Tennis : Sabatini, Maleeva Stun Foes

Fifth-seeded Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina upset fourth-seeded Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany, 7-6, 6-4, Friday to advance to the semifinals of the $300,000 Family Circle Magazine Cup tennis tournament at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Sixth-seeded Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria also defeated third-seeded Zina Garrison, 6-2, 7-5, to highlight a day of surprises at the Sea Pines Racquet Club.

The 16-year-old Sabatini, however, had to overcome jitters at late stages of both sets to beat Kohde-Kilsch for the first time in her career.

She led 5-1 in the first set before Kohde-Kilsch fought back to tie at 5-5. Then, after racing to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker, Sabatini struggled to a 7-5 win as Kohde-Kilsch saved four set points. Sabatini grabbed a 4-1 lead in the second set but let Kohde-Kilsch close the gap to 5-4 before winning the match.

“I was a little nervous,” Sabatini said in explaining the lapses. “Today was an important one to win. I think it was a very tough match.”

Sabatini faces Steffi Graf in today’s semifinals. Graf routed unseeded Helen Kelesi of Canada, 6-2, 6-2, in 55 minutes.

Maleeva, who is currently on an eight-match winning streak and won a tournament in Charleston, S.C., last week, used an aggressive base-line attack and timely drop shots to oust Garrison.

“What I was really trying to do was keep the ball in play, keep it longer in the court,” Maleeva said. “She was making a lot of mistakes.”

Second-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd had little trouble with Bettina Bunge, beating her 6-3, 6-2 despite feeling the effects of a nagging flu and an ear infection.