WIMBLEDON : Grass Doesn’t Agree With Lendl Again

Ivan Lendl, who crawled out of the coffin on Wimbledon’s graveyard court, No. 2, Sunday, succumbed on Centre Court Monday. Lendl, 31, was victim of the same affliction that has finished him every time he has played here--acute grass-courtitis.

Lendl, who came back from two sets down Sunday to beat MaliVai Washington, lost to David Wheaton in the third round, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

As always, Lendl worked hard and never quit but never quite got the knack of the serve-and-volley game that is necessary for winning on grass. He is most comfortable on a tennis court when he is standing at the baseline, slugging away, and getting his socks dirty from clay.

His loss took out the third-seeded men’s player, the highest in either the men’s or women’s bracket to date and left the men’s tournament clearly in the hands of Nos. 1 and 2, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker, each of whom has been coasting through almost unnoticed.

Edberg won his 15th consecutive grass-court match Sunday, a streak that goes all the way back to last year’s Wimbledon, which he won. And Becker beat qualifier Andrei Olhovskiy, 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Lendl’s exit was his earliest at Wimbledon since 1981, when he lost in the first round to Charlie Fancutt.

“He’s still tough on this surface,” Wheaton said, “even though he’s not comfortable serving and volleying on first and second serves.”

That doesn’t leave much.

“Obviously, it’s better for me to play him on grass than on clay,” Wheaton said.

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