Tennis Roundup : Connors Wins as Odizor Penalized

Fourth-seeded Jimmy Connors squeezed out a tough three-set victory over Nigerian Nduka Odizor Friday night to reach the semifinals of the $375,000 Assn. of Tennis Professionals tournament at Mason, Ohio.

Connors’ 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 victory included a game penalty against Odizor in the second set.

Odizor, who lives in Houston, was angered by a line call in the ninth game, which he won on his serve to take a 5-4 lead. He hit a ball into the stands on the exchange and was warned by chair umpire Richard Kaufman. A prolonged argument ensued with Kaufman, who penalized Odizor a point for unsportsmanlike conduct and, as the argument wore on, a game for delay.

The players exchanged service breaks to set up Odizor’s tiebreaker victory. But Connors broke Odizor twice to win a third set that included several brilliant rallies.

Connors’ semifinal opponent today will be Stefan Edberg, who needed just 63 minutes to beat Brad Gilbert, 6-1, 6-3.

In the other semifinal, third-seeded Boris Becker faces Sweden’s Anders Jarryd, who eliminated countryman Peter Lundgren, 6-4, 6-4.

Becker had little trouble against the hobbled Mikael Pernfors of Sweden, who was forced to retire in the second set because of a groin pull and lost, 6-3, 2-1.

Lundgren was knocked from the southwest Ohio tournament one day after the biggest upset of his four-year professional career. Lundgren, ranked 79th in the world, toppled defending champion and top-seeded Mats Wilander in two sets Thursday.

After a close first set against Jarryd on Friday, he broke him to roll up a 4-1 lead in the second.

A light sprinkle held up play for 14 minutes, and Lundgren lacked his spark when he returned. Jarryd broke his serve twice, as Lungren made numerous unforced errors.

Pernfors suffered his groin pull a few weeks ago and aggravated it Thursday when he tumbled over the net in a singles match and cut his face. The cut required two stitches, and the groin pull prevented him from moving around the court Friday.

“I just wanted to see if I could play,” Pernfors said. “I probably should’ve quit earlier than I did.”

Chris Evert dispatched hometown favorite Helen Kelesi, 6-1, 6-0, from the quarterfinals of the $280,000 Canadian Open women’s tournament at Toronto.

In the semifinals, Evert will face third-seeded Pam Shriver, who beat Gabriela Sabatini, 6-2, 6-1.

Evert, a four-time winner of this event, ran her 17-year-old opponent around the court, causing Kelesi to laugh at the end of the hourlong match about the futility of her effort.

“I don’t think I can play any better than I did tonight,” said Evert. “I just didn’t want her to get into the match. She’s tough enough, let alone with a little encouragement from the crowd.”

In other matches, Bettina Bunge defeated Barbara Potter, 6-2, 6-0, and Zina Garrison outlasted unseeded Anne Minter of Australia, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.