Defending Champion Wilander Seems Defenseless

Has he reached Mats point?

Mats Wilander is fourth-seeded at the French Open, beginning today at Roland Garros Stadium on the fringe of the tree-lined park in the Bois de Boulogne, but Wilander is certainly not out of the woods.

The last tournament Wilander won was in October at Palermo, Italy, and he finds himself in France with not much of a chance to win the tournament he won last year.

When he lost to Jay Berger earlier this month in Rome, Wilander shouted: “I am finished in the head.”

In 1982, at 17, Wilander won the French Open for the first of his three victories here. Wilander was the youngest player to win the French Open.

But at 24, even as he is defending his championship, Wilander does not seem too eager.

“Seven years ago, I won my first Grand Slam,” Wilander told John Roberts of the Independent, a newspaper in London. “That’s a long time and I’m not the kind of competitor that Jimmy Connors is known for. He’s just amazing. My mind isn’t that much into winning.

“I don’t have the talent McEnroe has, so I have to work harder and try to concentrate. It’s going to be harder and harder.”

Wilander’s game has always depended heavily on his will to outlast his foes. He would return every shot and wait for the other player to make an error or get tired.

With a new coach to help him with his fitness, Wilander is working on his body. It’s just that his tennis mind needs some work, too. This was not the case last year when he won three of the four Grand Slam events.

But after that?

“I couldn’t have enough of thinking about doing nothing,” he said.

The only difference now is that Wilander seems to have gone beyond thinking about it.