TENNIS : Becker, Bruguera Advance; Lendl Quits

Boris Becker needed a first-set tiebreaker to get used to the court, then put away Cristiano Caratti of Italy, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3 Wednesday night in a second-round match in the $1.72-million ATP Championship.

“I started off badly,” said Becker, seeded eighth. “The court was so fast, the ball was almost skidding. It took me about 25 minutes to get used to it.”

Earlier, top-seeded Sergi Bruguera needed three sets to defeat Russian Andrei Cherkasov, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1.

The Spanish clay specialist, a three-time winner on that surface this year, inherited the top seeding when No. 1-ranked Pete Sampras withdrew late last week because of tendinitis in his ankle.

Second-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden eliminated countryman Henrik Holm, 6-3, 6-2, avenging a loss to Holm in the first round of the French Open this year.

In another match featuring a seeded player, Thomas Enqvist of Sweden defeated 11th-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Ivan Lendl, the one-time No. 1 who flashed some of his old form Monday, complained of a sore back and withdrew in the second set of Wednesday’s match with David Wheaton. Wheaton had won the first set, 7-6 (7-5), and was leading 2-0 in the second when Lendl, 34, left the court.

Jason Stoltenberg, unseeded but playing well lately, ousted fifth-seeded Andrei Medvedev, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Stoltenberg, 24, of Australia, is the hottest player on the ATP tour, winning 16 of 19 matches in the past four weeks.

Amos Mansdorf of Israel upset 10th-seeded Petr Korda of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3.