It’s Becker vs. Edberg in Davis Cup : Tennis: Draw sets up a rematch of the Master’s finalists. Steeb will face Wilander in opener.
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STUTTGART, West Germany — Boris Becker of West Germany, the Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, today was drawn to face Sweden’s Stefan Edberg in this weekend’s Davis Cup final.
Carl-Uwe Steeb, hero of last year’s West German Davis Cup team, was drawn to play Mats Wilander of Sweden in the opening singles of this weekend’s best-of-5 final at the 10,500-seat Schleyer Halle.
Becker and Edberg met this month in the Masters final in New York, the Swede winning the season-ending individual title in four sets. The victory boosted his confidence and that of the entire Swedish team.
Team captains Niki Pilic of West Germany and John-Anders Sjogren of Sweden announced their teams for Saturday’s doubles at the draw. Becker and Eric Jelen will play Sweden’s Anders Jarryd and Jan Gunnarsson.
Team captains can, however, make changes in the doubles pairs up to one hour before the start of the match.
Gunnarsson is making his first appearance in a Davis Cup final. He played two doubles in early rounds of the tournament against Italy and Chile in 1985.
Last month, Gunnarsson upset Becker in the round of 16 at the Stockholm Open, but it wasn’t good enough to earn him a berth as second-string in singles.
Wilander, who is coached by Sjogren, has been a key player on the team since 1983, when Sweden reached the first of seven consecutive finals.
“I’ve had a difficult year, but it’s fun to be on the Davis Cup team,” said Wilander, who has slipped to 12th on the ATP computer rankings after the most disappointing season of his career.
“You forget about your individual game,” added Wilander, “It’s more enjoyable at this stage.
Becker was drawn to play Wilander in Sunday’s first singles, followed by Steeb against Edberg.
Last year, Steeb overcame a two-set deficit and one match point to upset Wilander in the first singles match on indoor clay at Goteborg, Sweden.
Becker then beat Edberg in the second singles, and West Germany eventually won the prestigious Cup for the first time, 4-1.
Becker rested a few days after losing to Edberg in the Masters but has worked hard with his teammates in the last 10 days.
“I feel good, and the team is in good shape,” Becker said after the draw at Stuttgart’s City Hall. “I’d say our chances are a little better than they were last year at this stage.”
As hosts, the West Germans had the choice of playing surface, and they picked a medium fast carpet called Pegulan that is common in West Germany.
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