TENNIS ROUNDUP : Courier Moves Closer to No. 1; Agassi, Lendl Lose in Milan

Jim Courier moved closer to the world’s No. 1 ranking Wednesday night by rallying to defeat Mark Woodforde of Australia 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 7-5 in his first match at the Volvo San Francisco tournament.

Courier would overtake Stefan Edberg of Sweden and become the first American in 6 1/2 years to be ranked No. 1 if he reaches the tournament’s semifinals.

John McEnroe was the last American to be ranked No. 1, on Aug. 26, 1985.

In the first set, Courier fell behind 5-1 before pulling his game together and forcing a tiebreaker. Courier survived three set points, putting away a crosscourt volley to take the tiebreaker.

In the third set, Woodforde served for the set at 5-4, but was broken when Courier hit a backhand down the line to pull even. After Courier won the 11th game, he rallied from love-30 in the final game to close out the match.

Second-seeded Michael Chang advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Michiel Schapers of The Netherlands, 6-4, 6-3.

German qualifier Arne Thoms eliminated No. 1-seeded Ivan Lendl, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), in a first-round match of a tournament at Milan, Italy.

In another upset, Jacob Hlasek eliminated sixth-seeded Andre Agassi, 6-2, 6-1.

Lendl never looked sharp and struggled with his ground strokes throughout the match.

The 6-foot-2 Thoms, 21 and ranked 152 in the world, displayed a big service and powerful ground strokes, particularly effective on the fast indoor surface being used in the $600,000 event.

Hlasek, meanwhile, polished off Agassi in less than an hour. After losing his serve in the fifth game of the second set, Agassi hurled his racket off the court to show his frustration.