Tennis Roundup : Fitzgerald Upsets Edberg, Faces Becker
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.
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.
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