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Tennis Roundup : Becker Upset by Wilkison; Edberg Also Loses Opener

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From Times Wire Services

Boris Becker, who defeated Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl last week en route to winning the Chicago Grand Prix, was upset Wednesday night in a $279,000 WCT tournament at Atlanta.

The No. 2-seeded Becker lost to Tim Wilkison, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

Not only that, but No. 1-seeded Stefan Edberg was stunned in another first-round match, losing to Swedish countryman Mikael Pernfors, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.

“I was on Mars,” Wilkison said, explaining how it felt to beat Becker.

Becker, the reigning Wimbledon champion, said he was puzzled by the loss. One week before winning in Chicago, he had lost in the first round of the Brussels Grand Prix to Brod Dyke of Australia.

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“In Brussels, I was practicing well and couldn’t win the match,” said the 18-year-old West German. “In Chicago, I was practicing well and won five matches. I beat Lendl and Connors and now lost to Wilkison. That’s me.

“What the reasons are, I don’t know.”

Pernfors’ win avenged a three-set loss to Edberg in the U.S. Indoor Championships at Memphis, Tenn., in February. “It’s the worst match that I’ve played in many years,” Edberg said. “I couldn’t even hit the ball into the court. It was not my day today.”

Meanwhile, advancing to the quarterfinals were third-seeded Brad Gilbert, Eliot Teltscher and Mike Leach. Gilbert defeated Mel Purcell, 6-4, 6-4; Teltscher beat Jonathan Canter, 6-0, 6-7, 6-1, and Leach eliminated Tom Gullikson, 6-3, 6-4.

At Marco Island, Fla., top-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd, making the most of her first match ever in the $150,000 Tournament of Champions, routed Maria Lindstrom of Sweden, 6-0, 6-0, in a second-round match in 58 minutes. Lloyd had passed up the tournament in the past for various reasons.

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