TENNIS / WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT AT MANHATTAN BEACH : Austin Doesn’t Miss a Step Against Fernandez

The Tracy Austin Hall of Fame bandwagon rolled into town again and rolled over Gigi Fernandez, 6-3, 6-4, Tuesday night at the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles.

Austin, 30, who hadn’t played a Kraft Tour match since March, continued her unexpected purge of top players in her unlikely comeback, if that’s what it is.

Austin, the only member of the tennis Hall of Fame still competing on the Kraft Tour, isn’t sure if what she is doing qualifies as a comeback.

“I guess, I don’t know,” said Austin, who has not yet decided to ask for a wild card into the U.S. Open.

“I have the (USA television network) contract,” she said. “But if I play well, I might just ask my producer for a big favor.”

Austin hit the pro circuit again in February after an absence of close to four years. At Indian Wells, she defeated then No. 12-ranked Katerina Maleeva.

Maleeva didn’t know what hit her, but Fernandez did.

“How old is she, 30?” Fernandez said. “Well, I’m 29 and I’m going to retire after this match.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Fernandez said. “She could come out tomorrow and play like my grandmother. She could probably beat Gaby if she plays like she did tonight.”

It was Austin’s fifth match of the year. Fernandez, ranked No. 35, didn’t turn pro until four years after Austin won her first U.S. Open in 1979.

Next up for Austin is 18-year-old qualifier Elena Likhovtseva, ranked No. 152, who was 4 when Austin defeated Chris Evert in the U.S. Open final in 1979.

If Austin wins, she plays Sabatini in the third round.

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As far as perfumes go, Gabriela Sabatini leads the tour by having two of her very own. As far as her tennis goes, well, it went a very long way Tuesday night.

Sabatini, who has introduced two different brands of perfumes, unveiled a new tennis product. It’s called Slow Time.

It took 2 hours 4 minutes for Sabatini to win her first match, a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) decision over Kathy Rinaldi that could have been timed with an hourglass--especially a second set that took 1 hour 27 minutes.

At that rate, Sabatini will be ready for the U.S. Open by about January.

“It was a very long match,” said Sabatini, the inspiration behind fragrances that use her name.

One is simply called “Gabriela Sabatini,” oddly enough, which the subject describes as “sweet and strong.”

The second, which goes by the name “Magnetic,” is “not as strong, but made with flowers,” she said.

Entire gardens could have reached maturity before Sabatini managed to subdue Rinaldi, who is winless in six matches against Sabatini.

While it was not really a scintillating performance by the 1990 U.S. Open champion, Sabatini believes she is on the right track to get herself back into the trophy presentation ceremony at some tournament in the near future.

She hasn’t taken part in one since she won the Italian Open 15 months ago, but who’s counting? Sabatini isn’t.

“I’m not concerned,” she said. “I’ve been playing good tennis. I’m just going to do the best I can.

“The game is there. I think I am fine. I need the confidence to get the good wins. That is all.”

Sabatini, who hasn’t played since Wimbledon, when she lost to Jana Novotna in the quarterfinals, wasn’t sharp against Rinaldi. Her serve came and went--one ace, three double faults--and she stayed clear of the net most of the time. Rinaldi would have had a better chance if her own serve had worked a little better. Eight double faults and no aces might have made the difference in a close match, Rinaldi said.

“I wasn’t missing by much,” she said.

It was enough for Sabatini.

Tennis Notes

Who’s No. 3? It’s a battleground out there, all right. Last week, Martina Navratilova got the ball rolling with: “I’m, you know, the third best player in the world, I feel . . . I know Arantxa (Sanchez Vicario) is ranked ahead of me, but I feel I’m a better player than she is, although I haven’t been able to prove it because we haven’t played each other that much.” After defeating Michelle Jaggard-Lai, 6-2, 6-1, Sanchez Vicario was asked about Navratilova’s statement. “She can say whatever she wants. She’s No. 4 and I’m No. 3. I mean, I’m No. 3 because I play very good since the beginning of the year. I deserve to be there. So I have no comment about that, but I’m there and she’s not.” . . . Navratilova, who could meet Sanchez Vicario only in the final, plays her first match at 7 p.m. against 22-year-old Russian Elena Brioukhovets, who is ranked No. 118. There is no dispute about that.