Tennis Roundup : Lendl to Play Mayotte for Championship

Ivan Lendl had to call on all the strokes that have made him the No. 1 player in the world Saturday to reach the final of the $465,000 U.S. Pro Indoor tennis championships at Philadelphia.

Before struggling to a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Brad Gilbert, the top-seeded Lendl had not lost a set or a service break in the weeklong tournament.

He will play seventh-seeded Tim Mayotte in a best-of-five-set final today for the $67,500 first prize. Mayotte upset fourth-seeded Yannick Noah of France, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, winning on the fifth match point with a powerful serve Noah netted.

Lendl has a 10-0 career record against Mayotte.

Lendl, who practices often with Gilbert, said the loser changed his style for the match.

“He came to the net more often than he does, mixed his game well. I was surprised how well he played some games since he wasn’t playing his usual style.”

Lendl had defeated Gilbert easily in all of their seven previous matches, losing only one set to the world’s No. 18 player.

“I noticed that the guys who beat Lendl are the ones who come to the net more,” Gilbert said. “I also stood closer to the base line on serves than I usually do.”

Chris Evert Lloyd won her third straight 6-1, 6-0 match in a $250,000 Virginia Slims tournament at Key Biscayne, Fla., beating Manuela Maleeva to move into the final against second-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany.

Graf defeated fourth-seeded Bonnie Gadusek, 6-0, 6-2, in 49 minutes.

The top-seeded Lloyd has lost only five games in four matches so far in the tournament. She lost the first game to the third-seeded Maleeva and then swept the next 12, just as she did against Carling Bassett in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Lloyd’s domination was so complete she did not lose a point on her serve until the third game of the second set. She ended up losing only six points on her serve in the match.

“I can’t remember the last time I didn’t lose a point on my serve for an entire set,” Lloyd said. “I’ve played better the past three matches than I did last year, and I think I’ll be able to win in the finals if I continue to play like I have all week.”

Maleeva, who defeated Lloyd in the 1984 Italian Open final but is 1-9 against her lifetime, said Graf can’t do much if Lloyd continues the standard of play she’s set so far in the tournament.

“She hardly missed the ball,” the 18-year-old Bulgarian said. “When you play against someone who hits the ball that hard and that well it becomes frustrating.”

The 16-year-old Graf has never won a set in four matches with the 31-year-old Lloyd.