Svensson continues Swedish tradition

Press, 4 June 1988, Page 88

Svensson continues Swedish tradition

NZPA-Reuter Paris Everyday, somewhere in the world, you can find a Swede playing fabulous tennis.

For the last 11 days in Paris, it has been the turn of Jonas Svensson, who will be the only unseeded player in the French Open men’s singles semi-finals. Ranked No. 6 in his own country behind fel-

low semi-finalist, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, Kent Carlsson, Anders Jarryd and Joakim Nystrom and unable to command a place on the Swedish Davis Cup squad, Svensson is on a roll.

The 21-year-old from Kungsbaka has a centre court appointment with the Frenchman iHenri Leconte, and, with Wilan-

der playing the American Andre Agassi in the other semi-final, there is a distinct possibility of an all-Swedish final.

Svensson is currently ranked No. 21 in the world but can expect to climb into the top 16, and a guaranteed seeding at Wimbledon, following his Roland Garros victories over Nystrom, Carlsson, and most remarkably,

Ivan Lendl, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 6-2. Lendl has. now lost to seven different Swedes in his career stretching back to Bjorn Borg, six times champion of France and the master of the two-fisted top-spin approach to tennis. In contrast to the high drama of the SvenssonLen{H encounter, the two women’s semi-finals

were doomed to end in anticlimax. The defending champion, Steffi Graf, beat Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 7-6, in a match which was never as close as the scoreline suggests, while the Russian Natalia Zvereva defeated the unseeded Australian, Nicole Provis, 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 in a truly awful encounter which was never as thrilling as the scoij&line suggests.