U.S. Open Tennis Notes : Evert Keeps Enlarging Her Record Collection

NEW YORK — Even then, as far back as 1974, they were asking Chris Evert when she was planning to retire.

Former Soviet player Olga Morozova was no exception, asking that question when she lost to Evert in the Wimbledon final that year.

“I’ll probably play for a couple more years and then quit,” said Evert, who was then 19.

Here Friday, Evert, the No. 1 winner in the history of women’s tennis, recorded her 1,200th singles victory. In the second round of the U.S. Open, she defeated 20-year-old Niege Dias of Brazil, 6-0, 6-1.

“Is that a record?” asked Evert, who is the No. 3-seeded player. “I don’t realize these things until after I hear about it. I’m always surprised when I hear the statistics.”

In the time between her first victory--over Ann Lentz in 1969--and her 1,200th, Evert has married and divorced. The match against Dias also marked another milestone in Evert’s career, her 100th appearance at the U.S. Open. Evert is 90-10.

“I have had some records, and Martina has broken some of my records,” Evert said. “After I retire, it would be nice to have some records that aren’t broken, even though they will be in the future.”

And just who does Evert play in the third round Sunday?

More than 13 years after playing Morozova in the Wimbledon final, Evert will meet Morozova’s protege, 16-year-old Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union.

Said Morozova, now a coach: “I’m really looking forward to seeing this match. You know Chris. She is, she was, she will always be the best in the world, always.”

Amid all the concern about the future of American tennis, several recommendations of the United States Tennis Assn.’s Player Development Committee will be proposed at the association’s semiannual meeting next week in New York.

The committee, which includes such prominent figures as Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, Jack Kramer, Stan Smith and Tony Trabert, recommended, among other things:

--Establishment of national coaching and scouting staffs.

--Revised structure for USTA junior teams.

--Establishment of local and regional training centers.

--Revision of junior age-group national championships and rankings.

Joakim Nystrom of Sweden, quarterfinalist here last year, hadn’t played in a hard-court tournament since last February, and it showed. Nystrom, seeded 10th, went quietly, losing to Ramesh Krishnan of India, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2, in a second-round match.

Krishnan is known as Vijay Amritraj’s sidekick on India’s Davis Cup team, and is ranked No. 42. He’s a smooth and stylistic player, however, capable of taking advantage of inconsistent opponents.

And, Nystrom, 24, never could find his range.

“I played too many shots where I didn’t have the right feeling in the racket,” he said.

Another Swede, one who got plenty of attention this week, also went out in the second round. Peter Lundgren, the first-round conqueror of Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, lost to Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union, 6-2, 7-5, 2-6, 6-0. Chesnokov, 21, made his name in the 1986 Open when he reached the final 16.

Chesnokov has a realistic chance to do it again this year. He will meet Diego Perez of Uruguay in the third round Sunday.

Other seeded players in the men’s division had easy matches, No. 5 Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia and No. 14 Emilio Sanchez of Spain reaching the third round with straight-set victories.

Mecir, the Open runner-up last year, defeated John Fitzgerald of Australia, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0. Laguna Beach’s Rick Leach, who won the NCAA doubles title for USC with Scott Melville last spring, lost to Johan Kriek, 6-3, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.

In a featured second-round night match, No. 2-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden struggled before beating American Dan Goldie, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Goldie was down 0-4 in the first-set tiebreaker before he came back to win seven straight points.

Edberg: “I guess I relaxed a little bit and he had seven good points.”

Edberg moved his game up a notch in the second set, breaking Goldie in the third game at love. Goldie, the 1986 NCAA champion at Stanford, let the match get away when Edberg recorded two more service breaks in the third set.

In another night match, No. 3-seeded Mats Wilander of Sweden gained the third round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory over fellow countryman Johan Carlsson.

Among the other seeded women advancing were No. 5 Pam Shriver, No. 7 Zina Garrison, No. 10 Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria, No. 11 Lori McNeil and No. 13 Sylvia Hanika of West Germany. All won second-round matches in straight sets.

Shriver, who last month in Toronto defeated Evert for the first time, is on a 17-match winning streak. She last lost in the Wimbledon semifinals to Steffi Graf. Shriver, who defeated Poland’s Iwona Kuczynska, 6-3, 6-2, will play Italy’s Laura Golarsa in the third round.

The only seeded woman who lost was No. 16 Wendy Turnbull of Australia. She was beaten by Czechoslovakia’s Jana Novotna, 6-2, 6-4. Novotna, 18, one of the fastest-rising players on the women’s tour, reached the third round at Manhattan Beach last month, losing to Evert, 7-6, 6-3.