Tennis Roundup : Svensson Upsets Pate to Win Tournament

Jonas B. Svensson of Sweden, a 20-year-old ranked 25th in the world, scored his fourth straight upset of the week Sunday, beating eighth-seeded David Pate, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, in the final of the $150,000 Norstar Hamlet Challenge Cup tournament at Jericho, N.Y.

Svensson, who reached the final by beating fifth-seeded Anders Jarryd of Sweden, third-seeded Pat Cash of Australia, and seventh-seeded Henri Leconte of France, earned $37,000 for the victory.

Pate, of Las Vegas, who beat top-ranked Ivan Lendl earlier this week, earned $17,500.

Svensson, who ranks below Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander, Kent Carlsson, Joakim Nystrom and Jarryd among Sweden’s players, said: “My game is very good now. The thing is, I’m not strong yet in my mental game.”

At Rye Brook, N.Y., Peter Lundgren of Sweden scored a 6-7, 7-5, 6-3, victory over John Ross of Gainesville, Fla., in the final of the NYNEX Open.

After dropping the first set, Lundgren broke Ross’ service twice to win the second set. The Swede broke Ross again in the opening game of the final set and went on to close out the match.

Lundgren will play Cash, the Wimbledon champion, in the opening round of the U.S. Open this week.

Ross, after his loss Sunday, rushed to the National Tennis Center, 28 miles away, to play a qualifying match for the Open.

Ross, who had never reached a final of a Grand Prix event, had to play three qualifying matches to get into the main draw of the NYNEX tournament. He also played a U.S. Open qualifying match Saturday before winning his semifinal match at NYNEX.

“It’s been a hassle playing in the two tournaments,” Ross said. “However, I’m not complaining. This is the best week of tennis I’ve ever played.”

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova overcame a shaky start on the slow Bryn Bawr College courts, then cruised past second-seeded Helen Kelesi, 6-4, 6-0, in the final of the Kiss 100 Invitational at Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Navratilova earned $20,000 for winning the tournament, which officially was an exhibition.

Navratilova next attempts to defend her U.S. Open title. She is seeded second behind Steffi Graf.

Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria beat Sylvia Hanika of West Germany, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the final of the $150,000 United Jersey Bank women’s tournament at Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J.

Maleeva, ranked No. 10 in the world, earned $30,500 to boost her career earnings to $1,002,963 and become the 21st female player to top the $1-million level. Hanika, next on the earnings list, settled for the $13,500 second prize and now has a total of $984,147.