TEAM TENNIS : Strings Finish Fast, Finish Racquets

The Los Angeles Strings’ strategy of saving their best for last paid off Thursday night in the TeamTennis Western Division final.

Behind the play of John Lloyd and Robin White, the league’s top-ranked mixed doubles team, the Strings defeated the defending champion San Antonio Racquets, 24-18, before 775 at the Forum.

The Strings, making their first playoff appearance in six years, advanced to Sunday night’s championship match at the Forum where they will meet the winner of tonight’s Eastern Division final between the Raleigh Edge and the Miami Beach Breakers at Raleigh, N.C.

San Antonio, which also won the league championship in 1986, missed the final for only the second time in five years.

The Strings, who won the TeamTennis title in 1981 when Martina Navratilova was a member of the team, had a league-best 12-2 regular-season record and are 8-0 at the Forum.

Because of that success, Lloyd, the Strings’ player-coach, took advantage of a league rule that allows the home team to determine the order that the men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles matches will be played.

“I thought about changing the order,” said Lloyd, whose team lost its final regular-season match at San Antonio last Sunday. “But I thought, ‘What the hell. If we can stay even until the last two sets, we’d have a great chance.”

The score was tied, 12-12, after three sets, before White defeated Elna Reinach, 6-3, to give the Strings an 18-15 lead.

Lloyd and White defeated Sammy Giammalva and Reinach, 6-3, to secure the victory.

The Strings took command of the match early when Anne White and Robin White defeated Mary Lou Daniels and Reinach, 6-3.

San Antonio came back behind Giammalva, who took all but one point from Nick Brown in four games. Brown was replaced by Lloyd who lost the final two games in a 6-0 defeat.

Lloyd and Brown defeated Giammalva and Dacio Campos, 6-3.