People

By Guy D. Garcia

THE AMERICANOVAKIAN OPEN, summed up one headline. And, indeed, for the first time in ten-nis history, four -- count 'em, four -- Czechoslovak-born players reached the finals of the U.S. Open last week, the first time any single country was so well represented. When it was all over and done at New York City's National Tennis Center, Helena Sukova, 21, and Miloslav Mecir, 22, flew home to Czechoslovakia and hero's welcomes, while the victorious Czechomericans Ivan Lendl, 26, and Martina Navratilova, 29, collected their $210,000 prizes and stayed on in their adopted country. Although he is still a Czech citizen, Lendl has places in Florida, New York and Connecticut, and has not been back to his native land since 1984. "What Mecir has against him is he does not like playing in America," said Lendl of his opponent. "He wants to go home, he wants to go fishing." Navratilova came to the U.S. to stay in 1975, becoming a citizen six years later. She resents the all-Czech talk. "Come on, I'm an American," she huffs, entirely correctly. "You can't go on where we were born. If you do that, McEnroe (who was born in Wiesbaden) is German."