Open Notebook : Final 4: Tennis for Gourmets

The presence of boy wonder Boris Becker and Swedish serve-master Stefan Edberg couldn’t do it.

Shlomo Glickstein’s match of a lifetime couldn’t do it.

Even the passing of Jimmy Connors’ 33rd birthday couldn’t do it.

In the end, nothing the U.S. Open dished out this year could prevent form from holding fast in the men’s division.

The Big Four of men’s tennis--John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl--have developed, as expected, into the Final Four at Flushing Meadow. The cream has risen, the fittest have survived and the best have been the brightest--producing a semifinal field completely stocked with the sport’s finest.

Now, the fun begins.

Today at noon, it’s top-seeded McEnroe against third-seeded Wilander, putting their rackets where their mouths are. Last weekend, they sparred in the interview room, McEnroe questioning Wilander’s desire and Wilander responding with an icy, “I want to play him.”

Today, he gets his chance.

Then, following the women’s final, second-seeded Lendl and fourth-seeded Connors will step onto the Stadium Court to renew not-so-friendly acquaintances. Are relations strained between these two?

Ali and Frazier were bosom buddies compared to these guys.

At a tournament in Wembley in 1984, Connors challenged Lendl “to step outside” during their match in the semifinals. At the Masters this January, Lendl concluded an exchange at the net by drilling the ball off Connors’ sideburn. Connors flashed Lendl half the peace sign, and after the match, the two had to be restrained in an altercation outside the interview room.

Their rivalry first became heated in 1982 and 1983, when Connors beat Lendl in consecutive U.S. Open finals. That’s when Lendl first became introduced to this American saying, “Choke.”

Lendl hates to be called a choker.

The feud has intensified in 1984 and 1985, with Connors losing his last six meetings with Lendl.

Connors hates to lose.

Additional incentives, on both sides:

--Lendl has been to the U.S. Open finals three straight years--and has finished runner-up three straight years. At 25, he’d finally like to break through.

--Connors, who turned 33 earlier this week, must realize that this could well be his last serious fling at a Grand Slam championship. So far in 1985, he has lost to Lendl in the semifinals of the French Open and squandered a golden opportunity in the same round at Wimbledon against Kevin Curren.

U.S. Davis Cup teammates Ken Flach and Robert Seguso won the U.S. Open men’s doubles championship Friday--but not without a struggle and much controversy.

For the record, Flach and Seguso defeated Henri Leconte and Yannick Noah, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-0. But Leconte and Noah will argue that it might have been different except for one call in the third-set tiebreaker.

Noah was serving for the set at 6-4 in the tiebreaker when the teams became involved in a quick exchange at the net. Flach dumped a weak shot toward Leconte, and Leconte drilled it back--”a forehand volley, 900 miles an hour off the tape, coming at my face,” according to Flach.

The ball skipped off the top of the net and headed right at Flach. Flach jerked his head away, and the ball shot by him, landing out of bounds.

Noah and Leconte contended that the ball hit Flach, thus giving them the point, the tiebreaker and the set. The umpire ruled no contact, gave the point to Flach and Seguso, and the tiebreaker continued.

Flach and Seguso eventually won the tiebreaker, 8-6, and then rolled past a demoralized French team in the fourth set, 6-0.