Lendl to Face Wilander Again in Open Final

After all the upsets, after all the new faces and surprise winners, the U.S. Open has come down to the top two. Again.

Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander, neighbors in Greenwich, Conn., as well as the highest-ranked men’s players in the world, today will stage a rematch of last year’s Open final.

Top-seeded Lendl moved closer to an unprecedented fourth consecutive American championship Saturday with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Andre Agassi. Second-seeded Wilander beat Darren Cahill of Australia, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

The power and steadiness of Lendl’s strokes were too much for Agassi to overcome. Fourth-seeded Agassi, 18, who is from Las Vegas, ended a 23-match winning streak. Agassi has won six tournaments this year, including his previous three.

“I didn’t come here to beat Agassi. I came to win the tournament,” said Lendl, who is 13-6 against Wilander. “One was great, two was incredible, three was unbelievable and four will be better than that.

“I think his strength is he is a lot faster,” Agassi said of Lendl, “and he doesn’t only get the ball back, but he’s prepared. It’s tough to get him on the run or on the defensive.”

Agassi’s grunting in the first set put Lendl on the defensive, and he complained to the umpire about it.

“Andre grunts, which is fine, but when he goes for winners, he grunts even harder,” Lendl said. “It throws your rhythm and your timing off. I don’t think he does it on purpose. I don’t think he knows how disturbing it is.”

Lendl said he sensed “in the second and third sets, it was like he was giving up. He went for shots he knew were not going to go in. It was almost like he was giving away the shots, and I didn’t understand that.”

Agassi broke Lendl in the fourth game of the opening set, but Lendl responded with a break in the seventh game. Agassi then won the set with a break in the 10th game.

But Lendl took control of the next two sets with his precision groundstrokes and forceful serves.

The fourth set stayed on serve until Agassi blew a 40-0 lead in the 10th game. When he sent a forehand wide, Lendl advanced to his seventh straight Open final.

Lendl, winner of 27 consecutive matches here, is seeking his first Grand Slam title this year and seventh overall. Wilander, who won the Australian and French Opens this year, also has six Grand Slam titles. He will stake a claim to the top ranking if he wins his first Open title.

“If I lose in straight sets, I’m not going to feel like No. 1,” he said.

Lendl said he believed the final would decide No. 1.

“I’ll probably keep my No. 1 ranking on the computer if I win tomorrow. . . . Put it this way, if I lose tomorrow, I can’t be No. 1. But if I win, it’s a pretty good chance.”

Lendl is threatening Jimmy Connors’ record for the longest time spent as No. 1: 159 consecutive weeks. He can break the record if he is still No. 1 on Oct. 3.