TENNIS : Becker Takes Lendl Into ATP Semifinals

Boris Becker of Germany reached the semifinals of the ATP finals Thursday with a 7-5, 6-4, victory over Thomas Muster of Austria.

Becker’s victory in the round-robin tournament also guaranteed Ivan Lendl, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over French Open champion Andres Gomez of Ecuador, a place in the semifinals.

Muster, who lost to Lendl Tuesday, saved four match points before succumbing to the second-ranked Becker, who showed no signs of the thigh injury he suffered last week.

The Austrian, who missed much of last year after being hit by a car, found himself trailing, 5-1, in the second set. However, Muster fought off four match points and almost turned the match around when Becker dropped 10 consecutive points.

“My mind was somewhere else,” Becker said. “I thought I’d already won. It was a mistake.”

When Becker got to his fifth match point, in the 10th game, he didn’t give Muster another chance to get off the hook, finishing the match with a fierce smash.

The sixth-seeded Gomez’s second defeat in two days snuffed out his hopes of reaching the semifinals.