Tennis Roundup : Wilander Makes McEnroe a Clay Pigeon

Sweden’s Mats Wilander routed John McEnroe, 6-1, 6-3, Saturday to move into the final of the $495,000 Italian Open tennis championships against Argentina’s Martin Jaite.

The match lasted only 1 hour 15 minutes as McEnroe, seeded sixth, committed a series of unforced errors against the second-seeded Swede.

Still, the packed crowd of 8,500 at Rome’s Foro Italico backed the American all the way, cheering his every successful shot.

In the other semifinal match, Jaite, seeded 11th, ousted 15th-seeded Joakim Nystrom, 6-3, 6-4.

McEnroe had trouble with his first serve and stubbornly rushed the net whenever he could on short approach shots that Wilander whipped past him for winners or drilled at his feet for forced errors.

Wilander, who is at his best on clay, said McEnroe “still has a little way to go” in regaining his previous form.

“I don’t think he’s slow,” Wilander said. “He’s not confident, so he doesn’t control the points all the time.”

McEnroe said: “I probably played the best clay court player in the world.”

Wilander, whose victory evened their meetings at six wins apiece, raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set, leaving McEnroe slamming his racket into the clay in disgust. Wilander won the set in 30 minutes.

Taking advantage of a flubbed overhead by McEnroe, Wilander broke in the fifth game of the second set for a 3-2 lead. But in the next game, McEnroe broke Wilander for the only time.

McEnroe then double faulted to open the seventh game and dropped serve. Wilander held for 5-3 and broke again for the match as McEnroe chipped a backhand wide on the second match point.

McEnroe summed up the match by calling it, “The case of the clay court player being better than the aggressor.”

He said he was disappointed that he played so poorly, both for himself and for the crowd that has supported him throughout his first appearance in this tournament.

“It’s a great feeling to have the fans behind me,” said McEnroe, who was on his best behavior all week. “It’s been a long time coming.”

At West Berlin, Steffi Graf of West Germany recorded her 31st straight victory, defeating Sandra Cecchini of Italy, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, in the semifinals of the $150,000 women’s West German Open.

Graf, seeking her sixth straight tournament victory, will meet compatriot Claudia Kohde-Kilsch today. Kohde-Kilsch defeated Patricia Tarabini of Argentina, 6-4, 7-6.

Graf, the world’s No. 2-ranked player, battled for 2 hours 34 minutes against the 22-year-old Cecchini. And for the first time in the tournament, she lost a set.

“I was rushing too much and I missed a lot of easy shots, and that affected my confidence,” Graf said. “It was just not my day today. Sandra played very well and hardly made any mistakes. I should have won the match earlier.”

She had the chance.

The 17-year-old West German twice served for victory, at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set, but lost serve on both occasions.