Australian Open Tennis Championships : Becker Burns Bright, but Shriver Has Close Call With Loosemore : Australia’s Cahill Upsets Fifth-Seeded Hlasek in First Round; Mecir and Pernfors Advance

When he’s on the court wearing his shirt that looks like dripped candle wax and when he’s busy smashing those hot serves just out of someone’s reach, Boris Becker plays tennis as if there were a fire smoldering in his red hair.

And when he’s off the court, Becker lives with a dream. He can see the Grand Slam tournaments of tennis in his sleep.

“The dream is to win all four,” Becker said. “I don’t think anyone can do it this year. Maybe I’m wrong.”

Many believe Becker is incorrect, and either he or Ivan Lendl will win the Australian Open. Becker, the third-seeded player, moved to the round of 32 Thursday with a routine 7-5, 7-1, 6-3 victory over Kelly Evernden of New Zealand.

Becker, who meets Chris Pridham of Canada in the fourth round, wasn’t particularly eager to start handicapping his chances.

“I personally see myself now not one of 128, but one of 32 who have a chance of winning the tournament.”

Pridham, 23, ranked 202 in the world, won 12-10 in the fifth set, a 4-hour, 4-minute match over American Glenn Layendecker.

“I’m going to go in there with the frame of mind that he’s beatable, but I’ve got nothing to lose,” Pridham said. “I just hope I play well.”

Pam Shriver, the fourth-seeded women’s player, clearly did not play well in her match against Sarah Loosemore, 17, of Great Britain. Shriver avoided an upset with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Shriver, who had trouble serving, was helped by Loosemore, who also had problems serving. She double-faulted 11 times.

Shriver said the Rebound Ace surface does not favor a big service game, but admitted serving was only part of her problems.

“I didn’t go out there thinking I was exactly playing a blind school,” Shriver said. “When I looked at the scoreboard and saw 6-1, I realized I was having some problems.

“I just have to grit my way through and develop some kind of form that’s better in a hurry,” she said.

Miloslav Mecir and Mikael Pernfors advanced, but Anders Jarryd did not. Mecir, seeded ninth, defeated Mark Kratzmann, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2, and the 12th-seeded Pernfors defeated Tore Meinecke of West Germany, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

Mecir, unshaven and with a slightly rumpled appearance, looked as if he had just fallen out of bed and landed on the tennis court for his 10 a.m. match.

“It was a bit early for me,” he said.

The time was clearly right for Hana Mandlikova and Helena Sukova, who joined Shriver in the third round with victories.

However, 14th-seeded Anne Minter was defeated by Brenda Schultx of Holland, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

Gabriella Sabatini, seeded third, advanced with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Conchita Martinez, 16, of Spain in a late Center Court match Wednesday night.

But fifth-seeded Jakob Hlasek was not as fortunate. Hlasek was ousted by Australian Darren Cahill, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6.

Hlasek, who was the last seeded player to play his first-round match, became the third to lose, following Frenchmen Henri Leconte and Yannick Noah.

Becker, who reached the round of 16 here last year and was eliminated in the first round in 1985, said he is aiming for more consistency in Grand Slam events. Sometimes such results, even if they are not victories, would naturally improve his ranking, he said.

“In order to become the No. 1 player, you have to have those semifinals in Grand Slam events,” he said. “This is the key, I think, for really going a step higher.

“That was my problem. I had 2 or 3 in a row where I lost second round or round of 16, which is good enough to be No. 4 or 3 or even 2, but not No. 1. That was the strong point of Mats last year.”