Tennis Roundup : Mecir Gains Final by Beating McEnroe

Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia defeated John McEnroe, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, Saturday and advanced to today’s final of the $350,000 Stuttgart Invitational tennis tournament at Stuttgart, West Germany.

Mecir will face Andres Gomez of Ecuador, who beat Carl-Uwe Steeb of West Germany, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, in the other semifinal.

McEnroe amused the fans for several minutes by declaring that he wouldn’t continue play after British line judge George Grime gave him a penalty point for throwing his racket.

“The judge took away my desire to play,” McEnroe said, although he continued after several minutes of discussions. “Mecir made the most important points. His skillful play is frustrating for any opponent.”

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova and second-seeded Chris Evert scored semifinal victories to advance to today’s final of the $250,000 Chicago Virginia Slims tournament.

Navratilova turned back fifth-seeded Helena Sukova, 6-4, 6-3, and Evert downed Manuela Maleeva, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

Navratilova broke Sukova in the ninth game of the opening set and again in the ninth game of the second set, diluting her powerful serve with excellent returns and scoring numerous points from the net with passing shots.

Evert’s effective use of her backhand and occasional high arching shot broke Maleeva’s rhythm in the final set as the world’s seventh-ranked player hit numerous returns out of bounds.

Fourth-seeded Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland upset top-seeded Henri Leconte of France, 6-4, 7-5, in the $450,000 Benson and Hedges championships at Wembley, England.

Hlasek will meet fifth-seeded Jonas Svensson, who overcame No. 8-seeded John Fitzgerald of Australia in the other semifinal match, 7-5, 6-4, today.

“I feel really good and I am looking forward to the final with a lot of confidence,” Hlasek said. “I know I have never won a title, but I am feeling very confident now.”

Hlasek, who has never won a title in 5 years on the pro circuit, reached the fifth final of his career on his 24th birthday.

“He’s obviously very confident and at the moment he is playing top-10 tennis,” Leconte said.