Tennis Roundup : Lendl and Mecir Are Victims of Upsets in Japan Open

Ivan Lendl had a large brace on his ailing left knee but refused to use it as an excuse.

Lendl, the No. 1 tennis player in the world, playing in his first tournament after a five-week layoff because of the knee injury, lost to David Pate, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, Thursday in the third round of the $605,000 Japan Open at Tokyo.

“My knee injury is OK, but I missed several chances,” Lendl said. “I still need time to get used to the game.”

Lendl received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct from chair umpire Richard Kaufman for his protests against line calls in the first set.

In another upset, 13th-seeded Scott Davis surprised third-seeded Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia, 7-5, 6-1. In today’s quarterfinals, Davis will meet fifth-seeded Jimmy Connors, who downed Ramesh Krishnan of India, 6-2, 6-4.

Stefan Edberg of Sweden beat Dan Goldie, 6-3, 7-5, and Anders Jarryd of Sweden ousted Pat Cash of Australia, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

The women’s top-seeded player, Melissa Gurney, also was eliminated. Unseeded Etsuko Inoue trounced Gurney, 6-3, 6-0, in the quarterfinals.

In other women’s matches, second-seeded Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria beat Beth Herr, 6-1, 6-1; Barbara Gerken upset No. 3 Kathy Jordan, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, and fourth-seeded Betsy Nagelsen downed Kumiko Okamoto of Japan, 7-6, 6-4.

Top-seeded Kent Carlsson of Sweden trounced Pablo Arraya of Peru, 6-1, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals of the $104,900 Grand Prix tournament at Nice, France.

In other matches, Aaron Krickstein outlasted Davis Cup teammate Jimmy Arias, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; Thierry Tulasne of France got past Jay Berger, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, and Ronald Agenor of Haiti beat Horacio de la Pena of Argentina.

Unseeded Helen Kelesi of Canada stunned No. 4-seeded Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany, 6-3, 6-4, in the third round of the Women’s International Tennis Assn. championships at Amelia Island, Fla.

Kelesi, ranked 37th in the world, used a steady baseline game to defeat Kohde-Kilsch, who was bothered by a sprained right foot.

Hana Mandlikova scored a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Rosalyn Fairbank of South Africa.

Roger McKee of Eugene, Ore., upset top-seeded Alvin Gardiner of Playa del Rey, 6-3, 6-4, to win the singles title of the USTA Men’s 35 National Hardcourt Championships at Tucson.