THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408060354
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Luck had everything to do with Lucie Ludvigova getting into the $10,000 USTA Women's Circuit of Norfolk tennis tournament, but it's had nothing to do with why she's still hanging around.
The Czech Republic's Ludvigova, who lost in the qualifying tournament but won a coin flip and advanced to the main draw as a ``lucky loser,'' rallied to pull out a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Lindsay Lee of Atlanta Friday in quarterfinal action at Old Dominion University.
The victory left Ludvigova, a rising senior at Texas and the nation's top-ranked college player throughout most of last season, as the lone unseeded player remaining in the singles tournament.
In Friday's other quarterfinal matches, third-seeded Karin Miller of Bradenton, Fla., beat fifth-seed Gail Biggs of Australia, 6-3, 6-3; fourth-seeded Petra Gaspar of Hungary rolled past Tjasa Jezernik of Slovenia, 6-1, 6-1; and second-seeded Claudine Toleafoa of New Zealand defeated Kim Grant of South Africa, 6-3, 6-2.
Miller will face Ludvigova in the semifinals today at 10 a.m. on Old Dominion's stadium court. The Gaspar-Toleafoa match will follow.
Lee, the 17-year-old rising high school senior who eliminated top-seeded Julie Shiflet of Virginia Beach in straight sets Thursday, led, 5-4 in the first set and 4-2 in the third against Ludvigova. But each time Lee seemed poised to go for the knockout, Ludvigova responded with some of her best tennis. She saved five break points before holding serve to get to 4-3 in the final set, then held again after being down love-40 in the ninth game.
``When I get down like that, I just start fighting and going for every ball,'' Ludvigova said.
Ludvigova, 22, lost to Rebecca Jensen of Atlanta in qualifying Monday, one of four players to lose in that final round. Those four players were then considered for three openings in the main draw created by player withdrawals. The final spot came down to either Ludvigova or Lule Aydin of Coopersburg, Pa., and was decided by a coin flip, which Ludvigova won the toss, and has kept on winning ever since.
In the doubles tournament, top seeds Miller and Varalee Sureephong turned back Ludvigova's Longhorn teammates, Jackie Moe of Edina, Minn., and Kelly Pace of Huntsville, Ala., 6-3, 6-1, to reach the semifinals. The Jensen sisters, Rebecca and Rachel, also advanced to the semis with a 6-4, 6-0, victory over Anastasia Pozdniakova of Russia and Laura Sham of South Africa. Rain postponed the other two quarterfinal matches. by CNB