Tennis Roundup : McEnroe Too Much for Gilbert This Time

John McEnroe had a score to settle with Brad Gilbert.

McEnroe, off to his best start since 1985, scored a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 victory over Gilbert Saturday to win his record fifth WCT finals championship at Dallas.

“It’s great to be back,” McEnroe said. “It’s as good as I’ve played since the birth of my children. I’ll take it easy a few weeks and get ready for the Davis Cup against France (in early April).”

Gilbert has beaten McEnroe just once in 12 meetings, but that defeat at the 1985 Masters sent McEnroe into a six-month sabbatical saying, “I’m not going to play tennis if I lose to jerks like that.”

The sixth-ranked McEnroe ran his all-time WCT Finals bankroll to $925,000 with the $200,000 he won against 16th-ranked Gilbert, who settled for $100,000.

Gilbert was competitive only in the third set, which went to a tiebreaker. McEnroe won, 7-3, when Gilbert double-faulted on match point.

McEnroe, who has a 21-4 record career record in the WCT finals, is 15-2 this year, his best start since he won his first 10 matches of 1985.

Steffi Graf overcame frigid winds and Hana Mandlikova, 7-6, 6-3, in the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Hardcourt Championships at San Antonio.

“I have never played in such terrible weather,” Graf said. “You have to have luck. You have no rhythm at all. I’m happy it’s over.”

Graf was on the verge of losing her first set of the year when she trailed, 5-4, in the opening set. However, she fought off two set points with the help of a miss-hit by Mandlikova, and rallied to even the set, 5-5, and eventually won the tiebreaker, 7-4.

“I missed an easy forehand volley,” Mandlikova said. “The whole match would have been totally different, obviously. With her big swings, it’s harder for her to play in this weather. But she came up with good points when she needed it.”

Ann Henricksson defeated Katrina Adams, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, in the other semifinal.