TENNIS ROUNDUP : Lendl Goes to the Net; Becker Goes to Bank

Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Boris Becker swept to his second consecutive tournament title when he beat the world’s top-ranked player, Ivan Lendl, 6-2, 6-2, in the $1-million ATP tennis tournament Sunday at Stuttgart, West Germany.

Becker needed only 73 minutes to win the $137,500 first prize and lift his career record against Lendl to 8-7.

Becker, who also won last week’s title in Brussels, went into the match with four straight victories over Lendl. The last time the two played, Becker beat Lendl for the U.S. Open title.

“He was serving and volleying many times,” Becker said. “I don’t understand why he did it.

“Breaking him in the first game of the match was very important. I knew the key was to serve very well and take the ball early and not to rally too much. I played the perfect match,” Becker said.

Becker, the world’s second-ranked player, broke serve for the second time to lead 5-2 and then closed out the first set in 32 minutes, holding his serve at 15.

“I had to come into the net a lot because the court is so quick,” Lendl said. “If I didn’t come in, then he would have done it.”

Martina Navratilova won the Virginia Slims of Washington, improving her record against Zina Garrison to 27-1 with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

Navratilova, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, is 9-0 this year after winning last week’s Virginia Slims of Chicago. She has yet to lose a set in 1990.

Navratilova’s serve-and-volley tactics frustrated Garrison throughout the 50-minute match. Garrison continually hit the ball wide, deep, or into the net in a futile effort to pass the charging Navratilova.

Navratilova, seeded first, surrendered only 10 games in four matches en route to capturing her 10th title at this stop on the tour.

Navratilova earned $70,000 with the victory, her sixth in a row over Garrison since her only setback against the 26-year-old Houston native, at the 1988 U.S. Open. She has lost only four sets to Garrison.