Tennis Roundup : Lendl Beats Heat, Annacone to Reach Final in London

Top-ranked Ivan Lendl, who has not won a grass-court title since he was a junior, moved into the final of the Queens Club tournament Saturday by outlasting Paul Annacone, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-5, in London’s 104-degree heat.

Lendl broke Annacone’s serve for the only time in the match in the next-to-last game and then held his own serve for the victory.

“I have had more play this year going into Wimbledon than last year,” Lendl said. “This year, I have been injury-free and the weather has been terrific.”

In the other semifinal, eighth-seeded Christo van Rensburg of South Africa beat 14th-seeded Derrick Rostagno, 6-4, 6-4.

John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors breezed past semifinal opponents, setting up a title match today in the Scottish Grass Court Championships at Edinburgh, Scotland.

The top-seeded McEnroe scored a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Aaron Krickstein despite being warned for “abuse of an official,” and Connors overwhelmed defending champion Peter Lundgren of Sweden, 6-1, 6-1, in 53 minutes.

In the women’s final, top-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez defeated defending champion Gigi Fernandez of Puerto Rico, 6-2, 6-3.

McEnroe received his first warning of the tournament when he disputed a line call in the third game of the second set. He went on to lose the game but broke Krickstein’s service four games later.

“It was a bad call, but I acted inappropriately; I wish I hadn’t done it,” McEnroe said. “I don’t want to get involved in that at Wimbledon because it only hurts me.”

Martina Navratilova overpowered 12th-seeded Elna Reinach of South Africa, 6-2, 6-2, to reach the final of a Virginia Slims grass-court tournament at Edgbaston, England.

In today’s final, Navratilova will play second-seeded Zina Garrison, a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 winner over Claudia Kohde-Kilsch.

“At the moment, I’m just pleased with my form and the way things have been working out,” Navratilova said. “I couldn’t ask for any more at this stage.

“I’ll know what to expect against Zina in the final. She runs down every ball, and I’ll be ready for it to come back again.”

Sixth-seeded Javier Sanchez of Spain upset top-seeded Guillermo Perez-Roldan, 7-5, 6-1, and advanced to today’s final of an international tournament at Bologna, Italy.

Franco Davin of Argentina earned the other berth in the final by defeating Roberto Azar, also of Argentina, 6-3, 6-3.