Tennis Roundup : Wilander Takes Yet Another Embarrassing Fall

Second-ranked Mats Wilander continued his downward slide Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Francesco Cancellotti of Italy in the second round of the Tournament of Champions at Forest Hills, N.Y.

Cancellotti, ranked 86th in the world, eliminated the Swede in 57 minutes at the West Side Tennis Club.

“The Wilander I beat today is not the No. 2 player in the world,” said Cancellotti, who won his first-round match earlier in the day. “He’s a completely different player than last year. It looks like it doesn’t make a difference whether he wins or loses.”

“I played a good match today, but he’s not fighting anymore. Maybe he can’t find the right motivation. You should ask him what’s going on in his mind.”

Reporters didn’t have a chance because Wilander didn’t show up for the postmatch interview. He apparently is tired of explaining the slump he has endured since taking the No. 1 ranking from Ivan Lendl in the U.S. Open last September.

Wilander held the top spot for just four months, falling to second with an early loss at the Australian Open in January. Since then, he has lost six of 11 matches, including two defeats by Austrians in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

“To see Wilander on the court like this is not a good thing for tennis,” Cancellotti said.

Lendl breezed into the third round with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Martin Wostenholme of Canada.

Fifth-seeded Yannick Noah of France had to retire because of a foot injury. Noah reinjured his right foot during a second-round match against Jaime Yzaga of Peru.

Noah lost the first set, 6-2, and was serving at 2-2 in the second when he rushed the net, pulled up hobbling and fell to the ground in pain. He was helped to his feet but walked off under his own power.

In other second-round matches, defending champion Andre Agassi, who has not reached a Grand Prix final this year, took control in the third set to beat Fernando Luna of Spain, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0; fourth-seeded Tim Mayotte downed Bruno Oresar of Yugoslavia, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; No. 7 Brad Gilbert defeated Alex Antonitsch of Austria, 7-5, 6-4, and No. 8 Michael Chang saved four match points before turning back Josef Cihak of Czechoslovakia, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

“This was a good win for me,” Chang said. “When you’re down like that, you want to find the nearest bed and go to sleep.”

In a first-round match, No. 13 Jay Berger was upset by Richey Reneberg, 6-7 (7-6), 6-4, 6-4.

Andrea Vieira, an 18-year-old Brazilian, upset second-seeded Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4, in a $200,000 Virginia Slims tournament at Hamburg, West Germany.

The match was interrupted by darkness Tuesday, and Vieira completed the victory Wednesday.

“I never heard of her before,” said Sukova, ranked fifth in the world and the runner-up in the Australian Open. “She used my mistakes.”

Said Vieira, ranked 128th in the world: “This was a totally unexpected victory for me.”

Sylvia Hanika of West Germany reached the third round by beating Patricia Tarabini of Argentina, 6-3, 6-1.

“I was able to apply full pressure,” said Hanika, who had to withdraw from a tournament in Barcelona last week because of a shoulder injury.

In other action, Arantxa Sanchez of Spain ousted Wiltrud Probst of West Germany, 6-2, 6-2, while Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria beat Christine Damas of France, 6-2, 6-3.

Nicole Jagerman of the Netherlands earned the dubious honor of becoming top-seeded Steffi Graf’s first opponent by sweeping past Gisele Miro of Brazil, 6-3, 6-1.

Graf advanced to the third round by default when Sabine Hack of West Germany became ill and withdrew from the clay-court tournament.

Audra Keller of Memphis, seeded No. 1 in the 18-and-under division, opened the Seventeen Magazine tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Vickie Paynter of Denville, N.J., at Mission Viejo.

Second-seeded Cammie Foley of Bonita also advanced, but she was extended before finally downing Michelle McMillen of East Palestine, Ohio, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

In the 16-and-under competition, No. 1-seeded Keri Phebus of Newport Beach scored a 6-2, 6-0 win over Susie Starett of North Aurora, Ill.

In the 14-and-under class, Nicole London of Rolling Hills Estates beat Robyn Gurney of Candler, N.C., 6-1, 6-0.

The tournament, which includes 96 players from 30 states and Puerto Rico, continues through Saturday.