TENNIS PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPS : No. 2 Edberg Loses to No. 289 Weiss

On the verge of climbing to No. 1, Stefan Edberg lost to No. 289.

Robbie Weiss, a qualifier from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., beat Edberg, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, during Monday’s third round of the International Players Championships. Weiss is the lowest-ranked player ever to beat the Swede.

In the day’s other upset, John McEnroe beat seventh-ranked Goran Ivanisevic, 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. Boris Becker also won, and Pete Sampras eliminated Jimmy Connors.

Because of the nature of the ATP rankings, if Jim Courier fails to reach Sunday’s final, Edberg will still replace him as No. 1.

“I don’t deserve to get up there,” Edberg said. “It would feel very strange. . . . I’m playing some of the worst tennis I’ve played for many, many years.”

Courier barely advanced. The defending champion was struggling against Andres Gomez in their final set when the veteran from Ecuador retired because of a sore left ankle.

McEnroe frequently shouted at rowdy fans as he outlasted Ivanisevic in 2 hours 39 minutes.

“It was getting out of hand,” McEnroe said. “The atmosphere was totally wild. You’ll have to ask the individual people why they say obnoxious things. I don’t know why they stoop to these levels.”

McEnroe won the final three games, breaking Ivanisevic twice. “He was out of control,” Ivanisevic said. “Those three games he played the best tennis I ever saw from him.”

Connors lost to the fourth-ranked Sampras, 6-3, 6-2, in their first meeting. Connors, 39, lost his last seven service games.

“I don’t think I’m in as good a shape as I should be, but that’s why I’m playing at this time of year,” Connors said.

Becker beat Paul Haarhuis, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), to advance beyond the third round for the first time in six visits to South Florida.

In women’s play, the top-seeded players won every set. Top-ranked Monica Seles scored her 26th consecutive victory, beating Larisa Savchenko-Neiland, 6-0, 6-4; No. 2 Steffi Graf eliminated Raffaella Reggi-Concato, 6-2, 6-2; No. 3 Gabriela Sabatini beat Rosalyn Fairbank-Nideffer, 6-2, 6-0; No. 4 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario beat Ginger Helgeson, 6-2, 6-2; and No. 5 Jennifer Capriati beat Karina Habsudova, 6-3, 6-1.

Weiss, a 25-year-old Chicago native with one title, made the most of a poor performance by Edberg. The second-ranked Swede was serving with a 40-15 lead in the final game, but Weiss won the final four points of the match.

“I’m shocked that I was able to beat the No. 1 or No. 2 player in the world, regardless of how he played,” Weiss said. “It’s pretty amazing.”

Edberg, who lost the No. 1 ranking in February, said he has been playing poorly for the past three or four weeks.

“It’s frustrating, because I know I can play so much better,” he said. “It’s not easy being out there.”

Gomez also had a shot at an upset. He retired while serving and trailing 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 3-4, 15-30.

Courier blew several chances to win the match in the second set.

“I choked flat out. I was terrible,” Courier said. “I’d like to win the match more normally. I get no satisfaction out of winning on a default.”