Tennis Roundup : Lendl, Becker Move Step Closer to Sunday’s Final

No. 1-ranked Ivan Lendl and reigning Wimbledon champion Boris Becker stayed on a collision course Friday in a $375,000 Grand Prix tournament at London.

Lendl, unbeaten in three months of tournament play, routed Johan Kriek, 6-2, 6-1, in 58 minutes to advance to the semifinals, while Becker eliminated Mike Leach, 6-4, 5-3, retired.

Kriek was totally overpowered by Lendl, despite trying everything to unsettle the top-seeded Czechoslovakian.

“Every time I play the guy, I either play terribly badly or he plays outrageously well,” Kriek said. “I’ve beaten all the best players in the world except Borg and Lendl. Normally my volleying is my strong point. Today, he made me look ridiculous.”

Becker’s match against Leach was a battle of big servers. Although Becker had only three aces, he had conceded but five points against his service until the last game. Ironically, Leach had the second-seeded West German at 30-40 when forced to retire.

Leach damaged a tendon in his right ankle, an injury that will keep him off the court for at least a week.

Lendl’s opponent today will be David Pate, the only unseeded player left in the draw. Pate defeated eighth-seeded Joakim Nystrom of Sweden, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, in his quarterfinal match.

Becker will play fifth-seeded Anders Jarryd of Sweden, who reached the semifinals with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Ramesh Krishnan of India.

The final is Sunday.

At Brisbane, Australia, third-seeded Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany dashed Australia’s last hopes of victory in a $150,000 women’s tournament with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Wendy Turnbull.

In other quarterfinal matches, top-seeded Martina Navratilova beat Britain’s Sara Gomer, 6-3, 6-1; second-seeded Pam Shriver defeated Larissa Savchenko of the Soviet Union, 6-2, 6-4, and Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia ousted Elise Burgin, 6-3, 6-1.

In today’s semifinals, Navratilova meets Kohde-Kilsch, and Shriver plays Sukova.