Pam Shriver

WIMBLEDON, England -- The one-time hit show of Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver is back playing the big time, but according to Shriver, some of the critics might not be as favorably impressed this time around.The Navratilova-Shriver doubles team was probably the best ever in women's tennis, winning at Wimbledon from 1981-84 and again in 1986. They won five in a row at the French, '84-'88; won the U.S. Open in '83 and '84, then again in '86 and '87, and were unbeatable in the Australian Open, winning from '82 to '89.But after 1989, they went their separate ways -- call it a personality conflict -- and have only recently reunited.

Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .Depending on one's perspective, the clock on Pam Shriver's professional tennis career is either winding down to a precious few months or being rewound for the latest in a series of comebacks. And, depending on one's outlook, Shriver is either over the hill or looking for another one to charge back up.The past year has not been kind to Shriver. Her right shoulder began giving her problems last December. She broke a bone in her left foot kicking an empty courtside chair in March and was sidelined a month.

Straight-set victory encourages ShriverPam Shriver, seeking to regain her old form, advanced yesterday to the second round at the International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Fla., with straight-set victories over qualifier Myriam Oremans, 6-3, 7-5.Shriver, recovering from surgery last June on her right shoulder, has fallen in the rankings to No. 115."A good basketball score," Shriver said. "I didn't even know my ranking today until I accidentally read it in the paper. It was a three-digit number for the first time in my life -- kind of a shock."

"That's What Friends Are For" could have been the theme song at the First National Bank Tennis Festival's kickoff party Monday night at the Hyatt Regency.Frank Deford, one of the country's best known sportswriters, came down from New York and tennis great Chris Evert flew in from Aspen to help their pal Pam Shriver hype the Oct. 22 event."Only for Pam Shriver would I leave my good-looking 22-month-old son and my somewhat good-looking husband," Chris teased. (She's married to that handsome downhill skier, Aspen ski director and TV commentator Andy Mills.

SYDNEY, Australia -- A straight-set triumph yesterday over Isabel Cueto of Germany was more than a first-round victory for Pam Shriver; it was the first positive step in her comeback.Seven months to the day after the 28-year-old Lutherville, Md., resident underwent shoulder surgery, she was a winner again after beating the 14th-seeded Cueto, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4, in the opening round of the New South Wales Open."I usually don't get too excited about first-round wins, but this was probably the most important of my career, a little more special," Shriver said.

CHICAGO -- To anyone who has ever seen Pam Shriver in her post-match mode, the right arm covered with ice bags was standard.What made Shriver smile last night at the University of Illinois, Chicago Pavilion was the rest of the routine was standard as well.Playing in her first American tournament since undergoing shoulder surgery last summer, Shriver displayed the form that kept her in the top 10 for most of the 1980s, easily dispatching 28th-ranked Meredith McGrath 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Virginia Slims of Chicago.

Intrasquad game is old-timers dayEvans gets two hits; Dempsey stars againSARASOTA, Fla. -- Dwight Evans had two hits for the second straight game yesterday, as the Black Jerseys beat the Orange Jerseys, 4-3, in the last intrasquad game. Evans, who doubled and scored the first run on a single by Luis Mercedes, was the only player with two hits.Rick Dempsey was the other old-timer who was prominent iboth games. After hitting a home run off Gregg Olson in the first game, Dempsey delivered a game-tying single in the sixth inning that set up Joe Orsulak's game-winning double.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Before the start of this week's Australian Open, Pam Shriver had outlined her hopes for the coming year.Her four-point plan was topped by qualifying as one of the world's top 16 for the season-ending Virginia Slims Championships in November.Shriver, ranked 25th in the world, felt good about reaching that goal. She also believed that the others on the list, including winning another singles title, were all modest, attainable ambitions at age 30.Yesterday, Shriver tried to stay reasonable in assessing her Australian Open opening-round failure as only a minor setback to her aspirations.

The Mercantile Charity Challenge, Pam Shriver's 19th tennis event held here in support of children's charities, will come later than ever this December, but the star attraction will be hot. Shriver will announce today at a Baltimore news conference that tennis phenom Maria Sharapova, 17, will play in the main match Dec. 17 at 1st Mariner Arena. Shriver and her group are also working to confirm an opponent, who will be announced in a few weeks. Only a year ago, Sharapova was here playing Ashley Harkleroad in the tournament's Futures match.

In describing the headliner for this year's Chevy Chase Bank Tennis Challenge, Pam Shriver said yesterday, "What I've come to realize is that she's an extremely powerful draw." That's why Shriver, the event's founder, is excited about Anna Kournikova coming back to Baltimore a year after she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the featured match. The 19-year-old Russian with the biggest cult following in tennis has agreed to return to the charity event, which will be held again this year at Baltimore Arena on Nov. 21. The event is presented by The Sun. The event has raised an estimated $2.4 million in its first 14 years.