TENNIS ROUNDUP : Navratilova May Finally Tie Record

Martina Navratilova knows she is going to catch Chris Evert, it’s merely a matter of when.

Navratilova, one victory short of Evert’s record of 157 career tournament wins, reached the final of a Virginia Slims tournament at Oakland with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Lori McNeil Saturday.

“I can’t think about it,” the second-seeded Navratilova said after winning in 47 minutes. “I have to stay in the moment.”

Navratilova has lost in the finals of three consecutive tournaments--the U.S. Open, the Milano Indoors and the Porche tournament in Germany. Twice she lost to top-ranked Monica Seles and once to 16-year-old Anke Huber of Germany.

She will play Seles, who defeated Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, 6-2, 6-1, in today’s final.

“I know I’m going to break it, (whether it’s) in the Virginia Slims of Oakland (or not),” Navratilova said. “But I feel the pressure more playing against people I should beat.”

Navratilova beat McNeil for the eighth consecutive time since 1985.

Top-seeded Michael Chang rallied from a 0-2, 0-40 deficit in the final set to defeat third-seeded Richey Reneberg in the semifinals of a tournament at Birmingham, England.

Chang will play Guillaume Raoux in today’s championship. Raoux beat sixth-seeded Thierry Champion, 6-3, 6-4, in an all-French semifinal.

Top-ranked Stefan Edberg of Sweden dropped out of next week’s ATP Finals because of tendinitis in one knee.

Karel Novacek of Czechoslovakia will replace Edberg, making Jim Courier the top-seeded player.

Andrei Cherkasov of the Soviet Union will defend his Kremlin Cup title against Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland after defeating Marco Gorriz of Spain, 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinals at Moscow. Hlasek defeated Cherkasov’s doubles partner, eighth-seeded Alexander Volkov, 6-4, 6-2.

Christian Miniussi of Argentina upset Andres Gomez of Ecuador, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals of the Banespa Open at Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In the final, Miniussi will play Jaime Oncins, who beat Francisco Clavet of Spain, 6-4, 6-3.