TENNIS ROUNDUP : Becker Wins in Opening Round at Paris

Boris Becker, the reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, returned to tournament play after an injury layoff and easily defeated qualifier Milan Sjreber of Czechoslovakia, 6-3, 6-3, Tuesday in the first round of the Paris Open.

Despite his quick victory, Becker says his comeback was something he had not taken for granted.

“I was surprised at the way I played. I thought I was going to be worse,” Becker said. “It wasn’t that easy because Sjreber has a good serve and volley.”

In other action, France’s Yannick Noah downed Thomas Muster of Austria, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4; Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia defeated Spain’s Emilio Sanchez, 6-2, 6-2; fourth-seeded Brad Gilbert edged Petr Korda of Czechoslovakia, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, and qualifier Ronald Agenor of Haiti outlasted Paolo Cane of Italy, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.

Tim Mayotte, at least a semifinalist in the three previous Paris indoor events, lost in the first round to Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova solved the powerful serve of Brenda Schultz to win, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round of the Virginia Slims tournament at Worcester, Mass.

No. 2 Gabriela Sabatini and No. 5 Pam Shriver also were victors in the second day of opening-round competition.

Shriver struggled but came from behind to beat Mary Lou Daniels, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Down 0-40 in the final set at 4-3, Shriver rallied to win that game and then held serve to win the match.

Sabatini used a slashing baseline game to defeat Cammy McGregor, 6-1, 6-1, as the Argentine kept her American opponent off balance throughout the match.

Seventh-seeded Helen Kelesi of Canadaalso advanced, coming from behind to defeat Beverly Bowes, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.