Mandlikova Twice Loses Big Leads and Is Beaten

Over the years, Hana Mandlikova has lost tennis matches she was supposed to win. That’s part of her history.

And, over the years, Mandlikova has lost matches in which she held seemingly insurmountable leads. That’s also a part of her history.

But history was made in Friday’s quarterfinals of the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles tournament at Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach. There, Mandlikova melted down not once, but twice--throwing away a 5-2 lead in the first set and a 5-1 advantage in the second.

And into the opportunistic arms of West Germany’s Claudia Kohde-Kilsch fell a 7-6, 7-5 upset victory over the world’s No. 3-ranked player and the top-seeded player in this tournament.

Kohde-Kilsch’s win further scrambled a field that was left wide-open when Martina Navratilova had to withdraw a week earlier because of a pinched nerve in her neck. Today’s semifinal contingent will consist of Kohde-Kilsch, Pam Shriver, Carling Bassett and Zina Garrison.

Kohde-Kilsch will next face Bassett, who scored a comeback of her own by rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the second set to beat Eva Pfaff, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The other semifinal will pit Shriver against Garrison. Shriver, seeded second, advanced by downing Beth Herr, 6-1, 6-3. Garrison, seeded fourth, eliminated Bettina Bunge, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Like Ivan Lendl, her fellow countryman from Czechoslovakia, Mandlikova has a reputation for wilting under pressure. Kohde-Kilsch, who contributed to that reputation with a surprising quarterfinal victory over Mandlikova in this year’s French Open, was well aware of her opponent’s track record.

And, when she was staring down the barrel of 2-5 and 1-5 deficits Friday, Kohde-Kilsch used it as inspiration.

“I’ve played her a lot of times,” Kohde-Kilsch said, “and I know it happens to her sometimes. It was a reason I tried to hang in there.”

But as Mandlikova admitted, it has never before happened like this.

“I’ve never experienced this in my whole life, being up, 5-2, 5-1, and losing,” Mandlikova said. “If I hit one or two balls differently, I win, 6-2, 6-1.”

That’s how close Mandlikova was to a quarterfinal rout. She led, 3-0, in both sets, had two set points at 5-3 in the first, held a 3-2 advantage in the first-set tiebreaker, broke Kohde-Kilsch’s first two serves of the second set . . . and still let it slip away.

Squandering one lead of 5-2 is a news event. But coming right back and blowing a second-set advantage of 5-1? That’s a spectacle.

Mandlikova spoke well of Kohde-Kilsch’s resilience. “I have to give her credit. She kept fighting,” Mandlikova said.

And Mandlikova acknowledged her opponent’s abilities. “A good all-around player is what she is,” she said.

But, mostly, Mandlikova rattled off alibis. Such as:

--Misfortune. “She was always lucky,” Mandlikova said of Kohde-Kilsch. “She’s like a machine, she’s programmed. She knows when to pass, she knows where to go. When she needed a shot, she got it.”

--The timing of the match. “I played two night matches and then played this one in the day. It is a little different serving in the day. The sky is different, the wind picks up in the afternoon. I had trouble with it.”

--Line calls. “It always seems I get the bad calls. When he (the umpire) overrules, it’s always negative against me. And if she (Kohde-Kilsch) gets a bad call, he changes it for her in the positive. I don’t know--maybe I have bad luck with linesmen.”

Or, maybe, when Mandlikova began to run away from Kohde-Kilsch in both sets, she was stricken with overconfidence.

“No,” Mandlikova disagreed. “I was trying my hardest on every point.”

Kohde-Kilsch, ranked eighth in the world and seeded fifth in this tournament, has beaten Mandlikova in their last three meetings, owning a 3-2 career advantage. Of her latest victory, Kohde-Kilsch said she’d never seen anything like it.

“No, not like that, two sets in a row,” she said. “After I won the first set after being down, 5-2, I thought I’d have a chance if I took a few games in the second. If I could make it 5-2, 5-3, maybe she’d start thinking about the first set and get nervous.

“She played really well in the beginning. She won my service games on great passing shots. But, it’s hard to play that well through a whole match.”

The key to the first set was the ninth game, which Mandlikova entered leading, 5-3. Mandlikova served at set point twice, but Kohde-Kilsch fought back both times. After deuce had been reached five times, Kohde-Kilsch succeeded in breaking serve.

In the tiebreaker that ensued, Kohde-Kilsch fell behind, 3-2--only to win the next five points and the tiebreaker at 7-3.

The second set followed the same pattern.

Mandlikova was serving for the set at 5-2, when she double-faulted twice. Kohde-Kilsch scored a service break, held her own serve and then broke Mandlikova again as Mandlikova double-faulted again.

That made it 5-5. Once again, Kohde-Kilsch dropped back, trailing in the 11th game, 15-40. But for the umpteenth time, Mandlikova shut down when opportunity knocked, losing the next four points and backing herself into a corner.

Serving this time to salvage the match, Mandlikova managed just one point in the final game. Kohde-Kilsch won it on a service return directed at the feet of Mandlikova.

An amazing collapse, even by Mandlikova standards, was complete.

Kohde-Kilsch must, of course, be credited for maintaining the proper attitude. “I never gave up,” she said.

She knew, that with Hana Mandlikova on the other side of the net, anything was possible.