THE wheels just about came off the Coronation coach, but Queen Martina

is still on course to be crowned. Miss Navratilova stumbled rather than

shot into her twelfth Wimbledon singles final, eventually overcoming her

near neighbour and dear friend, Gigi Fernandez, 6-4, 7-6.

Martina and Gigi have residences in the Rockies and their early play

yesterday was very shaky. At first it seemed Fernandez was frozen to the

spot, and she lost the opening game to love after 59 seconds. In fact,

she conceded the first eight points.

Was the match to be shorter than a Bruno fight? At 4-1 Martina wasn't

even out of breath. Gigi, leg bandaged, white ribbon in her hair,

multi-coloured knickers, wasn't even at the races. Then suddenly, at

5-2, she broke the Navratilova service.

A fine smash by Fernandez cut the deficit to a single game. Martina

closed out the set, but only with the assistance of a lucky net cord.

The quality of play at this stage was abysmal. ''They are getting eighty

grand for this,'' an American reminded me.

On to the second set with Fernandez, who is really a doubles

specialist, making the old girl feel her years. The Martina second serve

comes by slow train these days and sits up inviting to be hit. Gigi duly

obliged.

In the sixth game, after seven break points, a backhand winner did the

trick. The underdog was now 5-2 ahead and had a set point in the ninth

game. She netted a forehand.

Whatever one thinks of Martina, she is a fighter. The fists clenched,

the smiles disappeared, the shots were dragged from the memory bank. She

broke back at 5-4 and we were soon into a tie-break.

Martina raced to 5-2. That was it then? No. Gigi battled back to lead

6-5 and her second set point. A Navratilova backhand killed that one,

and two points later it was all over, Fernandez leaving a ball that fell

in. K D Lang breathed again, the Martina finger went in the air. One

more time.

Were you lucky or the better player out there today? ''I don't care,

I'm in the final and I'm going out in style.''

At the finish Gigi told her pal: ''I will be rooting for you to take

that tenth title.'' Yes, I would have guessed that.

Martina has written a novel, which will be published later this year.

She wouldn't reveal too much of the plot, but I understand the leading

character wins in the end.

To face Martina, in her first-ever Grand Slam final, will be the

22-year-old Spanish girl Conchita Martinez. She put out Lori McNeil, the

black American who had dismissed Steffi Graf in the first round.

This was a marathon two-and-a-half hour duel in the evening sun. Third

seed Martinez, thought to be a clay-court specialist, won 3-6, 6-2,

10-8, the longest last set in the women's competition. Normally she only

goes to the net to shake hands -- now she was collecting the points

there.

The unseeded McNeil is a serve-and-volley exponent, but she was pinned

to the back of the court by Conchita's top-spin slice. The American

always looked the more vulnerable on her serve.

Indeed, she dropped it at 7-6, but bravely broke straight back.

Martinez did not fold in the final -- a smash gave her two match points.

Only one was required.

There has not been a Spanish girl in the Wimbledon final since Lili de

Alverez in 1926, '27, and '28 -- she lost all three. So, one way or

another, history is about to be made tomorrow.

Conchita, a big lass who likes riding motorcycles, numbers the King of

Spain among her fans. He recently opined that she would win a major in

the near future.

She is not worried about becoming unpopular by spoiling Navratilova's

party. ''The crowd may be on her side, but that I can live with.

''They were disappointed when I beat her in the Italian, too. I have

nothing to lose, I am going for it.

''It was a Spanish lady, Arantxa Sanchez, who said grass was for cows

and I once thought like that. This match has helped me enormously, now I

am growing in confidence.

''This is my first appearance in a Grand Slam final and it means a

hell of a lot to me.''

I don't believe Conchita was the one Miss Navratilova wanted to play,

but the bookmakers, and Miss McNeil -- ''experience will be a big

factor'' -- retain their faith in Martina. She is the 4-7 favourite with

Conchita at 11-8. I'll give you my odds tomorrow morning.