Even for Seles, an Odd Win : Tennis: She beats Date easily but can’t shake controversy about entry in Washington event.

Here’s how the week went for Monica Seles: She got barred from the Olympics, lost her No. 1 ranking, stirred up another mini-dispute and won every match she played.

All in all, it amounted to a fairly routine time for Seles, who won her fifth tournament of the year Sunday and earned $70,000 in the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles. She did it shadowed once again by the now-familiar wisp of controversy that seems to follow her everywhere.

Seles power-stroked her way past qualifier Kimiko Date, 6-3, 6-1, in the final of the $350,000 event at Manhattan Country Club, then spent a lot of time explaining whether she ever intended to play in this week’s Virginia Slims of Washington.

Now try to keep up with this: She wasn’t originally entered in Washington, but was included in the field as a wild card when the draw was announced Saturday night, then said Sunday she never intended to play.

How could Seles be listed in the tournament draw when she never entered? It’s simple, Seles said. They took the message wrong on the telephone, she said.

“I decided (Saturday night) not to play,” said Seles. She said she left a telephone message at the hotel for Pam Whytcross of the Women’s Tennis Assn.

“I said I won’t play Washington, but the operator must have thought I said I want to play Washington,” Seles said.

According to an Associated Press report out of Washington, Seles accepted a $50,000 incentive from the WTA to play in the tournament.

Seles was pursued as a possible wild card entry after Steffi Graf (who becomes No. 1 again) pulled out because of a shoulder injury. The WTA is obligated to Virginia Slims, the tournament sponsor, to provide three top 10 players for a $350,000 event such as Washington.

Seles’ entry in Washington is still undecided, although she indicated her mind is made up. Asked what could persuade her to play, Seles said: “Nothing, really.”

Zoltan Seles, Monica’s brother and adviser, said he believes it is in her best interest not to play Washington because the U.S. Open is coming up and she is coming off a layoff for shin splints that forced her to miss Wimbledon.

Things were a lot simpler for Date. Ranked No. 112 before the tournament began, the 20-year-old from Amagasaki City, Japan, won two qualifying matches and five more in the main draw, including an upset of No. 3 Gabriela Sabatini in the semifinals.

Even after losing to Seles in the final, Date will move up to No. 32 in the rankings released today.

“I can’t believe it,” Date said through an interpreter.

She also had a hard time believing her 3-0 lead in the first set, shortly before reality came crashing down in the form of Seles’ two-fisted attack.

Seles won 12 of the next 13 games, broke Date’s serve five of the final six times and closed out the match in 1 hour 11 minutes.

“I don’t think my luck went away,” said Date, who won $28,000. “I was tired from the (Sabatini) match. I couldn’t move my feet too well.”

Seles, who did not show up for her postmatch interview for 2 hours 21 minutes, cried briefly as she was questioned about her latest controversy.

“It is a little bit overwhelming,” she said. “Definitely it’s a strange thing. When I saw the (Washington) draw today, I almost kind of about fainted.

“It would be a much easier life for me today without this.”

Tennis Notes

Seles lost her No. 1 computer ranking because she had to beat someone more highly ranked than Kimiko Date in the final. . . . Date’s seven-match winning streak this week still won’t get her into main draw of the U.S. Open, unless she somehow gets a wild card from the U.S. Tennis Assn. Date’s ranking was No. 118 at entry deadline for the Open and the cutoff for direct acceptance into the tournament was No. 112.