French Open Tennis Championships : Becker Fights Off a Game Connors

It was not a good day for heroes in Roland Garros Stadium.

The French tennis fans lost their favorite son and their adopted son in one afternoon of superb clay-court tennis. First, Jimmy Connors, adopted by the French because he has entertained them for years, played well but not well enough, going down gamely but convincingly to Boris Becker, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.

That, thought the French, was a shame. They cheered Connors as he left, watched him give what may be a final wave here and then settled back for the main attraction, Mats Wilander against Yannick Noah.

It was Wilander whom Noah beat in the 1983 final to become the only Frenchman in the last 40 years to win this title. It was Wilander who beat Noah in the quarterfinals in 1984. Wednesday, it was Wilander who gave Noah the worst beating he ever has suffered here.

“He just dominated me, simple as that,” Noah said after the 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 romp. “He was just too good for me. I can’t ever remember getting beaten like that here.”

Wilander and Becker will meet in one semifinal, and Ivan Lendl, a winner here Tuesday, will play Miloslav Mecir in the other. Mecir, the only player left in the tournament who has not lost a set, finished up a rain-delayed 7-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Karel Novacek Wednesday morning.

By the time they were finished, a hot sun had climbed high into the sky, baking the court. For Becker that was just as he liked it. The harder and faster the court, the better.

But from the start, Becker picked his spots to come in, patiently staying on the base line and rallying with Connors.

Connors had chances. He saved two break points in the second game of the match but lost the game. He had three break points in the third game but lost it also. He had another game point in the fourth and lost that one too. Time and again, the big points escaped him. At 34, against someone playing as well as Becker, he could not afford to let such chances slip away.

But, this was not, by any stretch, the Connors who has at times looked helpless in recent years. It was not the Connors of 1985, flailing at Kevin Curren’s serves or the Connors of the U.S. Open a year ago, losing in straight sets to Todd Witsken.

On many days, this Connors would have beaten Becker. Even after he lost the first two sets, he had a chance, especially after a 40-minute rain delay gave him a rest. He had Becker diving and rolling, knocking him down three times. If it had been a fight, Connors might have won on a TKO. Connors even broke in the seventh game with two vintage passing shots.

Suddenly, he seemed to be into the match. But Becker turned the volume up slightly and broke right back for 4-all.

Connors hung on for 5-5 but, after Becker held easily for 6-5, quickly fell into a 15-40 hole when Becker rammed a backhand down the line. Becker was doing his fist-pumping act, and the end was in sight. Connors had one last burst of bravura left in him. He saved one match point with a forehand that Becker lunged for and netted. He saved the second match point with a service winner.

Back to deuce. From all over the packed stands came the shouts: “Allez-Jeembo!” Becker would have none of it. He dropped a lovely backhand just out of Connors’ reach and shook his fist again. Match point three was the last. Connors, as always, attacked until the end, coming in behind a backhand. But it was too fine, sailing just wide, and Becker was in the semifinals.

“I’m not satisfied to be in the semifinals,” Becker said. “It’s not enough. I came here to win.”

So did Wilander, who won here in 1982 and 1985. If he plays as he did Wednesday, Wilander will be tough for anyone to beat.

For most of the first set, Noah stayed even. But at 4-5, Wilander uncorked a backhand volley and a perfect topspin lob. Set point. Noah came in, Wilander ripped another backhand winner. It went quickly after that. Wilander broke in the second game of the second set, saved one of the three break points Noah had in the whole match in the next game and cruised.