THE SIDELINES : Lendl Advances on Grass Court

Defending champion Ivan Lendl beat Simon Youl 6-4, 6-2 today in the second round of the Stella Artois grass court championships.

Last year’s Wimbledon champion, Boris Becker, and runner-up Stefan Edberg also won easily.

Edberg, the second seed, beat West German Markus Zoecke 6-0, 6-3. Becker, seeded third, beat American Paul Chamberlin 6-4, 6-4.

Lendl’s match was interrupted late in the second set by rain, but he completed the victory and said his grass-court game is getting better all the time.

“With the amount of time, I should feel more comfortable and I do,” the world’s No. 1 player said after serving two love games and breaking serve three times in the 1-hour, 20-minute Queens Club center court match.

A winner of the French, U.S. and Australian Opens in his career, Lendl said his desire for a Wimbledon title prompted him to practice only on grass courts since losing in the semifinals in Tokyo the week of April 9.