets you down, it’s hard to stay in it emotionally.”

Mandlikova seemed unable to stay in it at all in a lackluster second set and submitted meekly, although she said she was satisfied with getting through three rounds.

“She could have lost any of her first 3 matches,” said Mike Estep, Mandlikova’s coach and one-time coach of Navratilova.

Mandlikova said she was unsure of what shot to hit during the match, which she considered a byproduct of taking 6 months off to regroup mentally after Wimbledon.

Mandlikova, who said her goal is to return to the top 10 by the end of the year, said Navratilova is one of three players with a chance of winning this tournament. The others are Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini.

As for Navratilova’s chances, Mandlikova said:
“If you lose 4 and 1, she’s obviously playing well.”

LATTER STAGES

Suková Upsets Navratilova, Reaches Final

In the quarterfinals of the 1989 Australian Open, Helena Suková (No. 5 seed) defeated Martina Navratilova who served twice for the match, and mad a DF on match point. Suková then won her semifinal match against Belinda Cordwell 6-3, 6-4, advancing to the final.

In the final, Steffi Graf (No. 1 seed) defeated Suková 6-4, 6-4 to win the title.

1989 Australian Open Ladies Final