Lendl-Wilander Masters final

Press, 8 December 1987, Page 56

Lendl-Wilander Masters final

NZPA-Reuter New York Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander won their semi-

final matches yesterday at the season-ending Masters tennis tournament and will play each other today for the SUSI 00,000 first prize. Lendl advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over the American eighth seed, Brad Gilbert, while Wilander beat fellow Swede Stefan Edberg, 6-2, 4-6, 63.

Wilander, a two-set victim to Edberg in roundrobin play at the week-

end had a more difficult time than Lendl in the semi-finals.

But the third-ranked Wilander fought hard and controlled the match for the most part. He raised his game, especially his passing shots, and Edberg had trouble with accuracy. Edberg, the world number two, served five double faults to Wilander’s one. Lendl, aged 26, had a

relatively easy roll to his eighth consecutive Masters final. He had a 3-0

record in round-robin play. He beat Gilbert and Boris Becker, while Jimmy Connors retired. Wilander, aged 23, advanced to the semi-finals from the round-robin format with a 2-1 record. Wilander’s loss was to Edberg in two sets, but he took his revenge in the semi-final.

Wilander, who also defeated Miloslav Mecir, of Czechoslovakia, and the Australian, Pat Cash, has shaken off an end-of-season slump in which he had failed to advance be-

yond the second round of his last three Grand Prix events. His appearance in the final marks the first time a Swede has advanced that far since 1981 when Bjorn Borg beat Lendl. • A Czechoslovak tennis official asked Lendl at the Masters to drop his bid for United States citizenship, fearing that the top-ranked player’s defection would seriously harm tennis in the Eastern bloc country. “Should he defect, it would cast a black

shadow over tennis in Czechoslovakia,” said Czechoslovak Davis Cup captain Jan Kodes. According to a source close to Kodes, Lendl’s departure might result in a curtailment of tennis programmes in Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia has already lost its two top women players. Martina Navratilova is now an American citizen, and Hana Mandlikova is seeking citizenship in her Australian husband’s country.