TENNIS ROUNDUP : Martin Beats Pernfors to Reach Semifinals

Second-seeded Todd Martin, at times frustrated by gusting winds, came back from a 3-1 deficit in the final set to beat Mikael Pernfors, 6-4, 7-5, in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships Friday at Charlotte, N.C.

Martin, ranked No. 44 and the highest-seeded player left in the U.S. Tennis Assn. national championship event, will face third-seeded Jaime Yzaga in today’s semifinals.

“I was really nervous about the wind so I moved my feet well,” Martin said. “The wind came and went and so did my focus.”

Earlier, Yzaga, the 1991 champion, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Bryan Shelton.

Yzaga , who lost in the first round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships last year, overcame a serve-and-volley game of Shelton that forced the clay-court specialist into a faster tempo.

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Ivan Lendl, playing on his favorite surface, showed glimpses of his past play as he beat Petr Korda, 1-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the quarterfinals of the Nice Open at Nice, France.

Top-seeded Stefan Edberg, defeated Javier Sanchez of Spain, 6-4, 6-2; qualifier Marc Goellner overpowered Guillermo Perez-Roldan of Argentina, 6-0, 6-2; and seventh-seeded Fabrice Santoro of France outlasted Argentine Franco Davin, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

Lendl, now ranked No. 8 in the world, beat Korda for the first time in four meetings.

But it was the first time they met on clay, a surface that suits Lendl, a three-time French Open winner.

The semifinals match Edberg against Goellner and Lendl against Santoro.

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Jim Courier, the top-seeded player and defending champion, defeated Patrick McEnroe, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the semifinals of Hong Kong Open.

Courier, who lost his No. 1 world ranking to Pete Sampras last week, plays third-seeded Michael Chang today. Chang defeated Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, in the quarterfinals.

Advancing to the other semifinal matchup were second-seeded Sampras and fourth-seeded Amos Mansdorf of Israel.

Sampras beat fellow American David Wheaton, 6-4, 6-4. Mansdorf beat sixth-seeded Brett Steven of New Zealand, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5).