Edberg Is Blitzed By Becker : Rivalry Remains Very One-Sided, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5

The great tennis rivalry of the future is still that.

For those who believe Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg will become the Borg and McEnroe of the ‘90s, patience is advised. As for the present, there was nothing too competitive about Becker’s 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Edberg in the final of the $435,000 Pilot Pen tennis tournament Sunday at Grand Champions Resort.

The series between Becker and Edberg has been so one-sided lately, it really can’t be called a rivalry, much less a great one.

Becker, in stopping Edberg’s 15-match and 2-tournament winning streak, recorded his seventh straight victory over the Swedish player. The last time Edberg won was at Philadelphia in 1985. Furthermore, he hasn’t taken a set from Becker since last summer in Toronto, three meetings ago.

“We are both almost similar players,” said Becker who was seeded second, behind Edberg.

“We are very aggressive. He probably has the better volleys, and I have the better groundstrokes. But I guess the difference always was that I am mentally a little bit stronger than he is. On the big points, I don’t know how, somehow I make those points all the time against him especially.”

With Becker’s convincing performance, the questions about his game and temper were answered during the tournament. After he was fined $2,000 for various outbursts at the Australian Open in January, Becker was watched closely here. But, save for a couple of routine protests, Becker was on his best behavior.

Another area in doubt was Becker’s ability to function without his longtime coach, Gunther Bosch. Bosch and Becker split after the Australian Open match and the 19-year-old West German is without a coach.

Ion Tiriac, Becker’s manager, is still in the process of looking for a replacement. Tiriac expressed earlier in the tournament he would prefer a coach like (the late Harry Hopman) for Becker. That would mean hiring a man close to Tiriac’s age, and someone who would preach a strong work ethic.

“I think it’s the best thing that could have happened to both of them,” Tiriac said of Bosch and Becker.

At least for one tournament, that would appear to be the case in regard to Becker’s on-court performance.

Players often like to say that matches were closer than the score indicated. In this final, played before a sellout crowd of 10,500, the reverse was true. The match wasn’t as close it would seem.

As he did against Yannick Noah in the semifinals, Becker won the toss and elected to receive. The tactic worked again as he broke Edberg twice in the first three games to take a 3-0 lead. The second set was almost similar as Edberg was broken in the opening game again.

“I could have served a lot better,” Edberg said. “He played well on the big points and never gave me a chance. And when I had a few chances, he didn’t give it away.”

Becker, who served 10 aces to Edberg’s 1, lost service once in the match. However, the time he lost serve didn’t hurt him. Becker was ahead 3-0 in the first set when Edberg broke him. For the tournament, Becker lost service three times.

When asked about Becker’s game, players have said he would be just an ordinary player if he didn’t have such a strong serve. But against Edberg and Noah, he returned serve extremely well and was able to stay in rallies from the baseline.

“I think it’s very encouraging to see his game going in another direction,” Tiriac said. “He chips and comes in more. When he plays he uses strategy more, in my opinion. He is maturing.”

Even before Tiriac saw Becker’s game developing in different ways, he always felt Becker’s sheer power would keep him near the top.

“He has so much power,” Tiriac said. “Even if he learns not one more good thing, he is always going to be a great pro.”

Tennis Notes

Tournament director Charlie Pasarell’s press conference after Sunday’s singles final lasted longer than Boris Becker’s and Stefan Edberg’s combined. Pasarell and Newsweek publisher Gerard Smith explained the details of the magazine’s decision to become principal sponsor of the event in 1988. Pilot Pen, which filled that role for the last three years, declined to renew its option for another three years of sponsorship. The 1988 tournament purse will be raised to at least $600,000, according to Pasarell. Pasarell is in the process of negotiating with the women’s tour to stage an event the week before the men’s tournament at Grand Champions. “I don’t know when I’ll hear for sure,” he said. “But I think it should be within a month.” A lower-level, $75,000-women’s tournament, doesn’t interest Pasarell. If he is unable to get a major Slims tournament, Pasarell would likely hold another special women’s event. This year, there was a three-day, five-woman tournament in early February. How about a two-week tournament with the men and women playing at the same time? “If that was offered to me, I’d jump at it in two seconds,” Pasarell said. . . . For the victory, Becker won $59,500, while Edberg earned $29,950. . . . Total attendance for the tournament was 72,218. . . . According to the provisional tennis calendar, next year’s dates for the men’s tournament are March 7-13.