TENNIS ROUNDUP : Finals: Courier-Becker and Seles-Navratilova

Boris Becker can give himself a birthday present today.

On the day he becomes 25, Becker plays Jim Courier in the final of the ATP Tour World Championship at Frankfurt, Germany.

Becker survived 23 aces by Goran Ivanisevic to beat the Croatian, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7), in Saturday’s semifinals. Less than 24 hours after securing the No. 1 ranking, Courier reached the title match by defeating Pete Sampras, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), in the other semifinal.

“I am playing my best tennis in a long time,” said Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion who is 5-0 against Courier.

Asked if he ever played that well and still lost, Ivanisevic said: “I don’t think so. It is bad luck.

“Tomorrow is his birthday, so God let him win.”

Courier, winner of two Grand Slam events this year, avenged last year’s loss to Sampras in the final and scored only his second career victory in eight matches against his fellow American.

Martina Navratilova escaped Lori McNeil’s latest upset bid and Monica Seles had help from her opponent as they reached the finals of Virginia Slims Championships in New York.

Navratilova, at 36 the oldest player in the tournament, beat back McNeil, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, before Seles eliminated an error-prone Gabriela Sabatini, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.

Today’s best-of-five final will be worth $250,000 to the winner, with $120,000 to the runner-up.

Seles, seeking her third consecutive title in this event, and Sabatini engaged in a baseline battle. But Sabatini finally was worn down and fell apart in the second set.

By reaching the title match, Seles broke her record for earnings in one year. She is guaranteed a minimum of $2,492,352, eclipsing her 1991 record of $2,457,758. If she wins the final, Seles will raise her earnings to $2,622,352.

In the first match, McNeil led, 5-4, in the first-set tiebreaker and had two serves coming. But she lost them both, then the set as Navratilova won the final three points.