TENNIS ROUNDUP : Netter Handles Another Favorite

UCLA’s Jason Netter, an unseeded but increasingly heralded junior, toppled another giant Friday in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships, beating second-seeded Jonathan Stark of Stanford, 6-4, 6-3, in a quarterfinal round in which the top three seeded players were upset.

Netter, ranked 30th in the nation, had beaten Georgia’s Al Parker on Thursday at Hyatt Grand Champions at Indian Wells. Parker was seeded alphabetically in the five through eight category.

Stanford freshman Jared Palmer, unseeded and ranked 49th in the nation, beat top-seeded Todd Martin of Northwestern, 6-2, 6-4, and third-seeded Jose Luis Noriega of San Diego was beaten by Texas sophomore Steve Bryan, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

Netter, the Pacific 10 singles champion who is 10-15 in dual matches but 22-2 in tournament play, has plainly pointed for the NCAA championships and likes the fact that they are being played in the California desert.

“I’ve never been in this good of shape before, and maybe this is the final step for me to have success,” he said. “I like moving people around out there. I don’t mind dropping a set now, because I know I can wear a guy out.”

Netter plays Miami sophomore Conny Falk in a semifinal match today. Falk beat Northwestern’s Steve Herdoiza, 6-3, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.

Palmer, aiming to be the first freshman to win the NCAA singles title since Stanford’s John McEnroe in 1978, plays Bryan in the other semifinal.

Martin made light of Palmer’s low national ranking. “Rankings don’t matter,” he said. “He’s ranked 49th and that’s ridiculous. He’s the most talented player in college. My serve has never been returned that well.”

Spain took a 2-1 lead over the United States in the Nation’s Cup as Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez overwhelmed Zina Garrison and Lori McNeil in doubles, 6-1, 6-3, at Marbella, Spain.

The outcome of the clay court event will be decided today when Jennifer Capriati of the U.S. team faces Sanchez Vicario in the opening singles and Garrison plays Martinez.

Jim Courier and Brad Gilbert scored straight-set singles victories, and the United States beat the Soviet Union, 2-1, to advance to the final of the $1.3-million ATP World Team Cup in Dusseldorf, West Germany.

Courier beat Alexander Volkov, 6-4, 6-2, and Gilbert defeated Andrei Cherkasov, 6-2, 6-3.

Courier and Ken Flach were upset, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, by Andrei Olshovski and Vladimir Gabrichidze in the doubles, but the defeat did not influence the outcome.