Sanchez Stuns Lendl, to Face Volkov Next

Emilio Sanchez stunned top-ranked Ivan Lendl 6-3, 6-7 (7-3) 6-4 today in a fourth-round match at the International Players Championships.

Lendl, the defending men’s champion in the $2.1-million tournament, fought off three match points to rally from a 1-4 deficit in the final set. But trailing 4-5, Lendl was unable to hold serve and lost to Sanchez for the first time in four meetings.

Sanchez, the 15th seed from Spain, advanced to the quarterfinals against Martin Jaite, who defeated Alexander Volkov 6-1, 6-1 in another fourth-round match.

Earlier, third-seeded Monica Seles defeated Nathalie Herreman and Judith Wiesner upset No. 4 Manuela Maleeva to move on to the women’s semifinals.

Seles, a 16-year-old Yugoslav who trains in Bradenton, Fla., dominated Herreman, of France, 6-3, 6-1 and in her next match will meet Nathalie Tauziat, a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 quarterfinal winner over West Germany’s Claudia Porwik.

Wiesner, the 15th seed, lost the first set of her quarterfinal 2-6 to Maleeva, of Bulgaria, but took the second 6-1 before closing out the match 6-2. She will face either top-seeded Gabriela Sabatini or No. 5 Conchita Martinez in the semifinals.

Seles is in her second year as a pro and chasing her second victory. She won the Virginia Slims of Houston last year, beating Chris Evert in the final, but hasn’t played as well as she’d like this season.

“It would mean a lot to win,” she said after ousting Herreman, who beat teen-age sensation Jennifer Capriati in the fourth round. “I haven’t done so well in the beginning of the year. It would help my confidence.”