Advertisement

Tennis Roundup : Fitzgerald Upsets Edberg, Faces Becker

Share
From Times Wire Services

Sixth-seeded John Fitzgerald of Australia upset top-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden, 7-6, 6-0, Saturday and will meet Boris Becker in the final of the $627,500 Seiko Super tennis tournament at Tokyo.

Becker, seeded second, also went to a tiebreaker before beating Richard Matuszewski, 7-6, 6-1, in the other semifinal match before 11,000 spectators at the Yoyogi National Stadium.

Fitzgerald won his tiebreaker, 7-2. Becker won his, 7-5.

Matuszewski appeared to lose his concentration after the tiebreaker, and Becker broke service three times before Matuszewski ended the match with a net ball.

Advertisement

After his loss to Fitzgerald, Edberg said: “I could not play my own game because I played too much this year. I played almost a whole year this season. I played a lot more than usual.”

The event is part of the Nabisco Grand Prix series.

Top-seeded Pam Shriver and Manuela Maleeva advanced to the final of the $200,000 European Indoor women’s tournament at Zurich, Switzerland.

Shriver, the only American entered, wore down Claudia Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany, the No. 4-seeded player, 6-4, 6-4. Maleeva, of Bulgaria, edged 16-year-old Spanish upstart Conchita Martinez, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Martinez, who has risen to No. 51 in the world rankings in her first year on the pro circuit, surprised Maleeva with equally strong forehand and backhand strokes and a powerful serve.

“Physically, it was the toughest match I’ve had in a year,” said the 21-year-old Maleeva, who is No. 8 in the world. “Both mentally and physically it was difficult.”

Tracy Austin, seeking a comeback at 25, was a loser in a doubles semifinal. She and Shriver were ousted, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, by Kohde-Kilsch and Czechoslovakia’s Helena Sukova.

Advertisement
Advertisement