Connors Wins, McEnroe Loses as U.S. Takes Cup

Ivan Lendl defeated John McEnroe, but Jimmy Connors fought back from an 0-4 deficit in the third set to help the United States defeat Czechoslovakia, 2-1, Sunday in World Team Cup Tennis at Duesseldorf, West Germany.

The victory, worth $200,000, allowed the U.S. team to retain the cup it won from Czechoslovakia last year. The Czechs took home $100,000.

Ken Flach and Robert Seguso clinched the cup by defeating Lendl and Tomas Smid, 6-3, 7-6, in doubles.

Earlier, Lendl gave Czechoslovakia a 1-0 lead by beating McEnroe, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3.

But Connors kept the Americans’ hopes alive with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Miloslav Mecir, after losing eight straight games and trailing 0-4 in the final set.

Connors appeared doomed until he broke Mecir at love in the fifth game and held at love in the sixth. But Mecir held to take what appeared to be a decisive 5-2 lead.

Connors, ranked third in the world, came back to 3-5 and then Mecir crumbled.

Apparently overcome by nerves, Mecir served two double faults. When his fifth serve also went long, he served his second under-handed. Connors put it away for a winner to make it 5-4.

Connors held serve to even the set at 5-5, and Mecir again served three double faults to trail, 5-6.

Connors fell behind 15-30 in the 12th game, but took the next three points to save the match for the Americans.

“I don’t know what happened down there,” Connors said. “I’ve never had a guy serve under-arm against me in my life.

“He got tight, and the tighter he got the looser I got.

A shaken Mecir said: “I don’t know what happened, all of a sudden I couldn’t serve.”

Lendl, down one set and trailing 5-6 in the tiebreaker of the second set, survived when McEnroe missed an easy forehand volley.

Lendl went on to win the tiebreaker, 8-6, and then broke serve for the first time in the match in the fifth game of the third set en route to his second straight win over McEnroe this month.

Bonnie Gadusek defeated top-seeded Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria, 6-2, 6-2, to win a $100,000 women’s tournament at Lugano, Switzerland.

The 22-year-old American, seeded third, broke Maleeva’s serve five times. “It was my best match ever,” Gadusek said.