Sabatini Can’t Hold a Big Lead : Tennis: She takes 6-1, 5-1 advantage, then loses to Date in semifinals.

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. —  Near the end, pacing behind the baseline, Gabriela Sabatini actually put her hand to her throat.

In a collapse almost identical to her 1993 French Open failure, Sabatini blew a 6-1, 5-1 lead, double-faulted 18 times, squandered three match points and lost to ailing Kimiko Date in Thursday’s semifinals of the Lipton Championships.

Date, bothered by a sore shoulder that hindered her serve and forehand, nonetheless rallied to win 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4).

“When it was 5-1 (in the second set), I didn’t feel very good,” Sabatini said. “I was close to winning the match, but that wasn’t the feeling I got.”

Date likewise looked less than confident.

“I never thought of winning,” she said, “until the last point.”

Remarkably, Sabatini also blew a 6-1, 5-1 lead two years ago in Paris. Mary Joe Fernandez survived five match points to win that quarterfinal match 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-8.

Sabatini’s career went into a prolonged skid thereafter.

“That match is over,” she said. “I’m over it. I wasn’t thinking about that.”

Date’s injury, a strained rotator cuff, could handicap her in the final Saturday. Date will probably be able to play, WTA Tour trainer Jill Gresley said.

The injury has bothered her for about four years, and she aggravated it earlier in the tournament.

In the men’s quarterfinals, unseeded Swede Jonas Bjorkman celebrated his 23rd birthday by beating 30-year-old Mats Wilander, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5.

Andre Agassi plays Magnus Larsson in the semifinals today, and Bjorkman will meet the winner of Thursday night’s match between top-ranked Pete Sampras and Andrei Medvedev.