Tennis Roundup : Hard-Serving Becker Sweeps Past McEnroe

Top-seeded Boris Becker used his big serves to defeat John McEnroe, 6-4, 6-2, in the singles final of the $415,000 U.S. Hardcourt tennis tournament Sunday at Indianapolis.

The West German, who has a 3-1 career edge over McEnroe, ripped a forehand winner off McEnroe’s serve to gain a crucial break and a 5-4 lead in the first set. He then won 12 of the hour-long set’s last 14 points before a sellout crowd at the Indianapolis Sports Center.

“I wanted to be very hot in the beginning, because he usually starts very well,” Becker said.

McEnroe agreed.

“I played a good first set. I had my chances, but I didn’t capitalize,” he said. “When I lost that first set, I felt like I lost control of the match.”

Becker took a 2-0 lead in the second set before McEnroe closed to 2-3.

But the match belonged to Becker, who had seven aces, after that. He lost just one point in the sixth game and used consecutive aces to wrap up the match in a 33-minute second set.

It was only the fifth tournament of the year for McEnroe, who was appearing in his first final since April.

“In the second set, I wasn’t moving as well. I felt like I lost half a step,” he said.

Becker, ranked fifth in the world, won $50,575 in his first tournament since he lost the Wimbledon final to Stefan Edberg.

In the doubles final, the third-seeded team of Rick Leach of Laguna Beach and Jim Pugh of Palos Verdes defeated top-seeded Ken Flach and Robert Seguso of Sebring, Fla., 6-4, 6-3.

Second-seeded Stephanie Rehe powered her way past 17-year-old amateur Anne Grossman, 6-1, 6-1, in the $100,000 Virginia Slims of San Diego final.

Rehe, of Highland, Calif., had seven service breaks during the 1-hour 22-minute match. Using baseline winners at every opportunity, she kept Grossman, from Grove City, Ohio, pinned to the baseline much of the time.

“She hit the ball well, but missed a few shots. The way I played her today was correct for me,” said Rehe, who lost one set all week.

Said Grossman: “She played the big points great, she returned very well. She’s a strong girl. It’s my first final, the biggest I’ve ever been in.”

Grossman, who had to gain entry as a qualifier, said she was tired after playing seven matches before the final. The last time a qualifier reached a Virginia Slims final was in 1985 when Helen Kelesi of Canada lost to Barbara Potter in New York.

It was Rehe’s second tournament victory this year. She earned $17,000. Grossman maintained her amateur status by giving up the $8,500 runner-up check.

At Kitzbuhel, Austria, third-seeded Kent Carlsson outlasted defending champion Emilio Sanchez of Spain, 6-1, 6-1, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, to become the first Swede to win the $290,000 Austrian Open.

Sanchez, after having problems with his serving and his timing from the baseline, evened the match at two sets each with an attacking style.

But Carlsson, 20, took the first two games of the fifth set and surged ahead, 5-2. He wrapped up the match on his own serve at 15.

At Brewster, Mass., Tom Gullikson of Palm Coast, Fla., served well and played aggressively to defeat Jaime Fillol of Alamo, Calif., 6-4, 6-2, in the $40,000 Prudential-Bache Grand Champions final at Ocean Edge Resort. The start of the senior event was delayed four hours by a severe thunderstorm.