Fireworks likely in tennis clash

Press, 3 July 1986, Page 40

Fireworks likely in tennis clash

NZPA-Reuter London Ivan Lendl, stretched by an American outsider in a nerve-tingling tiebreak yesterday, faces a far tougher Wimbledom test today against Tim Mayotte. But their quarter-final clash could be dwarfed by a potentially epic encounter on the centre court between two of the game’s great artists, Henri Leconte, of France, and Pat Cash, of Australia. Lendl’s weaknesses on grass were exposed by the booming serve of Matt Anger, who took the No. 1 seed to four sets, losing the last in a thrilling 12-10 tie-break. Now comes the big clash against Mayotte, the man in form after his London grass court tournament wins over Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Jimmy Connors. But the real fireworks could come in the clash between the ebullient Leconte and the extrovert Cash, who has become the star of the tournament he entered just three weeks after an appendix operation. The erratically brilliant Leconte could finally stop the Cash flow with his booming serve, superb passing shots and pinpoint accurate volleying. The titleholder, Boris Becker, faces an intriguing clash against “The Big Cat,” Miloslav Mecir, of Czechoslovakia, who toppled the Australian Open winner, Stefan Edberg, with a lovely display of exquisite timing. For the tenth year in a row, an unseeded player will be in the semi-finals, and that place will be decided in a court one contest today between the Indian touch player, Ramesh Krishnan, and the powerful Yugoslav, Slobodan Zivojinovic. The women’s singles has been hit by far fewer shocks than the men’s event and yesterday Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert Lloyd took one step closer to another big encounter. The world No. 1, Navratilova, a 6-1, 6-3 con-

queror of the West German, Bettina Bunge, in the quarter-finals, will now meet an Argentine, Gabriela Sabatini, who beat Sweden’s Catarina Lindqvist, 7-6, 7-5. LLoyd’s match fitness was sharpened in a battle royal against a Czechoslovak, Helen Sukova, with the determined American finally winning, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. The last semi-final place was taken by another Czech, Hana Mandlikova, who, despite a first set lapse of concentration, disposed of an American, Lori McNeil, 67, 6-0, 6-2. New Zealand interest in the tournament has faded with only Brett Steven in the junior boy’s doubles and Belinda Cordwell in the women’s plate still in the draw. The country’s best chance crashed yesterday when Kelly Evernden and an American, Chip Hooper, were ousted from the men’s doubles by the tenth seeded Spanish combination of Emilio Sanchez and Sergio Cascal. Evernden and the giant 1.9 metre (6ft 6in) Hooper lost, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 10-8, in three and a half hours on a day which was only slightly cooler than Tuesday’s 39degC. The pair, which won the support of a large crowd, cruised comfortably through the first two sets but Evernden dropped serve early in the third set allowing the Spaniards to sneak back into the game. Sanchez and Cascal won a closely fought tiebreaker in the third set, 75, then went on to win the fourth and fifth sets. Evernden said he could not understand how they had lost. The pair — who were playing in only their third tournament together — were two points from an upset victory in the third set. Brett Steven, of Auckland, also made his exit from the junior boys singles when he was beaten, 6-3, 6-2, by the promising young third seeded Spaniard, Javier Sanchez.