TENNIS ROUNDUP : Courier Defeats Rostagno, Moves Up to No. 1

Jim Courier became the first American in 6 1/2 years to reach No. 1 in the world by defeating Derrick Rostagno, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, Saturday night in a semifinal of the $260,000 Volvo San Francisco tournament.

By reaching the final, Courier earned enough computer points to surpass top-ranked Stefan Edberg of Sweden. Courier officially will become No. 1 when the rankings come out Monday, making him the first American at the top spot since John McEnroe was there on Aug. 26, 1985.

Jimmy Connors is the only other American to be ranked No. 1 since the ATP rankings began in 1973.

“I was so close, but you never know what is going to happen,” Courier said. “I’m just glad I was able to reach No. 1 in America.”

“I may only be there for one week, but I can always look back and say I was No. 1. They can never take it away from me.”

Second-seeded Michael Chang defeated Brad Gilbert, 6-0, 7-5, in the other semifinal.

Chang, who has not lost a set during his four-match roll into the final, overwhelmed Gilbert by forcing his way to the net in the opening set, converting three of his five break points. The set lasted 30 minutes.

“He surprised me by how much he came to the net,” Gilbert said. “He beat me with the short game, which is usually my game. He was coming in on good, deep approach shots. Usually I can come up with passing shots, but I did not produce them today.”

Chang said that his opponent forced him into a pressing game plan.

“Brad is very difficult to beat from the back,” Chang said. “I knew I wouldn’t overpower him. I knew I had to come in a little bit, just to give him the feeling I would be doing a little bit of everything.”

Mary Joe Fernandez and Monica Seles will have a rematch of their Australian Open final today when they play for the title in Essen, Germany.

The top-seeded Seles advanced with a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Mary Pierce, a 17-year-old American playing out of France. The match took 47 minutes.

Fernandez, seeded second, defeated Barbara Rittner of Germany, 7-5, 6-4.

Three weeks ago, Seles beat Fernandez, 6-2, 6-3, for the Australian Open title.

Asked if she was looking for revenge, Fernandez, 20, said: “It’s another match.”

Goran Ivanisevic used a booming serve to overpower Stefano Pescosolido, 6-2, 6-2, and reach the final of the indoor tournament in Milan, Italy.

Ivanisevic will play his doubles partner, Omar Camporese of Italy, in the final. Camporese defeated Andrei Cherkasov of Russia, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.