Connors Gone, Graf Wins in French Open : Heat Takes Its Toll of ‘Miracle Man’ in 4 1/2-Hour Match

Jimmy Connors, so often the miracle man of tennis, battled in the sun for almost 4 1/2 hours but ran out of miracles today and lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to fellow American Jay Berger in the second round of the men’s singles at the French Open.

But defending women’s champion Steffi Graf hardly broke into a sweat as she overwhelmed Bettina Fulco of Argentina 6-0, 6-1 in 47 minutes to charge into the third round in pursuit of a third straight French title.

The tenacious Connors, the No.9 seed and possibly making his last appearance at the French Open at age 36, was cheered on by a packed, excited Center Court crowd. He tried everything he knew to fight off Berger and stay in the hunt for the one Grand Slam event he never has won.

But Berger, the world’s 28th-ranked player enjoying a season that has reaped victories over Boris Becker and Mats Wilander, wore down the street-fighting Connors after 4 hours, 26 minutes of energy-sapping base line tennis.

It was Connors’ earliest exit at Roland Garros since 1973 when he lost in the first round.

“This is just a great win for me after losing three times to him,” Berger said. “It was such a battle. I’m so drained right now I can barely talk.”

Connors said he has nothing to be ashamed of after putting on a typically never-say-die performance.

“All I can do is go out and fight till death. It was not exactly like a walk in the park. I could have played a fifth set. My mouthpiece wasn’t knocked out,” he said.

Connors began in typical fashion, rallying from a 4-1 deficit to win five straight games and take the opening set.

But once Berger had squared the match, the veteran Connors had a fight on his hands against an opponent 14 years younger.

Later in the day, the No. 2 and No. 3 men’s seeds, Becker of West Germany and Sweden’s Stefan Edberg, both gained the third round in straight sets.

Becker ousted Eric Winogradsky of France 7-6, 7-5, 6-2, while Edberg eliminated Venezuela’s Nicolas Pereira 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 after trailing 4-1 in the opening set.

Following Connors out of the tournament was another American seed, No. 14 Aaron Krickstein, who blew a two-set lead against Australia’s Mark Woodforde and lost 1-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Earlier, Gabriela Sabatini, edging closer to a confrontation with defending champion Graf, became the first player to reach the third round of the championships, sweeping past Alexia Dechaume of France 6-3, 6-1.

As Sabatini came off the court after her 1-hour, 12-minute victory, her half of the draw suddenly opened up as the player due to meet her in the last eight, Helena Sukova, was upset in straight sets on a side court. The fifth-seeded Czechoslovakian lost 6-1, 7-5 to Japan’s Akiko Kijimuta.