International Players Tennis Championships : Wilander, Noah, Mecir Reach the Semifinals

Top-seeded Mats Wilander and No. 6 Yannick Noah won in straight sets Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the International Players Championships.

Third-seeded Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia, the defending champion in the $2.1 million event, also advanced with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory over Jay Berger.

Wilander needed only 82 minutes to top unseeded Aaron Krickstein, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0. Noah eliminated No. 19 Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Mecir said the crowd was a distraction in his match against Berger, who lives in nearby Plantation, Fla.

“It’s never a good feeling when you miss an easy ball and you hear clapping,” Mecir said.

But Mecir won several baseline rallies from Berger in the fourth-set tiebreaker and finished the match with an overhead smash.

Noah’s variety of shots overwhelmed Chesnokov’s reliance on ground strokes. Chesnokov had 13 winners from the baseline to five for Noah, but the Frenchman served well and had a 51-17 advantage in points at the net.

“He has just a one-dimensional game,” Noah said. “I tried to vary my game as much as I could--sliced balls, top spin, hit deep, hit short, stay in, stay back, come to the net.”

Noah’s opponent in Friday’s semifinals will be Wilander. The two have split their 10 career meetings.