TENNIS ROUNDUP : France Has 2-0 Davis Cup Lead Over Yugoslavia

Guy Forget and Fabrice Santoro moved France to within one victory of the Davis Cup final with singles triumphs Friday over a Yugoslav team missing its two stars because of civil war.

Forget, ranked No. 6 in the world, opened the semifinal at Pau, France, with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory over 19-year-old Srdjan Muskatirovic, ranked 439th.

Then, Santoro rallied to beat Yugoslavia’s only veteran, Slobodan Zivojinovic, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-0), 3-6, 6-3, in 4 hours 10 minutes.

Yugoslavia’s two best players, Goran Ivanisevic and Goran Prpic, refused to play because of the conflict between their breakaway republic of Croatia and the Serbian-dominated federal government.

Asked about the troubles in Yugoslavia, Muskatirovic said: “We’re worried. But when you go on the court, you stop thinking about these things and you have to play tennis.”

France can clinch the semifinal today when Forget and Arnaud Boetsch face Zivojinovic and Muskatirovic in doubles. This semifinal winner will play the winner of the U.S.-Germany matchup.

Mercedes Paz of Argentina needed nearly four hours to defeat Nicole Jagerman of the Netherlands, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, and advance to the semifinals of the Paris Women’s Open.

Top-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain beat Emanuela Zardo of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-2.

Top-seeded Monica Seles routed Japan’s Maya Kidowaki, 6-0, 6-0, in 48 minutes in the quarterfinals of the Nichirei International Ladies Championship at Tokyo.

Seles next plays No. 4 Amy Frazier, who beat Debbie Graham, 7-5, 6-1.