Brilliant Becker seals West German win

Press, 19 December 1989, Page 48

Brilliant Becker seals West German win

NZPA-Reuter Stuttgart Boris Becker, virtually a oneman team, played the best tennis of his life to give West Germany victory over Sweden for the second successive year in the Davis Cup tennis final yesterday. The Wimbledon and United States Open champion made sure the trophy stayed in West Germany by contributing two singles and a doubles win to his country’s 3-2 defeat of the four-time champions, Sweden. “I think it would be almost impossible for me to play better than I did today,” said Becker after beating a former world No. 1, Mats Wilander, 6-2, 6-0, 6-2, in the rubber which sealed the West Germans’ win. “I think it was probably the best match ever for me. It is quite difficult to believe that I played like that.” Becker lost only 12 games in his six sets of singles in Stuttgart’s Scheleyer Hall and dropped serve just once in the three days of the final — during his doubles victory with Eric Jelen over Anders Jarryd and Jan Gunnarsson. West Germany’s Yugoslav-born coach, Niki Pilic, who rushed on to the court to hug Becker after his win over Wilander had given the side an unbeatable 3-1 lead, had high praise for his star player.

BORIS BICKER

“I played myself for 20 years in the Davis Cup and I have been watching it for the last 30 years but I never saw -anybody who played that kind ofitennis in such an important tie and over three days,” he said. Wilander had beaten Becker twice in seven preyjqus meetings but never on a fast; carpet/sur-£ face like that in Sfitttga£% “I didn’t havem, Wilander said afte|Xßecker (had . sewn up the match jn imjaihour 45 minutes. “I had fhe (

to watch such a great player.” The 10,500 fans erupted when Becker struck a second service winner on match point. The last time West Germany hosted the final, in Munich in 1985, they were beaten 3-2 by Sweden. Becker’s team-mates have all improved their world rankings this year. But Carl-Uwe Steeb, who last December recovered from two sets down to beat Wilander in Gothenburg, still found the Swedes, playing in their seventh consecutive final, harder opponents this time round and lost both his singles matches. Wilander, opening -the tie on Friday, defeated Steeb in five sets and the Masters champion, Stefan Edberg, beat him 6-2, 6-4, in Sunday’s shortened, dead singles rubber. But the world No. 2, Becker, who carried an error-prone Jelen through much of the doubles and now has a Cup record of 27 wins in 29 singles matches, refused to accept the tag of one-man team. “In order to get three points and not only two you need a team and that is that,” he said. The Swedish captain, Jonte Sjogren,,. who will learn next week if.he is to keep the post he has' - held'-tor a year, said his squad had worked hard, : “Hut we lost to a better team so .what can. you do?? he said. “Becker played unbelievably.”