TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Edberg Hands It to Lendl

Ivan Lendl gladly took the gift of 11 double faults by Stefan Edberg, including one at match point, and reached his third consecutive Australian Open final.

The top-ranked Edberg lives by his serve, and today he died by it, falling, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, to the two-time defending champion in a little more than four hours.

In the other semifinal, Boris Becker faced Patrick McEnroe.

Edberg gave Lendl the title last year by retiring with a strained stomach muscle in the third set. This time, he gave Lendl a victory by failing on the big points.

The usually unflappable Swede had two chances to put the match away when he served with a 5-4 lead in the fourth set.

Edberg netted a backhand volley to drop the first match point at deuce, then double-faulted after getting his second match point on a service winner.

Lendl didn’t waste the opportunity. He smacked a forehand return past Edberg for break point, then evened the set when his forehand clipped the top of the net, hopped past Edberg and landed inside the baseline.

In the tiebreaker, Edberg’s woes continued. After Lendl raced to a 6-2 lead, Edberg saved one set point but gave Lendl another gift by double-faulting again.

Edberg looked demoralized as he came out for the fifth set, and not even the chants from the Swedish fans could help him. Lendl broke him in the first game with the help of another double-fault at break point. Edberg rallied briefly, breaking back to 1-1, but was broken again at 15-40 on a backhand volley into the net in the fifth game.

Lendl, who served 12 aces, suddenly had trouble serving, too, double-faulting twice while trying to end the match in the 10th game. But Edberg again netted a backhand volley, then Lendl finished it off with a forehand winner in the corner, far out of the reach of Edberg’s backhand.

Lendl ran to the net, pumping both fists over his head, then consoled Edberg with a pat on the back.

The women’s final (tonight, 6 p.m., ESPN) is a contrast of styles.

Monica Seles, ranked No. 2 and closing in fast on Steffi Graf’s top spot, breathlessly explained how she tiptoed out of trouble, saving a match point, before beating Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-3, 0-6, 9-7, in the semifinals Thursday. Seles will meet Jana Novotna of Czechoslovakia, who defeated Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain, 6-2, 6-4, in the semifinals.

“I was very tired going into the match because I had that long doubles match yesterday and I basically didn’t have a day off without playing a match and I never expected going so far, and I think I just feel even in the first set I was lucky to win it, and then during the second set I had so many chances, but I just didn’t move my feet, and in the third set that was the same thing, at three-love, I just stopped moving, I just didn’t have any more energy . . . “ she said.

She paused ever so briefly, then went on in a rush.

“I tried everything there was possible to get it back, but I was just sure that I am not going to have a good chance of winning this match, but I just hung in there--we are both a little nervous when it came down to the third set five-all, she got a little nervous, I got a little nervous, it was that type of match, like when I played Zina (Garrison) in Wimbledon, except today I was a little luckier, I think.”