Tennis Roundup : Lendl, Navratilova Are Seeded No. 1 in U.S. Open

As expected, Ivan Lendl and Martina Navratilova have been seeded No. 1 for the U.S. Open, which begins next Tuesday in New York, the U.S. Tennis Assn. announced Wednesday.

It is the first time that Lendl has been seeded first in the 100-year-old tournament, breaking John McEnroe’s string of five straight years as the top-seeded men’s player.

McEnroe, who recently returned to the circuit after a seven-month layoff, is seeded No. 9. Jimmy Connors is No. 6.

It is the fourth year that two-time champion Navratilova has been seeded No. 1 among women. Chris Evert Lloyd, last year’s top-seeded woman, is No. 2 this year.

Lendl, meanwhile, overpowered 40-year-old Ilie Nastase of Romania, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of the $150,000 Hamlet Challenge Cup at Jericho, N.Y.

In another first-round match, No. 3-seeded Andres Gomez of Ecuador rallied to defeat Eliot Teltscher, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Top-seeded Mats Wilander won six of the last seven games and scored a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Mike Leach in the second round of the $375,000 ATP Championships at Mason, Ohio.

No. 4-seeded Joakim Nystrom, also from Sweden, fought off South African Barry Moir, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Second-seeded Jimmy Connors outlasted Milan Srejber of Yugoslavia, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3.

Elna Reinach, a South African qualifier ranked 90th in the world, upset defending champion Kathy Rinaldi, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals of the $150,000 United Jersey Bank tournament at Mahwah, N.J.

No. 2-seeded Helena Sukova needed only 47 minutes to score a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Dinky Van Rensburg.