Australian Open Tennis : Lendl Faces Witsken in Next Match : Former Trojan Reaches the Quarterfinals; Cash Wins, but Noah Is Upset

MELBOURNE, Australia — Ivan Lendl, the world’s top-ranked player, moved closer to his first Australian Open title with a hard-fought victory Sunday, while Wimbledon champion Pat Cash underlined the strength of his challenge.

Lendl, the U.S. and French Open champion from Czechoslovakia, beat Australian Davis Cup player Wally Masur, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, in earning a quarterfinal berth against the only American survivor, Todd Witsken. Cash, of Australia, delighted a huge crowd with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 victory over 14th-seeded Jonas B. Svensson of Sweden.

Cash next plays Michiel Schapers of the Netherlands, who upset fifth-seeded Yannick Noah of France, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3, 7-6, in a fourth-round match.

Schapers recorded a similarly surprising result here three years ago, defeating Wimbledon champion Boris Becker of West Germany.

Noah, a former French Open champion, said after his loss that he planned to cut back on his use of cigarettes, alcohol and his party-going.

“I’ll have to change a few things. I’m not in good enough shape to overpower my opponents,” Noah said.

“I’m going to work very hard. You need to be 100% in top level tennis.”

Schapers said his victory over Noah was much better than his triumph over Becker in 1985. “I was smart and played well today,” he said.

Cash, seeded fourth, is aiming for his second Grand Slam title.

He lost twice to Svensson last year but had control at the net and appeared in a hungry and ruthless mood Sunday night, winning in 1 hour 57 minutes.

“Jonas is one of the toughest players around, particularly on hard courts, so I was pleased to win that well,” Cash said. “I beat him easier than I expected and I’m doing certain things better with each match.”

Witsken, a former USC All-American ranked 153rd in the world, scored a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 fourth-round victory over Menno Oosting of the Netherlands.

Witsken, from Carmel, Ind., upset seventh-seeded Henri Leconte of France in the third round.

Two of the top women’s players, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, also advanced.

Navratilova, seeded second, defeated West German Sylvia Hanika, 6-4, 6-0, while Evert, seeded third, beat Switzerland’s Celine Cohen, 6-1, 6-1.

Navratilova next plays sixth-seeded Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia. Evert faces unseeded Claudia Porwik of West Germany.

Sukova beat New Zealand’s Belinda Cordwell, 7-6, 7-5, and Porwik upset 10th-seeded Barbara Potter, 7-6, 7-5.

The remainder of fourth-round matches were to be played today, with quarterfinal action scheduled to start Tuesday.

Defending champion Stefan Edberg of Sweden was to face 17-year-old Australian Jason Stoltenberg, who is ranked only 330th internationally but is the world’s top-ranked junior.