Tennis Roundup : Smid Upsets Gomez, Faces Mezzadri

Tomas Smid of Czechoslovakia upset top-seeded Andres Gomez of Ecuador, 7-6, 4-6, 6-0, Saturday in the semifinals of the $231,000 Geneva Open tennis tournament.

In today’s final, Smid will face his doubles partner in this tournament, unseeded Claudio Mezzadri of Switzerland. Mezzadri beat sixth-seeded Ulf Stenlund of Sweden, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6, in 3 hours 39 minutes in the other semifinal.

Smid and Mezzadri have met in singles only once, and the Czechoslovak won.

Smid, who won the Geneva tournament in 1985 and who was a finalist in 1981 and 1982, had not beaten Gomez in Grand Prix competition since 1980.

“I knew if I volleyed well, I could beat him,” said the Czech Davis Cup player, ranked 37th in the world. “In the third set, I put on more pressure and took advantage of his poor passing shots.”

Gomez, ranked 11th in the world, rallied from 0-3, 0-30 to win the second set, but he lost the third set in 22 minutes in the two-hour match.

Mezzadri, ranked 61st in the world, had upset second-seeded Joakim Nystrom of Sweden in the second round. Saturday, he saved three match points at 3-6 in the third-set tiebreaker.

Stenlund had saved four match points in the second set at 4-5 and 5-6 and seemed to have the match in hand after rallying from 1-3 to go up, 5-4, on his service.

But Mezzadri, spurred by the home crowd, fought off cramps and fatigue to overcome the former Swedish junior champion whom he had beaten at Rome this year.

Jimmy Connors defeated David Pate, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3, in the Du Pont All American Championships at Amelia Island, Fla., and will face 17-year-old Andre Agassi in the final.

Earlier, Agassi trounced Robert Seguso, 6-1, 6-2, with a strong serve and quick returns in the 45-minute match.

“It would be an honor to play Connors,” Agassi said. “I first hit with him when I was 4 years old and my father was stringing his racquets. I’ve been a fan of Connors ever since.”

In women’s play, Pam Shriver defeated Mary Jo Fernandez, 6-2, 6-1. In today’s final, Shriver will play Stephanie Rehe, who beat Zina Garrison Thursday.

At Florham Park, N.J., top-seeded Alvin Gardiner of Playa del Rey defeated Roger McKee of Eugene, Ore., 6-4, 7-6, in the semifinals of the U.S. National Men’s 35 Grass Court championships. He will face Gilberto Rincon of Lapeer, Mich., in the final. Rincon beat Mark Booth of Memphis, Tenn., 6-2, 6-4.