Navratilova Rallies to Beat Unseeded Shaefer at Dallas

Martina Navratilova staved off a challenge from unseeded Kim Shaefer, 6-4, 6-1, Wednesday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the $150,000 Virginia Slims tournament at Dallas.

Shaefer, ranked 55th in the world, took a 3-0 lead in the first set and had a break point for a 4-0 advantage.

But Navratilova saved the break point with a service winner. After Shaefer held her serve for a 4-1 advantage, Navratilova took control and Shaefer could win only one of the last 12 games.

Navratilova said she did not panic when she was behind.

“I didn’t exactly miss a lot,” she said. “She was hitting winners. She started out really well, and I figured she couldn’t keep it up.”

In the quarterfinals, Navratilova will play Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, who beat Sylvia Hanika, 6-2, 6-3.

Chip Hooper of the United States advanced to the second round of the $267,000 Belgian Indoor Championship, beating Australian Paul McNamee, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, at Brussels.

McNamee won the first set in less than 30 minutes, but his service was broken for the first time in the fourth game of the second set. The players exchanged more service breaks, before Hooper won the second set.

The hard-serving Hooper broke McNamee in the final 12th game of the third set to win the match.