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Becker Pulls Carpet From Sweden : Davis Cup: West Germany wins second consecutive title as Wilander is routed, 6-2, 6-0, 6-2.

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From Associated Press

After a grueling doubles victory in Saturday’s Davis Cup play, West Germany’s Boris Becker said he was worried about his stamina for Sunday’s single final.

Why worry?

Becker, culminating three days of brilliant tennis, routed Mats Wilander, 6-2, 6-0, 6-2, to clinch West Germany’s second consecutive Davis Cup victory over Sweden.

Becker’s third victory in three days on the indoor carpet gave West Germany an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

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Sweden’s Stefan Edberg defeated West German Carl-Uwe Steeb, 6-2, 6-4, in the final singles match--shortened to a best-of-three sets--making the team score 3-2.

Becker, undefeated in Davis Cup play since the spring of 1987 when he lost to Sergio Casal of Spain on the slow clay at Barcelona, lost only 12 games in six sets in his two singles matches against Sweden.

“I never dreamed I’d play so well in the final,” Becker said. “Today I played the best match of my life.

“It’s almost impossible for me to play better. Hopefully, once or twice in the next year, I’ll be able to play again like that. That’s my goal. On an indoor court, that was the best Becker you’ll ever see.”

Becker, who is ranked second in the world behind Ivan Lendl but was named the official world champion for 1989 by an International Tennis Federation panel, said his next goal would be to become No. 1.

Becker showed his superiority over Wilander from the outset, losing only six points in four service games in the first set. Two of them were double faults.

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Wilander won four points in the eighth game, when he had two break points to trail, 5-3. But Becker, with 13 aces, took advantage of his strong serve to stop Wilander.

“Being objective, I never saw anyone play that kind of tennis for three days in such an important match,” said Niki Pilic, West Germany’s team captain.

For Wilander, it was one of the most embarrassing losses during his Davis Cup career.

“I tried to rally with him in the beginning, but everything he hit turned out to be winners,” Wilander said. “He hits so hard.”

Wilander, who finished 1988 ranked No. 1 in the world after winning three Grand Slam titles but has fallen to 12th after a dismal 1989, said he never had faced anyone who had played better against him in such an important match.

“This is the best someone’s ever played against me,” Wilander said after losing his fifth consecutive match on carpet to Becker. “Nobody can beat Becker on a day like this. Not on this surface.”

Becker broke to leads of 3-2 and 5-2 in the third set, then ended the match when Wilander tamely returned a backhand off the West German’s second serve.

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Becker, 22, was responsible for all of the West German victories. Friday, the Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion beat Edberg, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, avenging his recent Masters loss to the Swede. Then, he and Eric Jelen teamed to win Saturday’s doubles over Anders Jarryd and Jan Gunnarsson in five sets for a 2-1 West German lead.

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