Sabatini Rides Rocky Rapids to Manhattan Beach

Last year, Gabriela Sabatini prepared for the U.S. Open by playing one hard court tournament, but that wasn’t enough.

“I had too much time off,” said Sabatini, who decided she needed to make a change in her schedule this year. So she went whitewater rafting in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Actually, it has been a rough ride for Sabatini, the No. 3-seeded player in the $375,000 Virginia Slims of Los Angeles starting today at Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach.

Sabatini, ranked No. 5, hasn’t won a tournament since the Italian Open 15 months ago and is coming off two disappointing Grand Slam event defeats.

She lost to Jana Novotna in straight sets in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, but that wasn’t as devastating as her French Open collapse, when Sabatini blew a 6-1, 5-1 lead over Mary Joe Fernandez and lost, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-8.

“I never had a loss like that one,” Sabatini said. “That was very tough. That took my confidence away a little bit. It took me awhile to get over that.

“But right now, that’s in the past. I’m living this moment.”

With the help of coach Dennis Ralston, Sabatini is trying to get back to where she was when she won the 1990 U.S. Open, her only Grand Slam event victory.

Sabatini won five tournaments last year, but has played 21 consecutive events without a title. “I know the year is not over yet,” she said. “I hope it gets better.”

Sabatini hasn’t played since Wimbledon and withdrew from a special event in Mahwah, N.J., because of tendinitis in her shoulder, but she said she is completely sound.

“I feel very good, very strong, and technically I’m playing very well,” she said. “I guess I need mental confidence to win some big matches. Everything else is fine.”