TENNIS ROUNDUP : American Agassi Upset in German Open; Becker Rolls Into Semifinals

Top-seeded Boris Becker of West Germany rolled into the semifinals of the German Open today, but second-seeded Andre Agassi and two other seeded Americans were upset in the $1-million tournament.

Becker swept past American Jimmy Arias 6-3, 6-1, while Agassi was upset by Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden in a rain-delayed third round match.

Agassi, trailing 7-6, 4-4 overnight, saved a match point in the 10th game of the second set but was then beaten 7-6, 7-6 by the 15th-seeded Swede.

But Gustafsson had to go on court again later in the day and was ousted in the quarterfinals by Juan Aguilera of Spain 6-1, 6-4.

The unseeded Spaniard, who won here in 1984, also had to play in the morning and completed a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset of 10th-seeded American Jim Courier in another rain-delayed third round match.

Guy Forget of France upset fifth-seeded Jay Berger of the U.S. 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and will play Aguilera in Saturday’s semifinals.

Another Frenchman, Henri Leconte, ousted Franco Davin of Argentina 6-3, 6-3 to earn a semifinal berth against Becker.

In Rome, top seed Martina Navratilova barely broke a sweat in breezing to a 6-2, 6-0 quarterfinal victory over Conchita Martinez today at the Italian Open.

Navratilova needed only 45 minutes to serve and volley her way past the sixth-seeded Spaniard. For Navratilova, who has been hampered with a pulled hamstring, it was the first straight-set victory of the tournament.

In other quarterfinal action, second-seeded Monica Seles blasted her way past Manuela Maleeva 6-0, 6-2 to join Navratilova in the semifinals.

Seles, who has yet to lose a set in the tournament, bombarded No. 5 seed Maleeva with a relentless two-handed assault for the entire match. The win brings Seles’ career record against Maleeva to 6-0.

On Saturday, Seles will meet Canada’s Helen Kelesi, who rallied from a 4-2 deficit against No. 13 seed Catarina Lindqvist to win seven straight games on her way to a 6-4, 6-3 triumph.

Navratilova will face the winner of the much-awaited duel this evening between defending champion Gabriela Sabatini and 14-year-old sensation Jennifer Capriati.

Seles’ rise to the world’s No. 3 ranking has been swift and spectacular. Playing as an unseeded entry in her first professional tournament in February, 1989, the blonde upset Maleeva, the tournament’s third seed, to reach the semifinals before defaulting with an ankle injury.