Australian Open Tennis : Edberg, Wilander Win and Wait for Cash, Lendl

Sweden’s Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander, who have dominated the Australian Open for the last four years, see themselves as part of a four-way battle with Ivan Lendl and Pat Cash for this year’s title.

Edberg and Wilander swept into the quarterfinals of the $1.9-million tournament Monday, with Edberg defeating Australian junior Jason Stoltenberg, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, and Wilander ousting East German Christian Saceanu, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.

Also moving into the final eight were Anders Jarryd of Sweden, who outlasted unseeded Australian John Frawley, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, in 4 hours 9 minutes.

“I feel very happy with myself, that I could be out there four hours and still come back to win the match,” Jarryd said. “When I won the fourth set I felt like, ‘now I’ve got a really good chance to win the match.’ ”

Still, Wilander and Edberg do not give their fellow Swede much of a chance to win the tournament. They feel Cash, the Wimbledon champion, and top-ranked Lendl are the only threats to them.

Lendl plays unseeded Todd Witsken in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, while Cash meets Michiel Schapers of the Netherlands.

“I think all four are playing well,” Wilander said. “Lendl looks like he’s playing all right, Cash is playing very well, Edberg seems like he has picked up his game and I’m playing good too.

“It’s just hard to beat the best when it’s that hot and you are playing the best of five sets.”

Temperatures have been 100 and more during many of the matches.

Edberg said it is logical that the four top players should still remain.

“That’s what should happen,” Edberg said. “That’s what it looks like it’s going to be--Lendl and Cash in one half and me and Mats in the other.”

Edberg will face Andrei Chesnokov in the quarterfinals.

Chesnokov defeated left-hander Carl-Uwe Steeb of West Germany, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, in 1 hour 35 minutes.

“My next match is going to be awfully difficult because Chesnokov has had a very good run after three weeks (in New Zealand and Australia), and he’s played some good tennis.”

Wilander will meet sixth-seeded Jarryd in the quarterfinals.

In the women’s draw, No. 1 Steffi Graf trounced Catarina Linqvist of Sweden, 6-0, 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinals.

The 18-year-old West German next faces Czech-born Hana Mandlikova, the defending champion.

Mandlikova scored a 6-2, 6-4 victory over ninth-seeded Lori McNeil, while Australian Anne Minter upset Pam Shriver, 6-2, 6-4.

Minter has never reached the quarterfinals in nine years of playing Grand Slam events. She next plays sixth-seeded West German Claudia Kohde-Kilsch.

Shriver, nursing a groin strain, reacted slowly throughout.

“I knew I was going to be in trouble,” Shriver said. “I knew that anyone who could take advantage of it by hitting the ball back and away from me would put me in trouble.”