TENNIS ROUNDUP : Becker Out of French Open Because of an Injured Thigh

Boris Becker withdrew from the French Open on Tuesday because of an injured muscle in his right thigh.

Becker dropped out of last week’s Italian Open because of the problem, which first became apparent in his 6-1, 6-1 loss May 10 to Michael Stich in the semifinals of the German Open.

Becker, a semifinalist last year at the French Open, was seeded No. 4 this year. His withdrawal allowed Switzerland’s Jakob Hlasek to move into the 16th-seeded position.

Petr Korda upset Wimbledon champion Michael Stich, 6-2, 6-3, as Czechoslovakia swept Germany, 3-0, at the World Team Cup at Duesseldorf, Germany.

France defeated Switzerland, 2-1, on victories by Guy Forget and Henri Leconte. The United States had the day off in the clay-court tournament that is a major tuneup for next week’s French Open.

Korda used a mix of hard passing shots and lobs to defeat Stich, and then Karel Novacek struggled to a victory over Carl-Uwe Steeb, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-3.

In the Red Group match, Forget swept Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-2, and Leconte defeated Marc Rosset, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.

Top-seeded David Wheaton, only American playing in a clay-court tournament at Bologna, Italy, was upset by Germany’s Lars Koslowski, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round.

In another upset, Italy’s Diego Nargiso defeated third-seeded Javier Sanchez of Spain, 6-2, 6-3. Nargiso is 82nd in the world rankings and Sanchez is 33rd.

Fifth-seeded Todd Woodbridge was swept by fellow Australian Wally Masur, 7-5, 6-2.