TENNIS ROUNDUP : Seles Makes It Difficult, but Graf Is Too Strong

Steffi Graf of West Germany won her 13th tournament title of the year Sunday by defeating Monica Seles, 7-5, 6-4, in a seesaw final in which each player ran off impressive streaks.

Graf, the world’s No. 1-ranked woman, claimed the championship of the Brighton, England, indoor tournament for the second consecutive year.

“I was not happy with my form earlier in the week, but today was definitely better,” Graf said. “But I still made some mistakes that are not so usual.”

Seles fell behind, 5-1, in the second set, then won three games in a row to pull within 5-4. But after saving one match point on a ball that hit the net and fell onto Graf’s side of the court, Seles hit a service return wide on the second match point she faced.

Ivan Lendl used his scorching forehand and some rare delicate touches to beat fellow Czechoslovak Miloslav Mecir, 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4, and win the European Community Championship in Antwerp, Belgium, for the fifth time in the tournament’s eight-year history.

No. 1-ranked Lendl earned the $220,000 first-place prize as he kept Mecir unsettled for most of the match.

Kevin Curren defeated Petr Korda of Czechoslovakia, 6-2, 7-5, to win the Frankfurt (West Germany) Cup.

Curren dominated in the first set, relying on his powerful service and volleys to take command.