Tennis Roundup : Edberg Takes U.S. Indoor Title in Romp

Sweden’s Stefan Edberg added Yannick Noah to his string of upsets Sunday, trouncing the Frenchman, 6-1, 6-0, to collect the $45,000 first place in the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships at Memphis, Tenn.

Just 24 hours earlier, the ninth-seeded Edberg eliminated defending champion and top-seeded Jimmy Connors from the $315,000 tournament.

The 19-year-old Edberg, who is ranked 19th among the world’s touring tennis professionals, took just 54 minutes to demolish Noah, who was ranked 14th coming into the Memphis tournament.

Edberg made just three unforced errors and served five aces. He allowed his opponent to tie, 1-1, in the first set. It was never close after that.

“I don’t think I ever played so well,” Edberg said. “I played great today.”

Noah, who sprained an ankle in his quarterfinal match with Israel’s Shahar Perkiss, said he didn’t think the results would have been any different had he been sound.

“I don’t think it was any worse,” Noah said. “I just think Stefan played me the right way. Stefan is very aggressive and I didn’t feel any worse. Today he beat me.”

Edberg, who earned $201,802 and won one tournament on the pro tour last year, said his win over Connors came harder.

Noah announced at courtside that part of his $22,500 runner-up check will be donated to African famine relief.

Then Noah asked the sellout crowd of 4,600 to join him in helping Ethiopians and others who are starving because of a drought. The crowd responded with cash donations of about $6,500.

Second-seeded Bonnie Gadusek outlasted Pam Casale, 6-3, 6-4, to successfully defend her singles title in the $140,000 BMW Championships at Marco Island, Fla.

Gadusek committed only one unforced error in the first four games of the opening set. Her lead started to dwindle as Casale battled back to 4-3, but the Largo, Fla., pro regained her composure and went on to the victory.

“I’ve been working with a sports psychologist, Jim Loehr, and he’s helped me maintain a high intensity level,” Gadusek said. “Tennis isn’t luck, it’s all ability and being able to handle the pressure.”

Gadusek and Camille Benjamin were beaten in the doubles final by Kathy Jordan and Australia’s Liz Smylie, 6-3, 6-3.