Tennis Roundup : Becker, Agassi Advance in Pro Indoor

Second-seeded Boris Becker rallied from a first-set loss to overpower Christo van Rensburg, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, Friday night in the $602,500 U.S. Pro Indoor Tennis Championships at Philadelphia.

Earlier, top-seeded Andre Agassi defeated Dan Goldie, 6-1, 6-4, advancing to a semifinal match today against third-seeded Tim Mayotte, who defeated Brad Gilbert, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Becker will meet No. 4-seeded Mikael Pernfors of Sweden, who defeated Robert Seguso, 6-4, 6-3.

Becker had eight double-faults, including three in the fourth game of the first set and two in the second game of the third set, both times losing his service. “Sometimes my concentration goes a little,” he said.

Goldie, seeded eighth, made a stand in the second set against Agassi after trailing 1-3. Both players used a two-handed backhand as they dueled from the baseline, and Goldie closed the gap to 4-5.

In the 14-point final game, Agassi lost five match points, then Goldie backhanded a volley wide to set up the sixth. Then Goldie hit a return into the net to end it.

For the second time in 10 days, John McEnroe had little trouble beating Carl Uwe Steeb of West Germany, this time advancing to the semifinals of the $291,000 Grand Prix tournament at Lyon, France, with a 6-2, 6-2 win.

Last week McEnroe beat the West German, ranked 92nd in the world, handily in the first round of the Milan tournament.

“After I took the game at 1-1, I feel the tide just turned. I was feeling very comfortable,” McEnroe said. “Everything just felt right. That’s what I hope to have in the next two days.”

McEnroe, seeded second, will next play Jonas Svensson, who defeated fellow Swede Magnus Gustafsson, 6-2, 6-0.

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova defeated Jenny Byrne of Australia, 6-1, 6-3, to reach the semifinals of the $250,000 Virginia Slims of California at Oakland.

Navratilova will face Larisa Savchenko of the Soviet Union, who defeated Patty Fendick, 6-1, 6-1. Another Soviet player, second-seeded Natalia Zvereva, advanced and will meet Zina Garrison.