THE SIDELINES : Edberg and Lendl Advance to Semifinals in Australia Tourney

Top-seeded Stefan Edberg and No. 3 seed Ivan Lendl advanced to a semifinal meeting at the Australian Indoor championships with victories today.

Sleep could play a big part in their showdown Saturday.

“With all due respect to this tournament, this is not a Grand Slam,” Lendl said after beating Peter Lundgren 6-2, 7-6 (6-3). “I can’t get used to getting up for matches at this time of year, but I always enjoy playing Stefan and Boris Becker because it helps me see how I stack up against them for future Grand Slams.”

Edberg, Lendl’s doubles partner this week, had an easy time beating David Wheaton.

“I feel I’m hitting the ball better with every match, and I feel good enough to beat Lendl,” Edberg said after a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory over Wheaton. “I guess it will depend on who feels best when they wake up tomorrow.”

In other matches today, second-seeded Boris Becker defeated eighth-seeded Rickey Reneberg 6-4, 6-4, and Todd Woodbridge ousted Grant Connell 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 6-1.