WIMBLEDON : Becker Turns Back Clock in Easy Victory

He hasn’t reached the final of his beloved Wimbledon since 1991, hasn’t reached any Grand Slam event final the last three years. He lasted one round in the recent Queen’s Club tournament, withdrew from another event and hasn’t beaten anyone in more than a month.

So what does Boris Becker, his career supposedly in disarray, do in Monday’s first-round match against American David Wheaton? He turns back the clock, the hour retreating until suddenly it’s 1991 again, or better yet, 1989, when the German star won the last of his three Wimbledon singles titles.

The seventh-seeded Becker, one of the sentimental favorites here, defeated Wheaton, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. And whereas Wheaton arrived at Wimbledon this year unseeded and ranked 107th in the world, it was only a few years ago that he advanced to the semifinals.

“I must say, it was one of my best grass-court matches,” said Becker, who tried not to look too giddy after winning.

He will get no argument from Wheaton, who watched 16 aces flash past and never once converted a break point. Wheaton saw Becker at his best, which should be a scary thought for Arne Thoms, who faces his more famous countryman in the next round of play.

“I wasn’t able to get a grasp on the match,” Wheaton said. “He was always kind of ahead. He played well. I was having trouble keeping up.”

The rule of thumb regarding Becker is simple enough: The worse he plays, the more he talks to himself. During his recent struggles, Becker was big on the soliloquy circuit.

And Monday? “Didn’t hear a word out of him,” Wheaton said.

Wimbledon always has been Becker’s favorite tournament, the championship he cherishes most, the site of his finest moments. It was no different Monday. He darted about the court as if he had been energized simply by passing through the wrought-iron gates of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Of course, six more matches separate Becker from another title. The will may be there, but is the game? “He can certainly win the tournament,” Wheaton said. “This is Wimbledon. For him, it’s his big tournament. But he’s not the same player he was a couple of years ago.”

He was close Monday, enough so that Becker acknowledged that he had looked at the odds--14-1, according to the local bookies--and decided it was a bargain. “If you ask me,” he said, smiling only a little, “that’s a pretty good investment.”

The surest investment, however--or so say the bookies--remains No. 1-seeded Pete Sampras, who began the tournament at odds of 11-10. Sampras defeated fellow American Jared Palmer, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 6-3, but it wasn’t always pretty.

Palmer had two chances to win the first set before Sampras, playing in his new ultra-baggy shorts--Wimbledon-required white, of course--rediscovered his contrail serve in time to win the game and the tiebreaker.

As is usually the case with Sampras, the defending champion, his overpowering serve was the difference. He had 25 aces, a Wimbledon high for him. Palmer had five.

“You know, when you get in a rhythm like that, he really didn’t have a clue where it was going,” said Sampras, who didn’t record his first ace until the match was 24 minutes old.

Sampras wasn’t the only player making his baggy-pants debut. Former champion Andre Agassi, seeded 12th--the same as he was in 1992, the year he won it--recorded a mostly uneventful 6-2, 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italy’s Andrea Gaudenzi.

Agassi, who is treated like royalty at Wimbledon, blew kisses to the crowd after the victory and later answered the London tabloid questions that count:

--Chest hair, here or gone? Here.

--Leg hair, what length? Won’t tell.

--Baggy shorts, whose idea? His.

--Brooke Shields, how does he see the relationship between him and the actress-model? “I see it very clearly.”

As for actual tennis, Agassi said he is hitting the ball as well as ever, feels great, has lost 18 pounds in the last year and shouldn’t be ignored by any opponent. Consider it the lure of Wimbledon.

“Once you win it, it’s something . . . you can’t live without,” he said.

Sampras, Becker and Agassi weren’t the only former champions who advanced Monday. Joining the list was third-seeded Stefan Edberg, who defeated qualifier Ellis Ferreira of South Africa, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Other seeded winners included No. 4 Goran Ivanisevic; No. 6 Todd Martin of the United States, who was stretched to five sets and two tiebreakers against Grant Stafford; No. 8 Sergi Bruguera; No. 10 Michael Chang, and No. 11 Petr Korda. The only seeded player to fall was No. 13 Cedric Pioline of France, who was beaten by Australian Brett Steven, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.