Tennis Roundup : Gomez Topples Noah to Win $80,000 Prize

Andres Gomez won the biggest prize of his career Sunday when he defeated Yannick Noah, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6, in the final of the $615,000 Shearson Lehman Brothers Tournament of Champions at Forest Hills, N.Y.

The fourth-seeded Ecuadorian became the first South American to win this event at the West Side Tennis Club. And it was his fifth victory over the second-seeded Frenchman in their six meetings.

Noah was trying to join John McEnroe as the only player to win consecutive Tournament of Champions titles.

“I want to dedicate it (the title) to my mother because this is her day,” Gomez told the crowd when he accepted the $80,000 winner’s check after the 2-hour 48-minute match. “I want to dedicate it to my wife because she’s soon going to be a mother. . . .”

Noah brought roars of approval from the crowd with his jumping slam-dunk smashes, especially one from the base line off a smash by Gomez. But his volleys seemed to find the net unerringly.

Until Sunday, Noah had not dropped a set in his march to the final. Gomez, meanwhile, had pulled off a mild upset in the semifinal when he ousted top-seeded Boris Becker of West Germany.

Steffi Graf defeated a tiring Gabriela Sabatini, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, in the $150,000 Italian Open women’s tournament at Rome, giving the 17-year-old West German her fifth straight final-round victory of the year.

It was also Graf’s 27th match win in a row, and it raised questions about who is really the best woman tennis player in the world. Sabatini, an Argentine who will be 17 Saturday, defeated No. 1-ranked Martina Navratilova in the semifinals.

“I’ve won five tournaments this year and I’m No. 2. Martina’s won none and she’s still No. 1. The rankings speak for themselves, there’s nothing else I have to say,” Graf said.

Graf’s streak began in February at the Virginia Slims of Florida and continued with victories at the Lipton International Players Championships in Florida and tournaments in South Carolina, Florida and now Rome.

Her last loss came against Navratilova more than five months ago in New York.

Her victory Sunday was worth $30,000.

At Tokyo, Amos Mansdorf of Israel, who upset top-seeded Jimmy Connors in the first round, beat second-seeded Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia, 6-2, 6-4, to win the men’s singles title in the $200,000 Gunze World tournament.

In the women’s final, Zina Garrison defeated Pam Shriver, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3.

The victories were worth $30,000 each for Mansdorf and Garrison. Mecir and Shriver each earned $15,000.