In the End, Becker Is Too Quick : He Bolts to Win Over Hlasek, Will Face Lendl in Final

He was a red-headed blur moving toward the net. Boris Becker was hopelessly out of position, but he gave chase anyway.

Becker could have left a contrail as he took off after a drop shot that had cleared the net by an inch. The ball bounced once.

At the last instant, Becker flicked his racket and sent a backhand just out of Jakob Hlasek’s reach.

“I had no time to think,” Becker said later. “I had to run.”

With that shot, Becker moved to match point in a second-set tiebreaker. One volley later, Becker earned the right to meet an old foe.

Becker and Ivan Lendl, who played their last match on the Center Court grass at Wimbledon, meet again tonight on a blue carpet in Madison Square Garden.

The men’s professional tennis season comes to an end in the final of the $750,000 Nabisco Masters, which will be a rematch for Lendl against Becker, who managed a four-set victory in their Wimbledon semifinal.

Lendl, who beat Becker in Masters finals in 1986 and 1987, has a chance to do it again and finish with $270,000--$150,000 for first place, plus the $120,000 he has already won in four matches this week.

Lendl scored a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Stefan Edberg in one semifinal match Sunday, while Becker finally solved the Hlasek riddle in the other, but not before being pushed to two tie-breakers in a 7-6, 7-6 victory.

For Lendl, this will be his ninth Masters final appearance. He has won five times. Lendl is 11-5 against Becker, but he lost the one that counted the most: the 1986 Wimbledon final.

But even before the latest Ivan-Boris show became possible, they both had to dispose of opponents who presented two different kinds of problems.

Edberg’s serve, which he used to great advantage to eliminate Mats Wilander on Saturday, was not much of a problem for Lendl.

The first set turned on Lendl’s service break at 4-3, which he accomplished on the first break-point possibility he had with a backhand winner on a service return.

Lendl closed out the first set, 6-3, and when both players held service through the second set, they moved to a tiebreaker, where once again Lendl took advantage of his chances and scored two points on Edberg’s serve.

Lendl said his concentration level has picked up, even though he lost three exhibition matches in his first appearances since shoulder surgery in September and despite his first round-robin loss to Hlasek.

Two of the exhibition defeats were to Becker.

“I learned I wasn’t hitting the ball well,” he said. “In a funny way, it gave me confidence though I lost.”

Becker may have been the odds-on favorite against Hlasek, who had reached the semifinals unbeaten, but Becker said playing someone he should beat is not as easy as it sounds.

“(Hlasek) had nothing to lose,” Becker said. “He was just happy to be here. Today, everything was in my hands. I was expected to win.”

The pressure showed first on Becker. In the first set, he led, 4-1, and was up a break only to have Hlasek break him back at love two games later.

Forced to a tiebreaker, Becker said he relied on his match play experience, allowing Hlasek only two points on his serve and winning, 7-2.

Becker was down a break at 2-4 in the second set, but broke back at 15 and the match moved to another tiebreaker.

“At 4-2, it would have made the difference, I think,” Hlasek said. “I break him and I just couldn’t hold.”

Hlasek hit two poor shots to begin the tiebreaker--an easy forehand that went wide in an open court and a backhand long from the baseline. The pressure had moved to a new location.

“There was a lot of pressure on me in the second tiebreaker,” Hlasek said.

Becker double-faulted to 4-3, but Hlasek missed a backhand wide and then Becker got to his drop shot, which put Becker into winning position when his volley bounced away from Hlasek at match point.

“The crucial points I won because I have played more often under those moments,” Becker said. “That, I think, was the difference today.”

Lendl said his game has come around since his shoulder surgery, which he says no longer causes him any discomfort. Becker believes Lendl is himself again.

“I think he’s back in top shape and he’s played good tennis, especially under pressure.”

Edberg, however, is not as sure.

“I think he still has a long ways to go,” Edberg said. “He’s playing well, but I think he can play better. He’s not playing well in front of the court. He doesn’t know how to move in the front of the court.”

Hlasek, who played both Lendl and Becker this week, said the match will be decided on how well Becker serves.

“As long as I could put the ball back in play on his serve, I thought I could control the game,” Hlasek said.

“I think it depends on Boris’ first serve (against Lendl). If he hits as hard and as well as today, I think he’ll win. If he misses some first serves, I think Ivan will roll over him.”