Tennis Roundup : Connors Beats Curren in Quarterfinal Match

Jimmy Connors neutralized Kevin Curren’s power with a scrambling net game Friday to post a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory in the U.S. Indoor tennis championship at Memphis, Tenn.

The second-seeded Connors, seeking his eighth U.S. Indoor title, will meet third-seeded Mikael Pernfors of Sweden in the semifinals today. Pernfors rallied from 2-3 in the third set to defeat Greg Holmes by the identical score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Defending champion Brad Gilbert, seeded fourth, defeated Johan Kriek, 6-2, 7-6, in another quarterfinal match. He will meet top-seeded Stefan Edberg, who eliminated seventh-seeded Tim Mayotte, 6-3, 6-4.

Curren served 15 aces on The Racquet Club of Memphis’ hard-court surface to Connors’ 2, but fell victim to an assortment of drop shots and well-placed passing shots by the 34-year-old veteran.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody serve that hard, but I took advantage of my opportunities when I had them,” Connors said. “I was playing good tennis throughout, but it was important for me to take advantage when he missed a first serve.

“When I was younger, I could miss an opportunity and then just wait for another one, but now I have to take advantage of them all,” he said.

Gilbert breezed through the first set against Kriek, who upset John McEnroe Thursday night. But he let two match points escape him in the second set before winning the tiebreaker, 7-5.

“If I had not won the (tiebreaker) in the second set, I could have been in trouble,” Gilbert said.

Kriek said he was a “little tired and a little sluggish.

“I also broke my favorite racket, the one I beat McEnroe with, while practicing for a match,” Kriek said. “I was not consistent as I would play one good game and two bad ones. He never let me get in the groove.”

Edberg took only 65 minutes to dispose of Mayotte. “I served well and didn’t give him many chances,” Edberg said. “I also returned his serve well.”

At San Francisco, top-seeded Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia defeated fifth-seeded Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria, 6-3, 7-6, to advance to the semifinals of a $150,000 Virginia Slims tournament.

Mandlikova’s opponent today will be third-seeded Zina Garrison, who downed Wendy White, 6-1, 6-2.

Earlier, second-seeded Kathy Rinaldi defeated Stephanie Rehe, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, and Sylvia Hanika of West Germany eliminated sixth-seeded Wendy Turnbull of Australia, 6-4, 6-1.