Australian Open Tennis : Angry Becker Beaten, Then Fined

Two-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker of West Germany was knocked out of the $1.65-million Australian Open by unseeded Wally Masur of Australia, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, then was fined $2,000 for his series of unsportsmanlike outbursts and actions.

After Becker’s upset late Tuesday, Sweden’s Stefan Edberg today became the first player to reach the men’s semifinals when he defeated Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, in a match that was interrupted by rain for almost an hour early in the second set.

But it was Becker’s uncharacteristic loss of temper--and Masur’s surprising victory--that had the fans abuzz both days.

The 23-year-old Masur, playing the finest game of his career on the grass courts of Kooyong, defused the 19-year-old West German’s booming serve and kept his poise while Becker was losing his.

“I couldn’t serve or return and suddenly I started to lose my cool,” Becker said. “Then I got bad calls. It made me completely crazy.”

Becker, who had twice been warned by umpire Wayne Spencer, was was fined $500 for being coached from the sidelines by Gunther Bosch and a further $500 for breaking his racket in the second-set tiebreaker.

He also was fined $1,000 for offensive behavior during the match.

That included twice throwing the ball in an offensive manner at the umpire, hitting the umpire’s chair on one occasion, spitting water in the direction of the umpire and hitting three balls out of the court.

“He had me in the bag,” said Masur, ranked 71st in the world and unable to keep a regular spot on the Australian Davis Cup team. “Then he let the crowd rattle him a little and I kept my head.”

Masur won the last six games to outlast Becker in the 3-hour 40-minute struggle.

The defeat was Becker’s second successive disappointment in the Australian Open. He was beaten by Michiel Schapers of the Netherlands in the second round of the previous tournament, which was played in December, 1985.

Defending champion Edberg, meanwhile, had little difficulty in overcoming the sixth-seeded Mecir.

His win, in fact, seemed almost effortless. He has dropped only one set in four matches in reaching the semifinals.

The victory was his first in three meetings with Mecir on grass and his second in five career clashes. The match took just 1 hour, 27 minutes.

“I played well and served particularly well, and that is the key to my game,” Edberg said, adding that he was feeling particularly relaxed and confident.

“I have to be confident the way I’m playing,” he said. “There is no reason not to be.

Later in the day, Edberg was joined in the semifinals by top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia.

Lendl, seeking his first grass court Grand Slam title, posted a 7-6, 6-1, 6-3 triumph over ninth-seeded Anders Jarryd of Sweden.

Also advancing to the semifinals was giant-killer Masur, who celebrated his upset over Becker the day before by stopping New Zealand’s Kelly Evernden, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.