Tennis Roundup : Lundgren Surprises Cash in Third Round at Montreal

Peter Lundgren of Sweden, ranked No. 112 in the world, recorded a major upset Thursday when he beat No. 5-seeded Pat Cash of Australia, 6-4, 7-6, in the third round of the Player’s International tennis tournament at Montreal.

The surprising victory by Lundgren earned him a berth in the quarterfinals against No. 3-seeded Boris Becker, who defeated Richey Reneberg, 6-2, 6-2.

In other third-round play, No. 1 Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia beat Andrew Sznajder of Canada, 6-1, 6-1; No. 4 Jimmy Connors defeated Jay Berger, 4-6, 7-5, 4-0, when Berger was forced to retire because of leg cramps, and No. 6 John McEnroe defeated Johan Carlsson of Sweden, 6-3, 6-2.

Also, No. 2-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden came back from a 5-2 first-set deficit to beat No. 15 Jimmy Arias, 7-5, 6-2; No. 8 Kevin Curren downed No. 9 Wally Masur of Australia, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, and No. 10 Slobodan Zivojinovic of Yugoslavia topped Kelly Evernden of New Zealand, 6-1, 6-4.

Cash, the Wimbledon champion, struggled with his first serves against his Swedish opponent.

“I have a lot of work to do on my serve,” Cash said. “It hasn’t been good. I don’t know exactly what is wrong.”

Cash said being Wimbledon champion motivates his opponents.

“I think players have nothing to lose against me,” he said. “They go for the the shots and make some terrific ones. I played poorly. I didn’t do one thing well.”

Cash, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last March, said the knee hurt him on the hard courts of Jarry Park, where the $375,000 tournament is being played. He became testy when asked to describe his knee injury. “None of your business,” he said.

Lundgren, whose style is reminiscent of Bjorn Borg, called the victory the biggest of his career. Two years ago, he beat Scott Davis in a tournament when Davis was ranked No. 11 in the world.

“I was returning well today,” he said. “I took it a little more easy between serves. I had been giving away easy points by rushing. I played the passing shots well.”

Lundgren, 22, said Cash didn’t seem motivated during the match, something Cash later denied.

“He (Cash) looked bored,” Lundgren said. “It’s tough after Wimbledon. He is feeling the pressure. Everyone wants to beat him.”

Connors, who plays McEnroe in the quarterfinals, described his match as an “uphill battle.”

Argentina’s Christian Miniussi won a third-set tiebreaker, 8-6, to upset Paraguay’s Victor Pecci, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, in the second round of a $121,000 tournament at Saint Vincent, Italy.

The victory moved the unseeded 20-year-old from Buenos Aires into the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix competition.

Miniussi, who is ranked 140th in the world, had upset second-seeded Martin Jaite, also of Argentina, in the first round.

At New Haven, Conn., Rick Leach of Laguna Beach upset top-seeded Nduka Odizor of Nigeria, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1, in a $25,000 tournament.