TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Edberg Wins Easily, Courier Even Easier

Jim Courier got a free pass into the final of the Australian Open.

Courier, seeded No. 2, was scheduled to play Richard Krajicek in the semifinals Friday, with the winner going to the final.

But Krajicek, a big-serving Dutchman, defaulted before the start because of tendinitis in his shoulder. Courier will play Stefan Edberg, a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, 6-2 winner over unseeded South African Wayne Ferreira, for the championship.

“Jim is a good player,” Krajicek said. “Because I couldn’t play 100%, it would be almost impossible to beat him, and I could have made (my shoulder) worse. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. It was the chance of a lifetime to play the semifinals in a Grand Slam. I don’t know if this will ever happen again. I hope it will. This is the worst possible way to go out.”

Krajicek served 22 aces in a five-set quarterfinal victory over Wimbledon champion Michael Stich, but felt sore by the end of the match. The shoulder got worse on Thursday, and Krajicek quit in the middle of a doubles semifinal match, saying he felt pain on the follow-through of his serve.

“To make the semifinals in singles and doubles and to have to default is unbelievable. It’s almost tragic,” Courier said. “The up side is I’m in the final. The down side is I don’t get to play. You like to be in a rhythm going into the final round of a tournament.”

Krajicek treated the shoulder with ice Thursday night, but said there was no improvement.

“It feels stiff and sore,” Krajicek said after his default in a match with compatriot Jan Siemerink when they led, 6-4, 1-3, against the Australian team of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.

Despite his size, the 20-year-old Krajicek looks fragile at 175 pounds. He has been working out in a gym to add bulk to his frame.

His serve, clocked as high as 129 m.p.h., is his best weapon and has taken him to the No. 40 ranking since he turned pro in 1989. Stich broke him only once in 28 service games.

But Krajicek’s accumulation of aces slowed as the match went on. Several times he rubbed the shoulder, and his first-serve accuracy and speed dropped markedly.

Stich commented after the match that he thought Krajicek tired in the heat and humidity, and his serves lost some of their sting.

“He’s got the big game and he’s put it all together here,” Courier said of Krajicek. “If he can regain his health, everyone’s been talking about him becoming one of the big guys to come along.”

The withdrawal helped the 21-year-old Courier in his chase for Edberg’s No. 1 ranking.

Edberg, 26, has shown he is far from ready for retirement. He outlasted Ivan Lendl, a fellow two-time champion here, in a five-set quarterfinal.

Ferreira, who has never won a pro tournament since joining the tour three years ago, ended John McEnroe’s bid for an eighth Grand Slam title. He served 15 aces and broke McEnroe once in each set en route to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory.

Courier said he did not expect his lack of match practice to affect him against Edberg.

“I don’t think it’s really going to cause me any problems,” he said. “I’ve played eight matches in Australia so I think I’m match tough.”

In the women’s semifinals Wednesday, Mary Joe Fernandez copied Gabriela Sabatini’s net-charging style to beat her for the first time since 1989 at the French Open. Fernandez had lost six consecutive matches to the Argentine since then, before winning here, 6-1, 6-4.

Fernandez ended the match fittingly with a backhand volley into an open court, a shot she used so well throughout the one-sided affair.

In contrast to defending champion Monica Seles’ 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Arantxa Sanchez Vicario from the baseline, Fernandez mixed up her shots as well as Sabatini did in winning the 1990 U.S. Open.

Fernandez, a 20-year-old Floridian, said she thought about her straight-set loss to Sabatini two weeks ago in a tuneup tournament in Sydney.

“I said I had to do something drastically different. I tried to attack a lot and come in a lot,” Fernandez said. “I played one way all my life, and it’s hard to change your mentality.”

Fernandez held match point against Seles in the semifinals here last year, but netted a backhand and eventually lost. This time, Fernandez is determined to reverse that score.