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Seles Win Sets Tone at Open : Tennis: Fans get more than their money’s worth as Becker and Agassi also win thrillers to gain the semifinals.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Sports fans love to get their money’s worth. Moreso New York sports fans.

So call Wednesday’s quarterfinal matches at the U.S. Open tennis tournament a real bargain.

The New York faithful delighted in the morning, as second-seeded Monica Seles was roughed up by Jana Novotna before prevailing, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

Then the afternoon crowd was equally mesmerized, as fourth-ranked Boris Becker was stretched to 4 hours 7 minutes before beating Patrick McEnroe, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6).

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The night crowd, made to wait more than an hour for the start of the first night match because of the length of the Becker-McEnroe match, was thoroughly entertained by the waxing and waning fortunes of top-seeded Andre Agassi, whose quest for providing entertainment now seems to extend to scaring even himself before winning.

Agassi finally defeated Petr Korda, 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5, after 2 hours 31 minutes. Korda, ranked No. 39, staved off one match point before losing his serve and the match in the fourth set.

Agassi struggled with his serve and was pushed around the court by Korda’s placement. Fatigue may have accounted for Agassi’s lack of interest in the third set, which he appeared to concede.

Then he nearly gave Korda the fourth set. Agassi double-faulted to lose his serve at 1-4 and looked shaky. But Korda, too, was showing nerves. The Czech blew two set points and Agassi’s return of serve and deep ground strokes brought him back into the match.

“Next thing you know, it’s two sets to one and the match had been totally in control,” Agassi said. “I just had to pick up my level. It should have never taken me so long. But it did.”

McEnroe, for so long overshadowed by his brother John’s legacy, played one of his most inspired tournaments, perhaps even better than his effort at this year’s Australian Open, where he made it to the quarterfinals after eliminating Becker in the first round.

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McEnroe was, at 29, the oldest player remaining in the men’s or women’s field. It was the first time he had advanced to the quarterfinals of the Open.

Seles’ match against the fifth-seeded Novotna was, by far, her toughest test since returning to the WTA tour last month.

Seles’ improved serve is at a point where she views each service break as a personal affront. So in the first set, Seles was personally affronted three times, especially in the fifth game, where she double-faulted on break point.

In the 11th game of the first set, Novotna broke Seles to go up 6-5. The Czech was successful in exploiting Seles’ second serve, chipping it back and charging the net.

With Novotna serving for the set, the crowd rumbled in anticipation. Until Wednesday, Seles had not lost so much as four games in a set and, with her serve wobbling, Seles appeared fresh out of weapons. How might she respond to real pressure?

Novotna got it to 40-15, and then the real Seles showed up, fearlessly passing Novotna with a forehand down the line off a hard first serve for 40-30, then ending a long rally with a rare charge to the net and a winning forehand volley.

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From that point on, it was clear Seles would break back and clear she would win the ensuing tiebreaker.

Novotna, playing coolly and showing no signs of the choke label that has haunted her recently, was impressed with Seles’ resolve.

“I was up 6-5, 40-15 and that is where Monica really showed that she didn’t worry about what the score was and just went for her shots,” Novotna said.

Seles will play 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez in one semifinal. Martinez outlasted a determined Brenda Schultz-McCarthy on Wednesday, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

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