The $150,000 European Indoors made its first appearance on the Virginia Slims World Championships Series calendar. For the first time a wild card into the qualifying made it to the quarterfinals of the main draw. For the first time, Beth Herr beat a player in the top four when she upended top seed Hana Mandlikova, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the first round.
“I was so nervous at match point that when I hit the ball down the line for a winner, I was sure it went into the net. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that I had won the match and even then, I didn’t believe it” said Herr, 1983 NCAA champion.
In doubles, Hana Mandlikova and Claudia Kohde-Kilsch had little trouble up until the final, as they defeated each team at love in one set. However in final they met the newly-formed team of Andrea Leand and Andrea Temesvari who went on to win the title 6-1, 6-3.
Leand‘s powerful forehand needled its way through the two attacking players at net and the European duo could do little to thwart their passing shots.
OFF THE COURT : – It was supposed to be a routine trip to a swiss television studio, but for Hana Mandlikova it was more like a scene from “Indiana Jones and the temple of doom.” After the first round battle between Hana and Beth herr, the two players and WTA PR Assistant Nancy Bolger stood by at the tournament site waiting to be taken by helicopter for interviews at a TV station. But thick fog began rolling in and the flight was cancelled. Beth went to the hotel and got a ride to the station, arriving in good time for her interview. As for Hana, well, she drove from the club and ran into a traffic jam caused by a large parade through the streets of Zurich. With the time until her interview ticking away, she boldly began running red lights and took shortcuts by going the wrong way on one way streets. But it was ok because she only had to dodge lots of swerving cars and pedestrians who suddenly stepped into the road in front of her. Finally, she arrived at the studios with 55 seconds to spare. The interview went well, but as the pair left the building, Beth said to Hana : ” I’m glad we didn’t take the helicopter. I’m really afraid of flying and I was afraid I wouldn’t get here safely.” After her hair-raising trip, there was nothing Hana could do but laugh at such a statement.
Inside Women’s Tennis
