TENNIS ROUNDUP : Lendl Serves Up Five-Set Victory Over Sampras
Three weeks shy of his 31st birthday, Ivan Lendl says he’s a long way from being through with tennis.
“I think this is the first year of the second half of my career,†the former top-ranked player said after beating Pete Sampras, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, to win the $1 million U.S. Pro Indoor Championships Sunday at Philadelphia.
Lendl, the world’s third-ranked player, served 23 aces during the three-hour 20-minute match, the last three finishing Sampras.
“I’m starting to feel finally that I’m beginning to understand the game a little bit,†Lendl said.
Sampras, 19, the reigning U.S. Open champion from Rancho Palos Verdes, won his first pro title last year in Philadelphia.
Guy Forget of France beat Andrei Cherkasov of the Soviet Union, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), to win the Donnay Indoor Championship at Brussels.
Forget, ranked 11th in the world, played a sharp, attacking game from the start en route to winning his second title of the year, in the $600,000 event.
Cherkasov was bothered early by Forget’s booming serves, but fought back with steady baseline play to give Forget a strong run for the $77,500 top prize.
Cherkasov saved five match points before losing, leading Forget to say, “At the end, I started doubting myself.â€
The final was somewhat of a disappointing matchup after Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker had reached the semifinals, setting up the prospects of a final for the No. 1 ranking in tennis.
But Becker retired with a thigh strain in the deciding set against Cherkasov and relinquished his top ranking to Edberg, even though the Swede lost to Forget.
Martina Navratilova defeated Zina Garrison, 6-1, 6-2, to win her 11th Virginia Slims of Chicago in 14 years.
Navratilova, seeded No. 1, was playing in only her second tournament since double-knee surgery in November, and the victory was her first since beating Garrison in the final at Wimbledon last summer.
“I was nervous because I haven’t played for a while and haven’t won in a long time,†Navratilova said. “I’m like a bad dream--I keep coming back.â€
Garrison, seeded No. 5, is now 1-30 against Navratilova.
“If I would have played anyone else today I would have won,†Garrison said. “Some people play really well against you--and it’s like that with Martina and I.â€
Navratilova, 34, earned $70,000, boosting her lifetime winnings to $16.78 million.
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