Hey, Get the Number of That Becker : Tennis: It’s up to eighth after he runs over Woodforde, 6-2, 6-2, to win the Los Angeles Open.

It was over quicker than you can say Boom. Suddenly, Boris Becker, absent awhile from the forefront of tennis, was back.

Becker--”Boom Boom” to fans for nearly a decade--held the silver trophy of the Los Angeles Open above his head Sunday and insisted that he had never left.

Seeded second, Becker took only 55 minutes to defeat unseeded Mark Woodforde, 6-2, 6-2, before 7,930 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. It was the shortest final match on the ATP tour this year.

“Now, I am back into top form, and I almost can’t wait until the U.S. Open begins,” Becker, 26, said in a rare show of enthusiasm.

He had every reason to feel confident after having steamrolled Woodforde.

Consider:

--The first set took only 25 minutes and Becker lost only eight points on his serve all day.

--He never faced a break point.

--He made only nine unforced errors.

Woodforde double-faulted twice to fall behind, 30-0, to start the match. Becker broke him in that first game and things never got any better for Woodforde, a left-hander from Australia.

“I think, had I gotten through that game holding serve, things might have been a bit different,” Woodforde said.

Woodforde, 28, is better known as a doubles player, with seven Grand Slam event doubles titles. He and John Fitzgerald defeated Scott Davis and Brian MacPhie, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, to win the L.A. Open doubles title.

Woodforde, ranked No. 53 in singles, defeated fifth-seeded Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands in the semifinals on Saturday to advance to the final and said he was nervous about playing Becker.

“I think one of my downfalls is that I give a lot of respect to the top guys,” Woodforde said. “It’s hard for me to say, ‘I’m as good as them. . . .’ And probably that put me on the back foot playing Boris Becker.”

They had never played each other in a tournament match, but played a practice set before the Los Angeles Open and joked about how funny it would be if they played in the final.

Becker collected $200,000 in contract incentives to go with the $42,000 winner’s check and is expected to move up three spots to No. 8 when the new rankings are released today.

Becker has won five Grand Slam tournament titles, including three at Wimbledon. His last Grand Slam event title was in 1991, when he won the Australian Open.

Since then, he has gone through off-court changes and slipped.

In 1993, he finished the year ranked No. 11 after finishing among the top five the previous seven years.

Becker said he felt betrayed by the media--especially German journalists--who wrote him off.

“I have explained many times why I didn’t practice that much or why I didn’t concentrate as much. It is because there were other things in my life that were, at that time, more important,” Becker said. “But I was never gone.”

He recently split with coach Gunther Bresnik and long-time manager Ion Tiriac and hired Nick Bollettieri as coach. Becker also married Barbara Feltus, who gave birth to his son, Noah, in January.

Becker seems to enjoy having a family. Noah usually sits propped in front of the television, watching his father play tennis.

“At night, when I come back, he gives me the advice that I need. He really gets on my back when I make bad shots,” Becker joked.

Since settling his life off the court, Becker has regained his prowess on it.

“It seems like every month I am playing better,” he said.

The L.A. Open was Becker’s second title of the year. He also won an indoor title at Milan in February.

So, what does he want to accomplish in his comeback?

“Just to be able to compete with the best players again,” Becker said. “Just to be Boris Becker on the court.”

That was enough Sunday.