Former tennis champ’s kids also talented

Hana Mandlikova instilled love of game in her children.

Cindy Shmerler NEW YORK — As Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori were locked in a five-set battle for a spot in the U.S. Open semifinals Wednesday afternoon, Elli Mandlik was toiling on Court 5 before a handful of casual spectators.

One keen observer was tucked, out of sight, in a corner near the baseline. During changeovers, she left her seat and paced nervously nearby. She did not seem to breathe until Mandlik had dispatched Diane Parry of France, 6-3, 7-6 (1), to reach the third round of the U.S. Open junior girls tournament.

The pacing woman was Hana Mandlikova, Mandlik’s mother and the 1985 U.S. Open champion.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center looked very different when Mandlikova upset No. 1 Chris Evert and No. 2 Martina Navratilova to win that title. There was no Arthur Ashe Stadium, no retractable roofs, no South Campus. When Mandlikova walks around the tournament grounds these days, only a smattering of fans recognize her, even though she played the women’s senior event here for years.

But that’s OK with Mandlikova because now she is here as the parent of a competitor. Elli and her twin brother, Mark, 17, are accomplished juniors, but only Elli qualified to play at the Open, her first junior Grand Slam tournament. Mark is back home training in Florida.

Mandlikova, a Czech native who has lived in the U.S. since 1981, did not introduce her children to tennis until they were 7. Instead, she took them skiing in the Colorado mountains.

“Why would I drill them at 4 or 5 years old and then they would be tired of the game at 20?” said Mandlikova, 56, who also won the Australian Open in 1980 and 1987 and the French Open in 1981. “That would just be dumb. I want them to love the game for a long time.”

Mandlikova taught Elli and Mark their technique before handing them off to their current coach, Gabriel Trifu, six years ago. Mark, at 6-foot-4, has a one-handed backhand and can serve and volley like his mother. Elli, a wispy 5-6, hits her backhand with two hands, although she has worked on her onehander all summer. Her service motion looks like her mother’s. When she makes mistakes on court, it’s usually because she has too many options, just like her mother.

“As a youngster, you could see that she had a good feel for the ball, but she was very small,” said Kathy Rinaldi, the USTA national coach for women’s tennis. “Now she’s grown and she’s very athletic. Her feistiness reminds me of Hana.”

Mandlik didn’t like tennis in the beginning. She wanted, instead, to be a professional skier. But her mother showed her children videos of her matches. She let them touch her trophies, many of which are at the family home in Delray Beach, Florida. Soon, they too loved her sport.

“Being a parent is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Mandlikova, who coached her fellow Czech Jana Novotna from 1989 to 1998. “It’s harder than playing, harder than coaching. It’s a 24-hour job.”

This summer, Mandlik reached the semifinals and won the doubles at a $15,000 tournament in Romania, where her coach, Trifu, is from. She also reached the doubles final at the USTA National Girls’ 18 with Peyton Stearns. On Thursday, Mandlik lost to Dasha Lopatetskaya of Ukraine, 7-5, 6-4, in a third-round match. She said she still needed to work on the mental aspect of her game.

“Sometimes I get hesitant and then I don’t play free,” she said. “I have to remind myself to just swing. My mother always says, ‘Tough times never last, but tough people do.’”

Elli and Mark Mandlik have another year of home schooling, and Mark is considering college offers. Elli has her sights set on a pro career. She wants, more than anything, to win Wimbledon.

“That’s the only one my mother never won,” she said. “I want to do it for her.”

Hana Mandlikova, a Czech native who has lived in the U.S. since 1981, did not introduce her children to tennis until they were 7.