Tennis Roundup : Flach-Seguso Clinch Davis Cup Win

The United States won the American Zone final and advanced into World Group play in next year’s Davis Cup when Ken Flach and Robert Seguso defeated Argentina’s Javier Frana and Christian Miniussi, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, Saturday at Buenos Aires.

The victory gave the United States an insurmountable 3-0 lead entering today’s final singles matches.

On Friday, John McEnroe edged Argentina’s Guillermo Perez Roldan 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and Andre Agassi routed Martin Jaite, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Today, McEnroe plays Jaite and Agassi meets Perez Roldan.

Flach and Seguso, twice Wimbledon doubles champions, had only occasional difficulties in downing Frana and Miniussi to improve to 8-0 in Davis Cup play.

In the third set, however, the Argentines pulled ahead 4-3 when Flach, rattled when a heckler interrupted one service with a rooster call, lost his serve. The Americans came back to win the final three games of the match.

The referee, through a loud speaker system, warned the enthusiastic, partisan audience against heckling the Americans and threatened to grant the visitors points if they were interrupted.

The U.S. victory was the seventh over Argentina in Davis Cup play, and it was the first American victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires. Argentina has beaten the U.S. three times in Argentina.

West Germany advanced to the Davis Cup final for the second time in three years when Boris Becker and Eric Jelen rallied to win a marathon doubles match for a 3-0 lead over Yugoslavia.

Becker and Jelen overcame Slobodan Zivojinovic and 16-year-old Goran Ivanisevic, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 11-9, 9-7. The match lasted almost four hours.

Sweden opened a 2-0 lead over France in a rain-delayed semifinal at Bastad, Sweden.

Stefan Edberg, newly crowned Wimbledon champion, struggled past Henri Leconte, 6-4, 6-4, 8-10, 3-6, 6-4, in 3 hours 38 minutes.

Earlier Saturday, it took Mats Wilander, winner of the Australian and French Opens, exactly five hours to defeat Yannick Noah, 2-6, 13-11, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.

Edberg and Anders Jarryd play Noah and Guy Forget in doubles today.

Andres Gomez overcame a dismal start to beat Derrick Rostagno, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the final of the rain-plagued $232,050 D.C. tournament at Washington.

Gomez will face the winner of today’s Jimmy Connors-Aaron Krickstein semifinal match Monday afternoon.

Gomez, seeded third, lost the final six games of the first set. But he held serve the rest of the way to end Rostagno’s bid to make a Grand Prix final for the first time in his professional career.

The loss ended Rostagno’s improbable march to the semifinals. Rostagno, seeded 16th, had upset No. 2-seeded Brad Gilbert and No. 7 Darren Cahill before meeting Gomez.

Connors, the top-seeded player, beat Jay Berger, 7-5, 6-4, in a rain-interrupted baseline battle.

Connors overcame Berger’s patient attack and three rain delays to move within two victories of his first tournament title since 1984.

Connors capitalized on three service breaks to win the opening set, then broke a 4-4 deadlock in the final set by holding serve at love and notching his third consecutive break when Berger double-faulted three straight times.

Judith Weisner of Austria upset second-seeded Sandra Cecchini of Italy, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, in the semifinals of a $100,000 women’s tournament at Aix-En-Provence, France.

Weisner will play top-seeded Sylvia Hanika of West Germany, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 winner over Bettina Fulco of Argentina, in today’s final.