Tennis Roundup : Lendl to Play McEnroe Today in Final-Round Match

Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia, the world’s No. 1 player, and John McEnroe, the man Lendl replaced atop the rankings, reached the final of the $150,000 Hamlet Challenge Cup Invitational at Jericho, N.Y., Saturday.

Today’s championship match will be the first tournament meeting between the two players since Lendl beat McEnroe for the U.S. Open title last September.

Lendl won his match, 6-7, 7-5, 2-1, when sixth-seeded Brad Gilbert suddenly withdrew in the third set because of a toe injury.

McEnroe, who has met Lendl in three exhibition matches since coming off a seven-month layoff, beat Andres Gomez of Ecuador, 6-2, 7-6.

Gilbert, who held game point in the last game played, suddenly double faulted twice with extremely weak serves and informed chair umpire Gerry Armstrong he was retiring from the match.

Lendl said that while it was possible Gilbert had trouble with his toe, he also felt Gilbert was extremely tired.

“You could see it coming,” Lendl said. “I sensed it as early as 3-2 in the first set and in the second set he came to the net and just hit, hoping I’d miss.”

Gilbert, who was treated by a doctor, said: “I have ‘turf toe’ and have been bothered by it since Australia (in January). It bothered me a lot today.”

At Mason, Ohio, Mats Wilander and Jimmy Connors set up a showdown of top-seeded players in the $350,000 Assn. of Tennis Professionals Championship.

Wilander, seeded No. 1, beat Stefan Edberg, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the ATP final for the fourth straight year.

Connors, seeded No. 2, defeated Mikael Pernfors, 6-1, 7-5.

“I played as well tonight as I have all week,” said Connors,the only non-Swede to make the semifinals.

Pernfors, who won only six points on his own serve in the first set, said: “Nobody plays like he does. . . . You have to play him a couple times to learn what he’s doing.”

Top-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany survived leg cramps from sixth-seeded Jo Durie of Britain at Mahwah, N.J., to advance to the final of a $150,000 women’s tournament with a 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 win.

“I always have a tough time against her.,” Graf said. “I got a little dizzy in the second set, and I felt some cramps in the third set.”

Still Graf won the final four games and 13 of the last 15 points.

Play was suspended by rain in the other semifinal. Molly Van Nostrand led Elna Reinach, 6-3, 2-3.