Tennis Roundup : No Sweat as Lendl Beats Yzaga for Title, 6-2, 6-1

Ivan Lendl wore sweat pants during the Tournament of Champions final Monday, but he hardly broke a sweat.

The world’s top-ranked player routed unseeded Jaime Yzaga of Peru, 6-2, 6-1, to become the first three-time winner of this clay-court tournament on a chilly, windy day at the West Side Tennis Club in New York.

“It was very cold and unpleasant,” Lendl said. “I don’t enjoy wearing sweat pants because it’s uncomfortable, but today it was necessary.

“I don’t think he liked the conditions any better than I did. I was just able to overpower him.”

Lendl, who also won this event in 1982 and 1985, swept through five matches without losing a set to win his fourth title of the year.

The temperature was in the low 50s and a brisk wind made it feel much colder, but Lendl said he has played in worse conditions.

“I remember one time in Czechoslovakia in early May we had to stop because of snowflakes,” he said. “We were using white balls and you couldn’t see them.

“I was moving very well (Monday) and I felt strong. Whatever was happening on the court, I felt comfortable.”

Yzaga, ranked 56th in the world, won a set from Lendl in each of their two previous matches. But the 21-year-old Peruvian never posed a serious threat in this final, which was delayed a day because of rain earlier in the tournament.

“He’s the No. 1 player in the world and he’s tough to beat on every point,” Yzaga said. “He won’t give you any free points, so you have to earn them.

“I was a little impatient in the first set. I tried to finish the points too fast and that’s why I made a lot of mistakes.”

Lendl broke Yzaga in the opening game at love and went on to win the first set in 34 minutes.

Lendl earned $82,450, and Yzaga received $41,255.

Guillermo Vilas and Jimmy Arias, two former standouts who are unseeded in this event, pulled off upsets in the opening round of the $220,000 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Charleston, S.C.

Vilas beat fourth-seeded Dan Goldie, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, and Jimmy Arias defeated eighth-seeded Bruno Oresar of Yugoslavia, 6-1, 6-3.

In the day’s other match involving a seeded player, No. 6 Jay Berger defeated Claudio Panatta of Italy, 6-1, 6-3.

“He was steady. He was playing well,” Vilas said of Goldie. “He never slowed down. I can’t say I was lucky, but I had good timing today.”

Unseeded Petra Langrova of Czechoslovakia upset ninth-seeded Nicole Provis of Austria, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-0, in the first round of the $300,000 Italian Open at Rome.

In other first-round matches, 12th-seeded Barbara Paulus of Austria rallied to beat Olga Tsarboupolou of Greece, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, and 19-year-old Marzia Grossi of Italy beat Brenda Schultz of the Netherlands, 6-1, 7-5. Top-seeded Gabriela Sabatini had a bye.