Tennis Roundup : It’s Becker vs. Edberg for the Title

Second-seeded Boris Becker of West Germany fought off a stubborn challenge from Jonathan Canter Saturday to reach the final of the $375,000 Canadian Open tennis tournament at Toronto with a 7-6, 7-6 victory.

The scores of the tiebreakers were 7-4, 7-3.

Becker’s opponent today will be fourth-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden, who overpowered Christo Steyn of South Africa, 6-1, 6-2, in 50 minutes.

Two hours earlier, Steyn had eliminated 15th-seeded Kevin Curren in a rain-delayed quarterfinal match, 7-6, 7-6.

The meeting between Becker and Edberg will be their sixth. Edberg won the first two, while Becker won the last three.

There’s no doubt the two are among the best of the rising stars on the men’s tennis tour. Becker, at 18, is already a two-time Wimbledon champion, while Edberg, 20, is the reigning Australian Open champion.

For the most part, Becker played from the baseline against Canter. But Edberg thinks that will change.

“I think he will attack more tomorrow,” the Swede said. “He knows if he stands back I’m going to come in.”

Earlier in the tournament, Canter had upset third-seeded Yannick Noah, while Curren had stunned top-seeded Ivan Lendl.

“I wasn’t nervous about playing him for the first time, but I was pushing myself, and I needed to serve a little better if I hoped to pull it off,” said Canter, a resident of Beverly Hills.

“Still, I have to be satisfied, and pushing him to two tiebreakers increased my confidence.”

Steyn, rankled 70th in the world, managed to take only one point in the first three games against Edberg.

“He played unbelievable,” Steyn said. “I’ve never felt like that on the tennis court against anybody. At one point I was struggling to get points, much less games.

“I’m disappointed. I think I could have given him a better go if I hadn’t had to play two matches today.

“I think I was a little bit lucky to win against (Curren). I think it was a letdown for him to play a guy like me after such a big win over Lendl.”

At Saint Vincent, Italy, third-seeded Paul McNamee of Australia defeated Libor Pimek of Czechoslovakia, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the final of an $85,000 Grand Prix tournament against Simone Colombo of Italy.

Colombo beat Roldan Perez of Argentina, 7-6, 6-2, in the other semifinal match.