Tennis Roundup : Top-Seeded Kathy Jordan Is Upset by Elna Reinach

L.A. Times Archives

July 31, 1986 12 AM PT

From Times Wire Services

Elna Reinach, who had never beaten a player ranked higher than 60th in the world, ousted top-seeded Kathy Jordan, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, in the second round of the $75,000 Virginia Slims women’s tennis tournament Wednesday night at the San Diego Hilton Beach & Tennis Resort.

Jordan, ranked 15th, stood one game away from victory in the second set, 6-5, but Reinach deadlocked the score with a win on her serve. Symbolizing a night of errors, Jordan double-faulted on her first serve of the tiebreaker.

She recovered to take a 4-3 lead but lost the next two points with long shots, spoiling two of her own serve opportunities. Reinach, ranked 106th, then prevailed in the tiebreaker, 7-5.

“This is definitely my best win,” said Reinach, 17, of South Africa. “I didn’t play as well as I could tonight, but I tried to hang in there. When my game was down, I was able to get up again, but not as high as I could. I was trying to get her to make mistakes.”

Earlier, Melissa Gurney recorded her second upset victory of the tournament, defeating Wendy White, 7-6, 6-2.

“I’m playing my best, probably ever,” said Gurney, a high school senior from the Palos Verdes Peninsula. “I’ve been working harder, and my serve’s a lot better. With summer vacation, I’ve been able to practice much more.”

Returning from an opening-round win over No. 3-seeded Anne White, Gurney sustained a slight muscle pull in her back while warming up for the match against Wendy White, who is ranked 50th. But Gurney said her condition improved as the match progressed.

Second-seeded Stephanie Rehe also advanced to the quarterfinals when she won her second-round match over Rosalynn Fairbank, 1-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Top-seeded Andres Gomez of Ecuador easily dispatched Dan Goldie, 6-3, 6-3, to move into the third round of the $220,000 D.C. tournament at Washington.

“I’m playing well right now,” said Gomez, once the fifth-ranked player in the world and now No. 10. “I’m getting back in the form that I had in the top five. In fact, I think I’m playing better than when I was No. 5.”

Thierry Tulasne of France, seeded No. 2, avoided an upset by hometown favorite Harold Solomon, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.