French Open Tennis Championships : Graf, Zvereva Play in Final Today; Wilander, Leconte Meet Sunday

Two-time champion Mats Wilander of Sweden wore out Andre Agassi in a five-set semifinal Friday at the French Open tennis championships to advance to Sunday’s final against Henri Leconte.

Wilander, seeded third, reached the final of the $3.9-million tournament for the fifth time in seven years by outlasting Agassi, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 6-0, in a four-hour struggle.

Leconte, seeded 11th, overwhelmed unseeded Jonas Svensson of Sweden with his serve-and-volley tactics and nonstop attack in a 7-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory that took 2 hours 15 minutes.

In today’s women’s final, defending champion Steffi Graf will play Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union in a battle of the young against the younger.

Graf became the youngest French Open women’s champion a year ago, when she won the title one week shy of her 18th birthday.

But in a tournament where youth and upsets have ruled, the West German was the oldest semifinalist, at 18 years 11 months 3 weeks. She faces an opponent almost two years younger in the final.

Graf has made the finals of the last five Grand Slam tournaments, winning the Australian Open this year in addition to last year’s French Open. She lost at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Zvereva, who turned 17 a month ago, is in her first major final. She won the French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior titles last year and was recognized as the world junior champion.

She is the first Soviet to gain a Grand Slam final since her occasional coach, Olga Morozova, lost to Chris Evert in both the 1974 Wimbledon and French Open.

Graf was seeded No. 1 here. Zvereva was seeded 13th but along the way she picked up a lot of respect by eliminating second-seeded Martina Navratilova.

Wilander had to defeat a real crowd pleaser Friday to get himself into the final against the first Frenchman to make the final since Yannick Noah won the title in 1983.

Wilander has defeated Leconte 8 of the 10 times they have played, including the last 4 meetings. The Swede has a 4-1 record on clay against the 24-year-old French left-hander.

On Friday, Wilander, who was just 17 when he won the French Open in 1982, matched the spectacular shots of the 18-year-old Agassi with solid returns and excellent court coverage.

“I could see that he got physically very tired,” said Wilander, who also won the tournament in 1985. “I think the first game of the fifth set turned out to be more important than we realized. I think if he had won, he might have gotten excited and forgotten about being tired.”

Agassi admitted he ran out of steam after that game, in which he wasted two break points, and Wilander recovered to hold his serve. Agassi won just four points the rest of the match.

“I gave it all I had, and it wasn’t enough. Basically I started feeling it first in my legs,” he said. “Emotionally, I think I was a little discouraged after the first game of the fifth set.”

Agassi charmed the crowd by laughing at his own mistakes, growling loudly as he hit winning shots and pretending to give a linesman money after a favorable call. He also took an umbrella from the stands and prepared to return serve while holding it when an intermittent drizzle became harder.

But in between the antics, he also thrilled the crowd and impressed his opponent with a sparkling display of power tennis.

“I think he surprised me a lot. I didn’t think he was this good,” Wilander said. “I’ve never played against a player who hits the ball that hard.”

The Swede, who lost in last year’s French Open final to Ivan Lendl, also praised Agassi’s court presence.

“I think it’s good for tennis,” Wilander said. “He’s a real sportsman. It’s great if he can keep that attitude, but it’s hard when you’ve been playing for several years.”

Agassi won six of the final seven games of the first set but had trouble with his serve in the next two sets, losing it five consecutive times over a span that included a 17-minute interruption for rain.

He rallied to win the fourth set and bowed to acknowledge a standing ovation from many in the crowd of 11,000, but he faded quickly in the final set.

“I’ve learned that if I ever want to win a tournament like this, I’m going to have to be a lot physically stronger,” said the 5-foot 10-inch, 150-pound native of Las Vegas. “That will come, because I’m still growing.”

The winner of the women’s final will earn more than $246,000. The loser pockets $123,000. Zvereva’s money will go the Soviet Tennis Federation, and it will give here a stipend that should more than cover her expenses.