Tennis Roundup : Shriver Finally Gets Evert Before It’s Too Late, 6-4, 6-1

Pam Shriver sought perfection because she knew it was the only way.

Shriver was flawless Saturday while posting her first career victory over Chris Evert, 6-4, 6-1, in the semifinals of the $280,000 Canadian Open at Toronto.

“I just played a very intelligent match,” said Shriver, ranked No. 5 in the world. “You have to play an almost perfect match to beat her--I know because I’ve played 18 unperfect matches against her.

“I was beginning to think Chris would be retired before I’d ever be able to beat her.”

Shriver will face fifth-seeded Zina Garrison of Houston in today’s final. Garrison defeated No. 8 Bettina Bunge of Monaco, 6-2, 6-3, in the other semifinal.

Shriver had two service breaks in each set. The most dramatic came in the final game of the opening set, which went to deuce six times. Shriver finally won it on her fourth set point.

“I’m almost relieved that it (losing to Shriver) finally happened,” said Evert, the No. 3-ranked player in the world. “It’s long overdue. Every time I’ve played her I’ve wondered, ‘Is this going to be the match?’ It was her day.

“I’ll have a lot more respect for her game from now on. There wasn’t much I could do against her. She’s never played that well against me.”

Shriver suggested Evert was “probably relieved I beat her here and not at the U.S. Open,” which begins Aug. 31.

Second-seeded Stefan Edberg needed just 67 minutes to rout Jimmy Connors, 6-2, 6-3, and move into the final of the Assn. of Tennis Professionals Championship at Mason, Ohio.

Edberg will face third-seeded Boris Becker in today’s final.

Becker used his overpowering serve to defeat Anders Jarryd, 6-3, 6-3, in the other semifinal. Jarryd defeated Becker the last two times they played.

Service breaks in the second and eighth games gave Edberg the first set. Edberg broke Connors, seeded fourth, to make it 3-1 in the second set, and served out for the match.

Top-seeded Brian Page of Palos Hills, Ill., beat second-seeded Eric Amend of Los Angeles, 7-6, 6-4, in the final of the U.S. National Amateur at Kiamesha Lake, N.Y.

Page rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the first set, then won the tie-breaker, 7-5, after falling behind, 4-2.

Page, a senior at Clemson, lost to Amend, a junior at USC, three times in junior events and once in a collegiate match in 1985.