Becker Is West Germany’s Advantage : Davis Cup: He prays he can last another day after teaming with Jelen for five-set doubles victory and 2-1 lead over Sweden.

Boris Becker led defending champion West Germany to a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup final against Sweden on Saturday, then said he would “pray to God so he will give me fresh legs tomorrow.”

Becker and Eric Jelen teamed for a 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4 doubles victory over Anders Jarryd and Jan Gunnarsson. Becker, the Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, had beaten Stefan Edberg in three sets in Friday’s second singles to even the final, 1-1.

“Our chances are pretty good now,” Becker said. “But I have to be fresh to survive another day. It was a very tough doubles by four players in five sets.”

Becker teamed with Jelen to beat Jarryd and Edberg in last year’s final on indoor clay at Goteborg, Sweden, clinching West Germany’s first Davis Cup win. He can wrap up the victory in today’s first reverse singles.

Becker is due up against Mats Wilander. The West German has a 5-2 career won-lost record against Wilander and has beaten the Swede all four times they met on carpet.

Wilander, winner of three Grand Slam titles in 1988 but coming off his worst season this year, beat Carl-Uwe Steeb in five sets in the opening singles Friday.

In last year’s final, Becker and Jelen came from two sets down to win the doubles. On Saturday, the Swedes almost returned the favor.

“They did everything right except winning the last point,” said Swedish captain John Anders Sjogren. “The Germans played better in the end. But I’m very satisfied. Anders and Jan came from two sets down and almost made it.”

Becker was the dominant player in the doubles match, dropping his serve just once. And he set up the only service break of the decisive fifth set with a diving volley down the middle.

Becker then slammed a crunching forehand cross-court off Gunnarsson’s smash, giving the German team a 4-3 edge.

“Our goal in the last set was to hold our serve and hang in there until we got a chance to break their serve,” Becker said.

That service break was the first since the fourth game of the third set, when Becker dropped his serve for the only time in the match.

Becker closed out the match by holding his serve at 30 in the last game with a second delivery that Jarryd netted.

“I tried to calm down in the last game,” Becker said. “I expected a couple of tough points, but I stayed calm.”

Gunnarsson, making his first appearance in a Davis Cup final, was in trouble in the third game of the fifth set. But he managed to hold to 2-1 after the Swedes had fought off four break points. Gunnarsson ended the game with an ace, a service winner and another ace.

Becker and Jelen, who seldom plays doubles outside Davis Cup competition, took the first set on a tiebreaker, 8-6, after saving two set points at 4-6. Becker clinched it, blasting a return at Gunnarsson’s feet.

The Swedes also had a set point before the tie at 6-5. But Gunnarsson double-faulted and eventually lost his serve that set up the tiebreaker.

The West Germans took a 2-0 sets lead after breaking Jarryd and Gunnarsson midway through the second set.

Becker lost his serve in the third set after Gunnarsson’s volley tipped over the net and dropped dead.

The Swedes came back to level the match by winning a fourth-set tiebreaker, 7-4. The West Germans led 4-2, but the Swedes got back after a pair of excellent returns by Jarryd and Gunnarsson off Becker’s first serve.

It was another disappointing setback for Jarryd, the world’s top-ranked doubles player. Last Sunday, he lost the Masters doubles final in London with John Fitzgerald of Australia, his regular partner.

“It was a big match today,” Jarryd said. “But we have to play two more matches tomorrow.”

It was also the second Davis Cup match in a row that Jarryd was beaten in the doubles.