Tennis Roundup : McEnroe Makes It Into Final

Serving almost flawlessly, John McEnroe posted a 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 victory over Stefan Edberg in the $675,000 WCT Finals Friday night at Dallas.

McEnroe served 15 aces and lost his service only once, but it was his toughness on big points that won the match.

Although he had only five aces, Edberg’s serve was nearly equal to McEnroe’s.

There were only three service breaks in the match, and the biggest came in the seventh game of the fourth set when McEnroe broke at love for a 4-3 lead.

Each player then held. McEnroe, serving for the match at 5-4, lost the first point but took the next four to wrap it up.

After Edberg congratulated him, McEnroe walked back on the court and raised his index finger in the number one sign. The crowd of about 14,000 gave him a standing ovation.

“I was definitely playing well,” McEnroe said. “But Stefan is the best serve-and-volley player in tennis right now. It was definitely an important win for me.”

McEnroe will meet Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia in Sunday morning’s final. Mecir moved into the championship match with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Andres Gomez of Ecuador.

McEnroe has never lost in two career matches with Mecir.

Fifth-seeded Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina upset fourth-seeded Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany, 7-6, 6-4, and sixth-seeded Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria ousted third-seeded Zina Garrison, 6-2, 7-5, to advance to the semifinals of the $300,000 Family Circle Magazine Cup tournament at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

In today’s matches, Sabatini will face top-seeded Steffi Graf, who routed Helen Kelesi of Canada, 6-2, 6-2, and Maleeva will meet second-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd, who beat Bettina Bunge, 6-3, 6-2.