The Michigan Daily-Saturday, July 8, 1978-Page 15
GAINS FIRST WIMBLEDON TITLE
Martina upsets favored Evert

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -
Stateless Martina Navratilova, who left
her Communisthomeland to play tennis
in the West, fulfilled her highest am-
bition Friday by defeating Chris Evert
2-6, 6-4, 7-5 for the singles championship
at Wimbledon.
The Czech left-hander - "I shall
always be Czech, no matter what," she
said - came from behind in the final
set to win one of the closest Wimbledon
women's finals since World War II.
THE TENNIS was not the greatest
ever seen on center court, and in the
end, the match was decided by errors.
But the duel swung back and forth and
kept the 14,000 fans in doubt until the
last shot.
The first set belonged clearly to
Evert. After losing the first game, she
dropped only three points in three ser-
vice games.
From the start of the second set
Navratilova went forward with more
panache and the match swung in her
favor. After levelling at one set-all she
took a 2-9 lead in the third, and Evert's
cause seemed already lost.
FROM THE START, Evert's task
was to keep her opponent, a formidable
volleyer, away from the net. But it was
at the net that Navratilova won her
most valuable points.
Elder
retains
lead
MILWAUKEE (AP)-Lee Elder,
first-day leader with a six-under-par 66,
came back with a steady 70 yesterday
for 136 after 36 holes and the early
second-round lead in the $150,000
Greater Milwaukee Open Golf Tour-
nament.
Withabout half the field still playing,
Elder held a two-stroke lead over
rookie Dave Barr, who followed his fir-
st-round68 with a 70.
Former U.S. Open champion Lou
Graham and rookie Gary Ostrega, who
also shot 68s Thursday, played their
second rounds in the afternoon.
Jeff Howes, a stroke behind Elder af-
ter the first round, ballooned to a 75 and
slipped six strokes back at 142.
Lee Tevino, who entered this tour-
nament in fourth place on this year's
earnings list for tour players, shot a 70
and was in a four-way tie for third place
with Bob Lunn, Bobby Wadkins and
Gary Vanier.
Elder bogeyed his first hole but
picked up two birdies on his first nine
and another on his second for his two-
under-par round.
The 11-year veteran from
Washington, D.C., has won two tour-
naments, the Monsanto in 1974 and at
Houston in 1976. This is the first time he
has led after two rounds since the 1976
Bob Hope Desert Classic, when he also
led after three.
"In the two tournaments I won I
came from behind," Elder said. "I'm
not considered a good front runner
because I haven't been out in front that
nuhi. 'ut'I'11be a f ront e
now.'

The Czech grew more confident at the
net after a shaky start. In the first set
she won points with eight volleys and
lost on eight. In the second she won on
13 volleys and lost on nine, and in the
final set she stabbed 13 volleys home

and failed with eight.
Evert then won the next four games.
She looked her usual cool and
professional self. But Navratilova
played a cunning drop shot to break
back at 3-4, and stormed back into con-

tention.
NAVRATILOVA began the sprint to
the finish by holding her service to love
at 5-5. Then came Evert's sudden string
of errors.
"The desire to win is still there, but
it's not the same as in the past," Evert
said. She won Wimbledon in 1974 and
1976.
Another title almost went to East
Europe when Virginia Ruzici of
Romania and Mima Jausovec of
Yugoslavia had two match points in the
women's doubles final. But the
Australians Wendy Turnbull and Kerry
Reid fought back to win 4-6, 9-8, 6-3.
Their names are new to the Wim-
bledon's honor roll.
The mien
take,
the stage

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -
Sweden's Bjorn Borg bids for his third
straight Wimbledon men's tennis title
today against aggressive Jimmy Con-
nors, and he expects the match to be a
AP Photo knockdown brawl.

It may not look like Martina Mavratilova (left) is basking in the thrill of victory,
but she was really quite jubilant about beating rival Chris Evert (right) 2-6,
6.4, 7-5 to capture her first Wimbledon singles crown. "I feel like I have so many
emotions. I don't know what I should do first, laugh, scream, or cry," said the
newly crowned champion, who cited a positive attitude as being the key to her
comeback victory.

A tale of sales

Braves, Celts swap
CHICAGO (AP) - The National
Basketball Association's Board of
Governors overwhelmingly approved
yesterday the exchange of ownership of
the . Boston Celtics and the Buffalo
Braves and the transfer of the Braves'
franchise to San Diego.
A major trade between the teams was
announced after the two-hour session,
with the Celtics receiving guard Nate
Archibald and forwards Billy Knight
and Marvin Barnes.
THEY SENT forward Kermit
Washington, center Kevin Kunnert and
guard Freeman Williams, a first round
draft choice this year, to San Diego.
Irving Levin, a Los Angeles film
magnate who gained control of the
Celtics in 1975, is the new owner of the
relocated Braves.
JOHN Y. BROWN, who owned the
Braves for one season, will take charge
of the Celtics with Harry Mangurian,
who also was co-owner in Buffalo...
When Joe DiMaggio of the Yankees
hit in 56 straight games in 1941 he star-
ted and ended with a Smith. Joe began
the streak against Edgar Smith of
Ch ago and had it ended by Al Smith
an .Jim aehv .f D hL ('liPVlan In-

Aeros dissolve
HOUSTON (AP)-The World Hockey
Association Houston Aeros, the city's
winningest pro franchise, were sold to
the Winnipeg Jets yesterday, ending a
lengthy odyssey by Aeros owner Ken-
neth Schnitzer to get into the National
Hockey League.
Schnitzer said the 13 existing Aeros
player contracts and the Areos fran-
chise would be transferred to the Jets.
"All we kept was the Aeros name and
the office furniture," Schnitzer said. "I
wanted to make sure we cut all cords."
THE AEROS played six seasons here,
compiling a 285-170-19 record and never
missing the playoffs and 8 winning
WHA championships in the 1973-74.
Schnitzer had pursued several angles
to bring an NHL franchise to Houston.
Although a season ticket campaign fell
short of expectations, Schnitzer
negotiated with several NHL franchises
and applied for entry into the NHL a
an expansion team.
ALL THAT IS behind him now,
Schnitzer said.
"I don't want to get involved with
merger," he said "those things are'

"Every match we play goes down to
the final point," the 22-year-old Swede
said. "We play the same kind of game.
Both of us hit the ball very hard. Jimmy
is playing well. I will have to be on top
of my game to beat him."
He should know. It took him five long,
grueling sets to get by the American in
the final last year. And, although Con-
nors was hospitalized briefly earlier
this year with mononucleus, he isn't
showing the slightest ill effect.
Borg, who won Italian and French
crowns on clay this year, has been dz-
zling the tennis world since he was 16,
destroying oppositionwith a hard top
spin forehand and a two-fisted
backhand that comes off his racket like
a bullet.
Borg was a slight favorite with Lon-
don's legalized bookies, but the finsl
match dropped to even money after
Connors crushed the well-liked Vitas
Gerulaitis in the semi-finals. The top-
seeded Borg beat unseeded Tom Okker
6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the semis.
Connors holds an 8-5 career edge over
his Swedish opponent but Borg has won
four of their last five meetings.
"My form is real good," Connors
said. "I am bigger, stronger, and have
more experience. Win, lose or draw,
I've done my job getting ready for this
one.
"I'm hoping for the best and am
prepared for the worst."
Borg says today's match is the "most
important of my career."
"I though it was important in 1976
when I played Ilie Nastase," he said.
"This is bigger. Now I am going for
three. Nobody gets many chances like
that. To me, play ng immyalways is
somethngspa tl."-."

CLL