TENNIS ROUNDUP : Becker Turns Back Calendar, Wins Paris Open

Boris Becker won a battle of aces in beating defending champion Guy Forget, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Sunday and earning his third Paris Open title.

Becker finished off three days of superb tennis that reminded observers of the form that helped him become No. 1 in the world in 1991.

“The way I played in the last five days is top-three level,” Becker said. “It’s been the best week of the year for me.”

In the quarterfinals, Becker beat the No. 1 player in the world, Jim Courier. Then he downed Goran Ivanisevic, the hottest player on the circuit, in the semifinals. Ivanisevic had won two of his past three tournaments and 15 of his last 16 matches before losing to Becker in the $2.1-million Paris tournament.

“I have had to struggle the last 12 months,” Becker said. “But now I am playing the kind of tennis I did in the past.”

Becker had won three other tournaments this year, but his ranking had fallen to No. 9. He was seeded ninth in the Paris Open, but the top three players in the world--Courier, Pete Sampras and Stefan Edberg--went out before the semifinals.

Becker won $297,000, and Forget collected $159,700. It was Becker’s eighth victory in 10 meetings with Forget.

Forget and Becker had 21 aces each. But Becker was better at the baseline.

It was Becker’s 35th career title. He also made the Paris final in 1990 but had to quit because of a leg injury against Edberg after six games. In 1986, as an 18-year-old, he took three titles in three weeks on three continents by winning Sydney, Tokyo and Paris.

Monica Seles, who didn’t drop a set all week, used blistering returns to defeat Martina Navratilova, 6-3, 6-4, in the $350,000 Bank of the West Classic at Oakland.

It was Seles’ ninth title of the year.

Seles and Navratilova have met in the final of this tournament for the last three years, with Seles winning for the second time. Seles has won the last seven matches they have played.

This time, Seles fired bullet returns at the 36-year-old Navratilova throughout the match, with many landing at her opponent’s feet. Seles lost her serve only once, in the first set, and sealed the match with a service break in the seventh game of the second set.

“Today’s match was two sets, but it was one or two points that decided the whole match, and I was a little bit lucky,” said Seles, who earned $70,000. “It was a close match, and Martina is still very tough.”

In 14 matches between the two women, Seles has won eight. In their last meeting, Navratilova prevailed, 6-4, 6-2, for the title at the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles at Manhattan Beach in August.

Seles clinched the points title on the women’s tour this week, securing a $500,000 bonus and a car. Three events remain on this year’s tour, including the $3-million Virginia Slims Championships beginning Nov. 16 at New York.