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1987

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#1 ·
The world as it was, kind of ...

YOU READ 'EM HERE FIRST: '87 PREDICTIONS THAT CAN'T FAIL
SACRAMENTO BEE
January 4, 1987
Pete Dexter

Thirty-seven can't-miss predictions for the new year:

SPORTS

1. Washington will win the Super Bowl, killing the Bears, edging the 49ers and then beating Cleveland by four points. (Note: These predictions were made Friday afternoon, before the playoff games.)

2. Steffi Graf will win Wimbledon, and establish herself as the No. 2 women's tennis player in the world.

3. Martina Navratilova, who is still No. 1, will attack another photographer.

4. Tyrell Biggs will decision Mike Tyson in the first of what will become the greatest series of heavyweight fights since Ali-Frazier.

5. Marvin Hagler will beat up Ray Leonard worse than Martina beats up the photographer.

6. The New York Times will call for the abolition of boxing.

7. Vinny Testaverde will get to the NFL and turn out to be the real thing.

8. The Lakers will win the NBA.

9. A coach somewhere is going to grab the wrong athlete by the front of his shirt to yell at him, and get himself squashed.

10. Vicky Aragon will become the best woman jockey who ever rode.

11. The Mets will fall apart.

TELEVISION

12. ABC's ""Wide World of Sports'' will run some variation of 12-year old girls standing on balance beams every Saturday until spring.

13. Dan Rather will be replaced as news anchor at CBS.

14. Diane Sawyer is going to get her own show -- maybe the ""CBS Evening News.''

15. Sam Donaldson is going to do something memorably arrogant, and I am going to be afraid to criticize him, because the last time I criticized Sam Donaldson for being memorably arrogant, it was for something Roger Mudd did.

16. Stan Borman will interview a chicken.

POLITICS

17. No one is ever going to offer Geraldine Ferraro a million dollars again to write a book.

18. Sandy Smoley will become a huge cult figure.

19. Ron Reagan Jr. and his sisters and brother will eat, drink and be merry, and fill their dance cards, because when the ball is over, it's over, and there isn't anybody going to come by fitting any of them for glass slippers.

20. Oliver North will decide he doesn't want to tell the American people the whole story after all, at least not under oath. He will, however, be persuaded by a New York publisher to write his memoirs, a persuasion in the area of $350,000.

21. A chicken will collect enough signatures to run for mayor of Sacramento, but only one local television station will try for an exclusive interview.

22. It will take more and more energy to hate Richard Nixon.

HOUSING

23. If I don't find a house to buy before long, I will be in more trouble than Oliver North, and nobody is going to pay me $350,000 for it.

PUBLISHING

24. Esquire, now under new ownership, may become readable.

25. More serious fiction will appear initially in paperback, making it accessible to people who don't have $18 to pay for a hardback.

26. The national magazines are going to find out about Deborah Blum, who writes science for this newspaper as well as it is written anywhere, and she is going to have more article offers than she can keep track of.

27. Rupert Murdoch is going to disappear -- completely vanish -- and nobody is going to look for him.

28. The Sacramento Union will hang in there until somebody figures out a way to turn it around.

MUSIC

29. Willie Nelson and the Andrews Sisters, together for the first time.

30. Ray Charles will continue to prove he is one of the 10 or 12 genuine American geniuses of this century.

31. My daughter will discover a talent for the harp, or some instrument at least as expensive.

RELIGION

32. Willie Nelson and the pope, together for the first time.

CRIME

34. More people in suits will go to jail.

35. Someone will knock over a major race track.

36. The mayor of one of the five largest cities in the country will be indicted.

37. And I am going to get away with calling this work for another year.
 
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#130 ·
UPSET BECKER IS FINED
San Jose Mercury News
January 21, 1987
Mercury News Wire Services

Two-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker was fined $2,000 today for a series of outbursts during his fourth-round loss to Wally Masur in the $1.65 million Australian Open.

Becker was given two warnings by umpire Wayne Spencer en route to his 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 loss Tuesday to the unseeded Australian.

Becker was fined $500 for being coached from the sideline by Gunther Bosch and another $500 for breaking his racket in the second-set tie-breaker.

He also was fined $1,000 for offensive behavior during the match.

That included twice throwing the ball in an offensive manner at the umpire, hitting the umpire's chair on one occasion, spitting water in the direction of the umpire and hitting three balls out of the court.

The fines were announced by Thomas Karlberg and Bill Gilmour, Men's International Professional Tennis Council supervisors, who met late Tuesday to discuss the incidents.

Becker's manager, Ion Tiriac, later said his charge would appeal the $500 fine for coaching, which Tiriac deemed unjust.

"Boris didn't even know where his coach, Gunther Bosch, was sitting," said Tiriac, who was highly critical of Spencer.

"The man was incapable of taking charge of a match like this," Tiriac said. "Once you lose confidence in the umpire, you appeal everything.

"Boris was very mildly penalized, but what will they do to the guy in the chair? Shoot him? I doubt it."

Tiriac felt the umpire should have cautioned Becker for his histrionics early in the match.

"It probably would have quieted him down," Tiriac said. "He would have realized he was out of line."

Tiriac also said that Becker had been taking antibiotics for a sore throat prior to the match.

Masur, 23, ranked 71st in the world, kept his nerve to outplay Becker in the final set after squandering three match points in the fourth set tie-breaker, which Becker won 11-9.

When Becker broke to lead 2-0 in the final set, he appeared ready to win. But Masur raised the level of his game, and it was Becker who crumbled.

The defeat was the second straight time Becker has been upset in the Australian Open. In 1985 -- there was no Australian Open in 1986 -- Becker was beaten by Michiel Schapers in the second round.

In the 1985 Australian Open, Masur had two match points against eventual champion Stefan Edberg but lost.

This time, however, his nerve held, while Becker's failed him. The 19-year-old West German had 16 double faults, including the final two points of the match. In the quarterfinals, No. 1 seed Ivan Lendl will play Anders Jarryd; Edberg will take on Miloslav Mecir; Masur will face Kelly Evernden; and Yannick Noah will play Pat Cash.

Rain halted proceedings shortly after the start of play today. The cloud cover was not particularly heavy, and officials were hopeful play would resume.
 
#131 ·
Becker's coach quits in rift
The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution
January 21, 1987
From Wire Reports

MELBOURNE, Australia - Guenther Bosch has quit as the coach of No. 2-ranked Boris Becker after the West German tennis star's surprising early elimination in the Australian Open, the Bild newspaper reported today.

Bild said Bosch apparently was angered over Becker's approach to preparing for the Australian Open and the 19-year-old's temper tantrums during his 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 loss Tuesday to unseeded Wally Masur.

"I can no longer accept the type of attitude with which Boris prepared for this tournament," Bild quoted Bosch as saying in an interview in Melbourne after Becker's elimination.

"Further collaboration (with Becker) would have made me abandon my personality and put my good name at risk," Bild quoted Bosch as saying.

"Boris has cut the umbilical cord between himself and me also in a sport sense, more emphatically than I could have thought possible."

Bild, West Germany's most widely read newspaper with a 5.2 million circulation, is known to have good contacts with Becker's tennis entourage and family.

In today's men's quarterfinals, Pat Cash defeated Yannick Noah 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0; Stefan Edberg defeated Miloslav Mecir 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, Masur defeated Kelly Evernden 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 and top-seeded Ivan Lendl defeated Anders Jarryd 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-3.
 
#132 ·
Nice little story, but the details are dubious. Would be more believable if Martina were practicing on a sidecourt with no seats for viewers.

Hazeltine Didn't Blame The 49ers
The San Francisco Chronicle
January 21, 1987
Art Rosenbaum

[...]

THE LEGEND: Nice little story from Mission Hills in the Palm Springs area. Martina Navratilova was playing the semifinals of a recent tournament on a sidecourt with no seats for viewers. At one point she glanced toward the wire fence where an elderly woman was watching. At the next break in the action, Martina asked a ballboy to bring a chair inside the court, then directed him to escort the woman to the chair, where she could see the remainder of the match in comfort.

The special treatment went to San Francisco's Alice Marble, winner of six Wimbledon titles and hundreds of others in the late '30s.

In her day, Alice's smash serve from the right side was probably as hard as Martina's from the left side today. Alice was invited to Wimbledon in 1984 to help celebrate that tournament's 100th anniversary, and it was there she first met Martina and offered formal congratulations.

The force of the Marble serve developed in San Francisco when she could play baseball, handball and soccer better than boys, but tennis was one of the few acceptable sports for girls.

In 1984 she was also honored at the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in San Francisco.

Since taking up residence as a teaching pro in Palm Desert, she has had 12 escapes from serious injury in auto accidents and six abdominal operations. San Francisco's lady-legend of tennis appreciated that chair on side court.

[...]
 
#133 ·
GIANT-KILLING MASUR READY TO SLAY EDBERG
ALAN CLARKSON
January 22, 1987
Sydney Morning Herald

MELBOURNE: Wally Masur, Australia's latest and most unassuming sporting hero, did it again at Kooyong yesterday when he stormed into the $2.5 million Ford Australian Open semi-finals with a 6-3 7-5 6-4 win over Kelly Evernden.

Masur, who is not a boastful person, believes he has a chance to make the final by toppling the defending champion, Stefan Edberg, tomorrow.

In the other semi-final Pat Cash, who beat Yannick Noah 6-4 6-2 2-6 6-0, will play Ivan Lendl, who beat Anders Jarryd 7-6 6-1 6-3.

It is the first time since 1980 two Australians have made the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

In that year Peter McNamara played Kim Warwick but Warwick, who damaged his shoulder, was easily beaten by Brian Teacher in the final.

Masur and Edberg had a magnificent five-set match in the fourth round of last year's Open when the Swede saved two match points and came back from two sets down to win.

Yesterday, after he finished his doubles match a couple of hours after his singles win, Masur allowed himself the luxury of putting his feet up and savouring the excitement of his success against Wimbledon champion Boris Becker on Tuesday and then the tough Evernden.

This remarkable 23-year-old player, whose career began in Canberra and had just floated along until the past few weeks, had the problem of getting himself physically and mentally prepared for yesterday's match.

He worked hard to get away from all the hype after his brilliant win over Becker.

He tried to keep it low-key as much as possible and did not watch television or read the papers.

Masur did not know he had to play Edberg in the semi-final until he was told in the press conference, but he was confident about his chances of winning.

"When I came into the tournament I did not look at who I had to play, I just played it match by match," he said.

Masur said he had trouble sleeping on Tuesday night and his muscles were a little stiff when he got out of bed, but once he started to play he felt fine

"I believe I have a realistic chance of beating Edberg. I would be foolish to go on to the court thinking I couldn't."

Masur was a little staggered by the suggestion that he was a national hero

"I don't know about that, I will have to wait and see," he said.

"I haven't thought about that although I did get a nice free dinner last night and if that's being a national hero, then I can handle that."

Australian Davis Cup captain, Neale Fraser watched the match and it can almost be taken for granted that Masur will be the second singles player in the Australian Davis Cup team to play Yugoslavia in Adelaide next March.

Fraser said that Masur's win over Becker was one of the most satisfying performances he had seen for a long time.

"I enjoyed Cash's win in the Davis Cup and his efforts at Wimbledon and in the United States Open were outstanding.

"A lot of people have regarded Masur as a nice guy who will run second.

"But I have always had a lot of faith in Wally. I told him at the start of the year that I expected him to play a more active part in the playing area of the Davis Cup team.

"That could be coming around a little quicker than I anticipated."

Masur again played strongly, hitting his ground strokes well and serving better than he has in the past.

He had some problems in the third set when he twice broke Evernden's service but then had his own service taken by the gritty Kiwi.

But the third time Masur took Evernden's service he made no mistake in clinching the match to the delight of the crowd who scrambled for every vantage point.

"Wally ... Wally ... Wally," is the new chant of the Melbourne tennis public in appreciation of the courage of this young man, who seems destined now to take a more decisive role in Australian tennis.

Top Seed Ivan Lendl delivered his biggest "serve" off court to the tournament committee for the scheduling of the quarter-finals.

Two of the matches were played at the same time with Lendl on the outside court.

The Masur-Evernden match started an hour later with the fourth match, between Cash and Noah, the last singles match on the centre court.

Lendl was bitter in his attack on the scheduling committee, pointing out that Cash had not played a match on the outside court during the Open while he had played two, including the quarter-final.

"This tournament is not run very professionally," Lendl said.

He claimed "every" grand slam tournament split the quarter-finals over two days.

"Although the others do it with a 128 draw, they can't do it here with a 96 draw," he said.

"If I was a fan of tennis in Melbourne I would be very upset, annoyed and disappointed at having three men's singles quarter-finals virtually being played at the same time.

"If I was paying I would expect to see all four of them throughout two days, one after the other, on centre court.

"I will probably have to play on the outside court again in the semi-final because they said everyone will play once outside.

"Pat Cash has not played on an outside court so I suppose the semi-final will be out there."

Tournament director Colin Stubs hit back when he said he thought it was unprofessional of Lendl to criticise people who were helping to line his pockets.

Stubs said that Lendl was put on at 11am because he asked to play early so he could have a round of golf.

"We decided to accede to his request but it meant putting him on the outside court because we felt that the other match between Edberg and Miloslav Mecir would be a better contest for the public," Stubs said.

Lendl applied to have a hit on the centre court this morning and it was agreed to by the tournament committee although they are concerned about the surface lasting for four days.

Cash played some devastating tennis in the final set to blast Noah out of the tournament.

In the process he earned a code of conduct violation for banging a ball into the stand.

But the supervisor, Bill Gilmour, after receiving the umpire's report, decided not to fine Cash.

Cash, who was ill with a virus last week, said he now felt good and was pleased with his performance and the way he was hitting the ball.

He was looking forward to his match against Lendl although he obviously had a lot of respect for the man who is ranked No 1 and has not beaten him in their four matches.

Cash rates the pressure of a Davis Cup as more intense than playing in a semi-final or final of a grand slam tournament.

"In a Davis Cup you build up for a month for the one match, for the one chance," he said.

"There are four grand slam tournaments every year so you have a second chance."

Cash admitted he was a bundle of nerves when Masur played Becker on Tuesday and he could not watch the final set.

He turned off the television and watched a video movie but his father, who was hunted out to another set in the house, kept yelling out the score.

"My father has always said it is harder to watch a match than play it and now I know what he meant," Cash said.

Cash did play well and the only blemish to his game was when he dropped serve, which cost him the third set.

But he came back strongly, served with a lot of pace and backed up with some brilliant volleying and ground strokes.

His final set was probably as well as he has played and it left Noah, the fourth ranked player in the world, without an answer.

Even a plea on his knees to a higher level did not do the slightest good.

Edberg was in brilliant form in demolishing Mecir 6-1 6-4 6-4 and he is going to take a lot of stopping.

Edberg controlled the match from the start and with his serve-and-volley game working superbly, Mecir could not cope with the constant flow of brilliant shots from the young Swede.

Becker received fines totalling $2,000 for his on-court antics in the match against Masur but his manager Ion Tiriac will appeal against one of them, the $500 he received for coaching.

Tiriac did not attempt to excuse the behaviour of Becker, instead he was critical of the 19-year-old Wimbledon champion.

He made the valid point that the central umpire should have taken a stronger stand and penalised him a point when he played up.

"Had he taken stronger action Becker would have won, it would have made him wake up," Tiriac said.

"Becker was only mildly penalised. If he slammed his racquet down four times, then penalise him four times.

"Becker lost because the referee was not tough enough on court."
 
#134 ·
Tennis: Success of Masur and Cash hints at an Australian revival
The Times
London, England
January 22, 1987
REX BELLAMY, Tennis Correspondent, MELBOURNE

The singles semi-finals in the Australian championships, the first of the year's four grand slam tournaments, will be as follows: Ivan Lendl v Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg v Wally Masur, Martina Navratilova v Catarina Lindqvist, and Claudia Kohde-Kilsch v Hana Mandlikova. Edberg and Miss Navratilova are the holders.

This is the fifth consecutive grand slam tournament in which no American has reached the men's semi-finals and the first Australian championships since 1976 in which no American even reached the last eight. Cash and Masur have given Australia two places in the semi-finals for the first time since 1980. This hints at a revival coinciding with the construction of Australia's brand new tennis centre, in which next year's championships will be played.

Miss Lindqvist, the first Swede to reach the women's singles semi-finals of a grand slam tournament, lost all her five previous matches with Miss Navratilova but had four match points when they met in Stuttgart last October. Miss Mandlikova has won five of her eight matches with Miss Kohde-Kilsch. Today's matches should produce a Navratilova-Mandlikova final but I would not bet my house on it.

Yannick Noah, who has had the best grass-court tournament of his career, was the only loser to take a set from the men's quarter-finals yesterday. He was beaten 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 by Cash, who has swiftly regained the momentum achieved during his superb tennis in last month's Davis Cup final. Cash plays like a highly manoeuvrable, heavily armoured tank with formidable fire-power. He is capable of subtlety too, and his current form reminds us that to some extent he was the Boris Becker of 1984.

Noah, the first Frenchman to reach the quarter-finals since Patrick Proisy (his brother-in-law) did so in 1973, has disproved the self-inspired myth that he cannot play on grass. It may never be his best surface but he has played awfully well here. Yesterday some of his volleyed drops plunged to earth like birds shot in flight, a distasteful but irresistable analogy.

Noah did not serve well enough but he took charge of the third set with four forehand passing shots. The last of these was typical of this exciting athlete. On the run, Noah hit a winner down the line and then skidded, fell, and measured his 6ft 4in - a lot of tennis player - within inches of a bevy of off-duty ball girls.

From an Australian point of view Cash is supposed to be the star of the show but, so far, he has had to share top billing with a hero who is a 'Wally' - the only respect in which that derogatory slang could remotely be associated with Masur. This charming man took three hours and 38 minutes to beat Becker, which is not an easy thing to do on grass, and little more than 17 hours later, he was back on court - and beating Kelly Evernden 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Masur was lucky to be playing Evernden rather than any of the other men in action yesterday but this, nevertheless, was a resilient performance - mentally as well as physically.

Becker's variety of tantrums during the Masur match have cost the German almost pounds 1,400 in fines. The Wimbledon champion's petulant response to frustration seemed out of character but we may have misjudged him. Perhaps he is not quite the knight in shining armour we thought he was.

Evernden, modest in height, but broad and well muscled in the shoulders, is reminiscent of another New Zealander - Chris Lewis, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 1983 - in that the white binding around his hair has loose ends flopping about at the back. One sometimes wonders why such trendy professional athletes do not go the whole hog and wear hair-nets.

Evernden was no match for a player who had warmed up with Becker. But he is a remarkable man. At the age of 16 Evernden was hit by a car. The widespread damage included a punctured lung that was later removed. No wonder he lives life to the full. For survivors like Evernden every day is a bonus.

Anders Jarryd had chances in the first and third sets but was beaten 7-6, 6-1, 6-3 by Lendl, who then launched what was, on the whole, a justified attack on the scheduling. Lendl suggested that the other grand slam events did a better job with men's singles draws of 128 than Australia did with a draw of 96 - and that if the Australians could not do better, they should import somebody from Wimbledon, France or the United States to do the job for them.

Edberg was beaten in straight sets by Milroslav Mecir at Wimbledon last year but, yesterday, swept the inscrutable Mecir aside by 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Edberg hardly did a thing wrong. He was so gracefully facile that his tennis was beyond the range of criticism.

Compared with Wimbledon, Edberg said, he made a better start, served better (he conceded only 15 points in 14 service games), and concentrated on getting his service returns into court rather than going for winners: 'Also, this is a different court.' The centre court here is harder than Wimbledon's and has patches of bare, cracked earth.

Mecir is an angler but there was not much he could do to ensure a decent catch.

Miss Navratilova and Pam Shriver, probably the best women's doubles team in the history of tennis, were given a good match by Jo Durie and Anne Hobbs but beat them 6-4, 7-5. The British pair found it awfully difficult to get anywhere near a service break. But in the last match of the day Miss Hobbs and Andrew Castle reached the semi-finals of the mixed doubles by beating two Australian teenagers, Michelle Jaggard and Shane Barr, by 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

That delightful match spanned one of those lovely summer evenings that ultimately become rather chilly. Miss Hobbs and Castle finished with pounds 2,000 to share between them and the prospect of more.

Melbourne results

MEN'S SINGLES: Quarter-finals: I Lendl (Cz) bt A Jarryd (Swe), 7-6, 6-1, 6-3; S Edberg (Swe) bt M Mecir (Cz), 6-1, 6-4, 6-4; W Masur (Aus) bt K Evernden (NZ), 6-3, 7-5, 6-4; P Cash (Aus) bt Y Noah (Fr), 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0.

MEN'S DOUBLES: Quarter-finals: S Edberg and A Jarryd (Swe) bt W Masur and B **** (Aus), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

WOMEN'S DOUBLES: Quarter-finals: P Hy (HK) and E Inoue (Japan) bt C Lindqvist (Swe) and E Pfaff (WG), 7-5, 6-4; Z Garrison and L McNeil (US), bt H Mandlikova (Cz) and W Turnbull (Aus), 3-6, 6-3, 8-6; M Navratilova and P Shriver (US) bt J Durie and A Hobbs (GB), 6-4, 7-5; C Kohde-Kilsch (WG) and H Sukova (Cz) bt S Collins and S Walsh-Pete (US), 7-5, 6-0.

MIXED DOUBLES: Quarter-finals: P Annacone and Miss M Navratilova (US) bt T Pawsat and Miss L McNeil (US), 7-6, 7-6; D Utzinger and Miss C Jolissaint (Switz) bt D Tyson and Miss J Thompson (Aus), 7-6, 7-6; S Stewart and Miss Z Garrison (US) bt P Doohan and Mrs D Balestrat (Aus), 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-6 (8-6).
 
#135 ·
Lendl, Edberg gain berths in semifinals
Houston Chronicle
January 21, 1987
Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia - A confident Ivan Lendl and defending champion Stefan Edberg of Sweden blasted their way today into the semifinals of the $1.65 million Australian Open tennis championships at Kooyong.

Lendl, seeking his first Grand Slam title on grass, scored a crushing 7-6, 6-1, 6-3 triumph over ninth-seeded Anders Jarryd of Sweden, while Edberg, seeded fourth, completely outplayed No. 6 Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

"I'm confident as I'm playing better than I was at the end of Wimbledon last year," said Lendl, who reached the final at the All-England Club before falling to West Germany's Boris Becker.

Australians Pat Cash and unseeded Wally Masur clinched the other semifinal spots, with the 11th-seeded Cash eliminating No. 3 Yannick Noah of France 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 with some impressive pressure tennis.

Cash now faces Lendl, who has won all four of their previous meetings, while Masur kept up his sensational run in the tournament by downing unseeded New Zealander Kelly Evernden 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Masur, 23 and ranked just 71st in the world, upset Becker in five sets in Tuesday's fourth round and will play Edberg. Masur held two match points against Edberg in the last Australian Open, in December 1985, before losing that match.

Both women's singles semifinals are scheduled for Thursday.

Defending champion Martina Navratilova of Fort Worth faces Sweden's Catarina Lindqvist and Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia meets West Germany's Claudia Kohde-Kilsch.

Cash, the 21-year-old hero of Australia's Davis Cup final victory over Sweden at Kooyong last month, was cheered on by a sellout center court crowd as he downed Noah, who is making his first serious assault at grass court tournaments.

The Australian kept the pressure on Noah at every opportunity, never allowing the Frenchman to settle into a rhythm.

"I didn't serve well enough to be a threat to him," Noah said. "I was serving so badly it killed my confidence, while he was playing well."

Cash played down his chances of upsetting Lendl when they meet Friday.

"I'm playing the No. 1 player in the world," Cash said. "I can't be superconfident, but I'll be giving it all I've got."

The fiery Cash was given a warning for ball abuse in the first set, but otherwise kept his temper in check against Noah.

Lendl stretched his career record to seven wins in eight matches against Jarryd. And, after criticizing the scheduling, which has seen him play two matches on outside courts, said he was pleased with his form.

"I'm winning and not making too many errors, so I have to be satisfied," he said. "I said at the start of the tournament that I had a good chance to win it, and nothing has changed my mind."

Edberg was the most impressive victor today, serving with tremendous power and precision against the tricky Mecir, who won their meeting on the grass courts at Wimbledon last summer.

Edberg lost only two points on his serve in the first set and only six in the second set.

The powerful Swede, who defeated compatriot Mats Wilander to win the 1985 title, combined power and placement in winning almost effortlessly against a player who held a 3-1 career advantage against him. Edberg took just 87 minutes to capture the match that was interrupted by rain for almost an hour early in the second set.

Edberg got an early break in third set, but Mecir, a finalist in the U.S. Open last September, came right back, breaking the champion to level the set 2-2.

The Swede, however, broke back in the next game and was never again under pressure.

Edberg's win seemed almost effortless. He has dropped only one set in four matches in reaching the semi-finals.

The victory was his first in three meetings with Mecir on grass and his second in five career clashes.

"I played well and served particularly well, and that is the key to my game," Edberg said.

"At Wimbledon I tried to hit winners off his serves all the time. Here, I just tried to keep the ball in court, and it worked. He hasn't got that great a serve.

"I have to be confident the way I'm playing. There is no reason not to be. I started to play well at the quarterfinals last year, and I'm certainly pleased with the way I played today."

Masur, in the semifinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time, was more confident about his chances against Edberg.

"I've had match points on the guy before and I'm playing a little better than last year," Masur said. "It's all hypothetical, but I think I've got every chance."
 
#136 ·
Edberg meets unheralded Aussie in semis
Swede survived two match points in beating Masur in 1985 tournament

The Toronto Star
January 22, 1987
Associated Press

MELBOURNE - Stefan Edberg, two matches away from repeating as Australian Open champion, knows all about the man he faces in the semifinals of the $1.65 million (U.S.) tennis championships at Kooyong.

Wally Masur, a sturdy Australian ranked just 71st in the world, defeated New Zealander Kelly Evernden, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 yesterday to earn a meeting with Edberg in tomorrow's semis. Edberg stopped Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Australian Davis Cup star Pat Cash, the 11th seed, defeated third-seeded Yannick Noah of France, 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0, to earn the right to face No. 1 Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia. Lendl stopped ninth-seeded Anders Jarryd of Sweden, 7-6, 6-1, 6-3.

In the women's singles, top-seeded Martina Navratilova will face Sweden's Catarina Lindqvist and No. 2 Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia plays No. 5 Claudi Kohde-Kilsch of West Germany in today's semifinals.

The women's title match will be held Saturday (9 p.m. EST tomorrow), with the men's championship decided on Sunday (10 p.m. EST Saturday). Both finals will be televised live by ESPN.

Edberg 'confident'

Masur's victory over Evernden came less than 24 hours after he outslugged two-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker of West Germany in a fourth-round upset. But if Masur is an unfamiliar name to tennis followers, Edberg already knows all about him.

It was just 13 months ago that Masur held two match points against the Swede in the fourth round of the 1985 Australian Open. Edberg survived and went on to defeat compatriot Mats Wilander in the final and win the first Grand Slam title of his career.

"I have to be confident. There is no reason not to be, but it is hard to play an Australian here," Edberg said after his quarterfinal triumph over the sixth-seeded Mecir. "Masur always plays well on these courts."

With Masur and Cash winning, it was the first time two Australians have advanced to the semifinals on the grass courts at Kooyong since 1980 when Kim Warwick and Peter McNamara reached the penultimate round in the men's singles. Warwick eventually lost to American Brian Teacher in the final.

Serve deserted Noah

Cash is ranked 24th in the world, 20 places lower than Noah, but has far better grass court credentials. Until this year, Noah, a clay-court specialist and 1983 French Open champion, admittedly has not done well on grass.

Cash served and volleyed well against Noah. The 21-year-old Australian continually pressured the Frenchman, whose serve deserted him.

Noah broke through with some fine shots in the third set but was then overpowered.

"I thought I played really good tennis in the fourth set. I concentrated really hard," Cash said.

Cash, reportedly plagued by a mystery virus during the first week of the tournament, said he was delighted to have made the semis.

"I'm very happy to be where I am. I thought I might have run out of gas," he said.

Cash has not beaten Lendl in four previous meetings, but held match points against him in the 1985 U.S. Open semifinals before losing. Lendl went on to the win the title at Flushing Meadow, the first of two consecutive U.S. Open crowns for the Czech who makes his home in Greenwich, Conn.

"I'd like to think I have a chance of beating him on grass, but it's always tough against the top player in the world," Cash said.

Noah was philosophical in defeat.

"I'm looking forward to playing on grass a bit more," he said. "I know what weaknesses I have to work on."
 
#137 ·
Is there a mature, rational adult in the house? :lol:

Headline unavailable
United Press International
January 21, 1987
BRIAN DEWHURST

Top seed Ivan Lendl moved into the semifinals of the Australian Open tennis championships with a straight sets victory over Anders Jarryd Wednesday, then blasted officials for their amateur approach to the $1.65 million tournament.

Lendl was disturbed at being asked to play on an outside court for the second time in four matches, and he vented his anger following his 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-3 decision over the ninth seeded Swede. It didn't help his mood that his next opponent, Australian favorite Pat Cash, has yet to play on an outside court at Kooyong.

Cash, the No. 11 seed recovering from a throat infection that has hit a few players in this championship, turned back Frenchman Yannick Noah, 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0, on center court.

Defending champion Stefan Edberg also reached the semifinals with a surprisingly easy 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia, the losing finalist to Lendl in the U.S. Open last September. Edberg, the fourth seed from Sweden, had lost his two previous grass court matches to Mecir.

Wally Masur, the unheralded 23-year-old Australian who caused a sensation Tuesday with his five-set win over Boris Becker, earned a berth in the semifinals by crushing Kelly Evernden of New Zealand, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Lendl feels that Cash, by playing all his matches on the main court and getting a good feel for it, was given a big advantage for their semifinal date.

''It just reminds me of when I was an eight-year-old kid playing in Czechoslovakia, the father of one of the local kids ran it better than they do here,'' Lendl snapped at a news conference.

''If they (the Australians) feel they can't do it, they ought to pay somebody from the United States or England or France to come out and do the schedules.''

Colin Stubbs, tournament director for the Australian Open, said he wasn't going to be drawn into a shouting match with Lendl.

''But,'' he said, ''I wish he would stop hassling the scheduling committee for early matches so he can go and play golf.''
 
#138 ·
Dealing with overgrown children is quite trying. If there had been a true alpha male to smack Poor Boris around for a few years, then the man-child would have turned out much better and happier.

Headline unavailable
January 22, 1987
United Press International

MELBOURNE, Australia Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, who lost his tennis coach overnight, may also be without his manager, Romanian Ion Tiriac, in the near future.

Gunther Bosch, Becker's coach for four years, Thursday said his partnership with the 19-year-old West German was finished. He said Becker was becoming increasingly single-minded and had become independent about his tennis.

''I cannot accept the way Boris has been preparing for the major events,'' Bosch told United Press International at his Melbourne hotel.

''He wanted me around only for selective tournaments. That was not suitable as I feel I have to be with him all the time to monitor his fitness and to ensure he was in the right frame of mind.''

Bosch said he planned to fly out of Melbourne Thursday afternoon for Hanover, West Germany, and that he would consider taking up coaching assigments with other top circuit players.

Following the dramatic announcement by Bosch, Tiriac said he was looking for an early retirement.

''I cannot wait for the day when I am going to stay home and live a much quieter life,'' he said at a press conference. ''Bosch's job was not easy at all ... being a coach is probably one of the worst jobs you can have, it takes a lot of pressure and a lot of sacrifice.

''I did too much in this job and I know what it means. I would like to have a game of tennis with friends like Fred Stolle, go to watch the tennis matches and be free.''

Asked if he was going to quit, Tiriac said ''not today, I can't quit today, no.''

However, he said he was now looking for a new coach for Becker.

''I would like a coach, an ex-pro, a guy who has played on the center court here and at Wimbledon and Roland Garros,'' he said, adding that Becker found it very difficult to accept advice.

''I think my role really is fading away,'' Tiriac said.

Reporters caught Becker Thursday as he headed out of Melbourne for Sydney, where he said he had several appointments regarding his endorsements of products.

The West German, whose histrionics at the Australian Open cost him $2,000 in fines and an unpected quarterfinal defeat against unseeded Australian Wally Masur, played down the impact of Bosch's departure.

''I don't need a coach ... I can play my own game,'' Becker said.

''I am old enough and experienced enough to play good tennis without a coach. All I need is helpers.''

Later, Becker released a statement regarding his split with Bosch, and said: ''For the first two years of my professional career, Guenther Bosch was my full time coach. He and my manager, Ion Tiriac, helped me to achieve the position in tennis that I have today.

''I respect his decision to quit and I want to thank him publicly for everything that he has done for me in the past. I would also like to emphasize that my recent loss in the Australian Open, for which I was fully responsible, has no bearing on the timing of Gunther's departure.''

Tiriac Wednesday criticized Becker for his outbursts during the Masur match, saying ''he should not have played up the way he did.''
 
#139 ·
BECKER'S COACH QUIT, PAPER SAYS
Lexington Herald-Leader
January 22, 1987
Associated Press

HAMBURG, West Germany -- Guenther Bosch has quit as the coach of second- ranked Boris Becker after the West German tennis star's early elimination in the Australian Open, the Bild newspaper reported yesterday.

Bild said that Bosch, 48, apparently was angered by Becker's approach to preparing for the Australian Open and by the 19-year-old's temper tantrums during his loss Tuesday to unseeded Wally Masur of Australia.

Bosch told West Germany's Sudwestfunk radio network yesterday that he was unhappy with Becker's approach to tournament training in general. Becker, a two-time Wimbledon singles champion, arrived six days before the Australian tournament, whereas top-ranked Ivan Lendl showed up a month before to practice.

"I can no longer accept the type of attitude with which Boris prepared for this tournament," Bild quoted Bosch as saying in an interview in Melbourne, Australia, after Becker's elimination.

"Further collaboration (with Becker) would have made me abandon my personality and put my good name at risk," Bild quoted Bosch as saying.

"Boris has cut the umbilical cord between himself and me also, in a sport sense, more emphatically than I could have thought possible," Bosch was quoted as adding.

In an interview with Bild later yesterday, Becker said "I absolutely can't fathom" that Bosch was leaving, "even if things between us weren't the way they were earlier."

"The times have been difficult most recently, but I simply never thought we'd go separate ways," Becker was quoted as saying.

Asked about Bosch's charges that Becker had not been meeting the ex- coach's professional expectations, Becker replied, according to Bild, "He must know about it. But he'll soon notice what he's missing."

Becker added that he probably would be unable to reconcile with Bosch, Bild reported.

Bild's interviews with Becker and Bosch will appear in its editions today, but they were sent in advance yesterday to news agencies.

Born of German parents in Romania, Bosch emigrated to West Germany in 1974. He was chief trainer of the 1.7-million-member German Tennis Federation from Nov. 1, 1977, until July 15, 1985, when he quit to take over as Becker's full-time coach.

The 23-year-old Masur, who is 71st in the international rankings, posted a 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-7 (9-11), 6-2 marathon upset over Becker in the $1.65 million Australian Open.

Becker was fined $2,000 for his ill-tempered antics during the match, which included breaking his racket, throwing the ball twice at the umpire, spitting water in the umpire's direction, and smashing three balls into the crowd.

The umpire also warned Becker for being coached from the sideline and for delaying play.

The defeat was Becker's second straight disappointment on the grass courts at Kooyang. He was beaten by Michiel Schapers of the Netherlands in the second round of the last Australian Open, played in December 1985.
 
#140 ·
Even when he gets to be 60 years old, Boris will still need a chaperone and a "social filter editor."

Tennis - Bosch quits as Becker's coach
The Times
London, England
January 22, 1987
RICHARD EVANS and REX BELLAMY, Tennis Correspondent, MELBOURNE

Gunther Bosch has resigned as Boris Becker's coach after refusing a part-time role in the future development of the increasingly independent Wimbledon champion.

The red-haired Romanian-born coach said: 'Boris has been suggesting I only accompany him to some of his tournaments, but that is not good for me,' Bosch said. 'I must have continuity. If he goes to a tournament at Indian Wells and I arrive next week at Key Biscayne, as he suggested, how will I know how his backhand has been working? How will I know what needs to be done? I cannot work like that. '

Bosch insisted there was no personal problem between him and the 19-year-old, whose career Bosch has guided technically for the past eight years. 'Personally we are fine, but Boris the tennis player is still developing, and Boris the man, too. I think he still needs someone with him.'

It has been no secret on the circuit that inevitable tensions have been surfacing within the Becker entourage, which includes his Romanian manager, Ion Tiriac, ever since the teenager started travelling with his girlfriend, Benedicte Courtin, of Monaco. Becker has been telling friends that he would prefer a looser relationship with Bosch.

The break between Becker and Bosch has been in the offing for months. Bosch became both a coach and, to some extent, a father-figure. Today's Becker - who has always been of a strong character - is his own man.

Bosch, a sensitive and cultured man, was coach to the West German Tennis Federation when he spotted Becker's potential and asked Tiriac - who had been a chum of Bosch's when both lived in Romania - to help develop that potential. Bosch agreed to give up his job with the federation to join Becker and Tiriac on tour.

Before leaving Melbourne for a few days holiday at a nearby resort Becker left a statement to be released through Tiriac. It said 'Gunther Bosch and my manager, Ion Tiriac, helped me to achieve the position in tennis that I have today.

'I respect his decision to resign and I want to thank Gunther publicly for everything he has done for me in the past. I would also like to emphasise that my recent loss to Wally Masur in the Australian Open, for which I was fully responsible, has no bearing on the timing of Gunther's departure. '

It is understood that Tiriac intends to search for another top level coach to replace Bosch. However bowing to the Wimbledon champion's wishes Tiriac will not insist that the new man travel with Becker incessantly on the world circuit. However Tiriac is determined to find someone knows what it is like to play professional tennis at the highest level.

'He must have centre court experience,' said Tiriac in an oblique reference to the fact that Bosch never reached the highest level of the game as a player. With Tony Roche under contract to Ivan Lendl it is likely that two other Australians, the twice Wimbledon champion Roy Emerson, and the former French and US Open champion, Fred Stolle, would be on Tiriac's shortlist.
 
#141 ·
It's Martina against Hana in Aussie final
Navratilova seeks 10th straight win over her compatriot in title match

The Toronto Star
January 22, 1987
Associated Press

MELBOURNE - Martina Navratilova, continuing her quest for another spot in the record books, and Hana Mandlikova advanced today to the women's singles final in the $1.65 million (U.S.) Australian Open tennis championships.

Navratilova, seeking her second straight Australian Open title and her third consecutive Grand Slam crown, polished off 10th-seeded Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden, 6-3, 6-2, after Mandlikova outlasted West Germany's Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.

The tournament's top two seeds will battle in the women's final on Saturday (9 p.m. EST Friday).

The men's semifinals tomorrow will send top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia against Australia's Pat Cash and defending champion Stefan Edberg of Sweden, seeded fourth, against unseeded Wally Masur of Australia. The winners will clash Sunday (10 p.m. EST Saturday).

Martina too strong

Navratilova's serve-and-volley game was too much for the 23-year-old Swedish baseliner, who had upset third-seeded Pam Shriver in the quarterfinals. The world's No. 1-ranked player and top seed at Kooyong dominated the net as Shriver failed to do, restricting Lindqvist's chances to use her passing shot.

The lefthander, who makes her home in Fort Worth, Texas, boosted her career record against Lindqvist to 6-0. Lindqvist was the first Swedish woman to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam event.

Navratilova, 30, lost to Mandlikova in the final of the 1985 U.S. Open. But since then she has won their last nine meetings.

Her semifinal victory ran Navratilova's latest match winning streak to 58 straight, second only to her record 74 in a row that was snapped in the Australian Open in 1984. She also has a 54-match streak.

Hasn't lost a set

It is the eighth consecutive Grand Slam singles final Navratilova has reached, the string starting after her upset semifinal loss to Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia in the 1984 Australian Open. Last year, after finishing second to Chris Evert Lloyd at the French Open, Navratilova won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Navratilova has reached the final without losing a set and dropping just 18 games. Mandlikova, the No. 2 seed, has lost three sets and 35 games in her road to the final.

Mandlikova was pushed to the maximum by Claudia Kohde-Kilsch as she stayed on course for her second Australian Open singles title. The 24-year-old Mandlikova won the event in 1980.

Mandlikova's victory over Kohde-Kilsch, in a match that was halted twice by rain, lifted her record against the tall German to 6-3. She has now won all three of their meetings on grass.

Rain delay crucial

She was at her best in the first set when she served well and used her suppleness and co-ordination to good effect. She broke Kohde-Kilsch's serve in the fourth and sixth games.

The fifth-seeded Kohde-Kilsch, aiming to reach the singles final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career, rallied in the second set, frequently outmaneuvring Mandlikova, who appeared strangely listless.

Kohde-Kilsch was serving well and unleashed a series of well-timed passing shots.

But a rain delay at the start of the third set worked wonders for Mandlikova. She came out firing in the third set, racing to a 3-0 lead and went on to take the match in impressive style.

Mandlikova said the the stop-start nature of the match had made it extremely difficult for both players.

"I felt if I hung in there and put pressure on her, I would win, so I kept fighting," she said. "The third set was very tough mentally. I had to fight very hard.

"Claudia is very difficult to play. She is inconsistent. She'll hit a great shot, then hit a double-fault.

"I tried to come in at every opportunity. That is the way to play on these courts, which are like hard courts."

Mandlikova qualified for the seventh Grand Slam final of her career. She has won three. Navratilova has captured 15 Grand Slam singles crowns, including three Australian Opens.

Kohde-Kilsch said she found the rain delay in the first game of the third set put her off her game, but she always felt she had a chance to win.

"I thought she'd get nervous if I could break back," Kohde-Kilsch said. "I had my chances, but I didn't take them."

Mandlikova and Kohde-Kilsch were on court a total of one hour, 27 minutes.

Masur, a sturdy Australian ranked just 71st in the world, defeated New Zealander Kelly Evernden, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, yesterday to earn a meeting with Edberg in tomorrow's semis. Edberg stopped Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Cash, the 11th seed and the star of Australia's Davis Cup champions, defeated third-seeded Yannick Noah of France, 6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-0, to earn the right to face Lendl, who stopped ninth-seeded Anders Jarryd of Sweden, 7-6, 6-1, 6-3.
 
#142 ·
Headline unavailable
January 22, 1987
United Press International
*
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Top seed Martina Navratilova advanced to her fourth Australian Open singles final Thursday when she stormed past Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden, 6-3, 6-2 with an almost flawless display of disciplined tennis.

Earlier Thursday, second seed Hana Mandlikova swept into the final round by defeating Claudia Kohde-Kilsch 6-1, 0-6, 6-3 in a rain-delayed match.

Navratilova and Mandlikova play for the title and the $115,000 winner's check on Saturday.

Navratilova, the defending Wimbledon champion, read the swirling southerly winds that blasted around the court much better than Lindqvist, who often mistimed her shots.

Navratilova's speed around the court, her punishing first volley, and her killer instinct overwhelmed Lindqvist, the first Swedish woman to reach a grand slam event semifinal.

Navratilova earned match point when she carved a backhand volley past Lindqvist to give the Czech her 16th grand slam singles victory.

Mandlikova, winner of the 1980 Australian title, rebounded from a poor second set. Kohde-Kilsch, the fifth seed, failed to handle the conditions in a match twice delayed by rain and made difficult by the wind.

The southerly breeze carried her long service tosses off line, and she was forced on the defensive as Mandlikova raced to the net and repeatedly caught her out of position with some finely angled volleys.

''I am happy with the public and the way the fans treat me, it is really special for me to win this one,'' said Mandlikova, who recently applied for Australian citizenship. ''I really feel it's going to be my home.''
 
#143 ·
Headline unavailable
January 22, 1987
United Press International
BRIAN DEWHURST

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Long-time rivals Martina Navratilova and Hana Mandlikova, the top two seeds, won their matches Thursday to set up a meeting in the final of the $1.65 million Australian Open tennis championships.

Navratilova, unbeaten since the French Open last June, crushed Sweden's Catarina Lindqvist, 6-3, 6-2, to move within one victory of claiming her fourth Australian singles crown, her 16th Grand Slam championship and the third leg of what would be a second Grand Slam.

Mandlikova, who earned her berth in the final by defeating West German Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3, won the Australian title in 1980.

Lindqvist, the 10th seed and the first Swedish woman to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam event, failed to compensate for the swirling winds while Navratilova used the southerly to her advantage in an almost flawless display of disciplined tennis.

Mandlikova, meantime, was hot and cold against Kohde-Kilsch in a match interrupted by early morning rain.

Navratilova and Mandlikova will be meeting Saturday for the 29th time. Mandlikova has won six of those encounters - one on grass at Wimbledon in the 1981 semifinal. However, Navratilova has won the last nine meetings against her 25-year-old rival.

This is the seventh successive year a Czech-born woman has contested the Australian title.

Mandlikova said she would be trying especially hard to defeat Navratilova on Saturday as she has recently applied for Australian citizenship.

''I really feel it's going to be my home,'' she said. ''I am happy with the public and the way the fans treat me. It is really special for me to win this one.''

Navratilova said she didn't think the crowd at Kooyong would cheer significantly louder for Mandlikova.

''I have felt in the past the crowds at Kooyong are the fairest anywhere in the world,'' she said.

Navratilova started strong in a match played in overcast conditions before 7,800 fans, allowing Lindqvist a single point in the first three games. The 30-year-old left-hander broke Lindqvist's serve again in the sixth game to lead 4-2 when Lindqvist double-faulted.

Navratilova, the world's No. 1 player, lost only one point on her serve until the ninth game of the set when Lindqvist forced her to deuce with two deep forehand drives. But Navratilova countered, increasing the power on her first service and winning the set in 23 minutes when Lindqvist failed to clear the net with a backhand.

On the rare occasions Lindqvist put pressure on the champion, Navratilova's speed to the ball and her first volley hit deep to the baseline, forcing Lindqvist to send high returns which Navratilova cut away with sharply angled volleys.

Navratilova raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set before Lindqvist eventually held onto her service and then broke the left-hander for the first time when Navratilova double-faulted.

But Navratilova broke back immediately for 5-2 and then clinched victory with a backhand volley after saving three break points.
 
#144 ·
This story received a ridiculous amount of air time. You can see how much the media types prefer "people talking" over "people playing."

Manager 'serves' for Becker
The Globe & Mail
Toronto, Canada
January 23, 1987
Associated Press

Melbourne AUSTRALIA -- Teen-age tennis star Boris Becker of West Germany flew out of Melbourne Thursday and left his manager, Ion Tiriac, to explain the reasons for the sudden split between the player and his coach, Gunther Bosch.

Bosch, who has coached the 19-year-old two-time Wimbledon champion for the past four years, quit the job Wednesday, 24 hours after Becker was upset by unseeded Wally Masur of Australia in the fourth round of the Australian Open tennis championships at Kooyong Stadium.

Bosch said he was unhappy with Becker's preparations for major tournaments and was unhappy at being asked to play a lesser role.

''I'm not prepared to accept a part-time position,'' Bosch said before departing for West Germany. ''Boris is not a perfect player. He still has a lot to learn.''

Tiriac issued a brief statement from Becker, who had been reluctant to answer reporters' questions before flying to Brisbane for a brief vacation.

In the statement, Becker thanked Bosch for his support.

''He and my manager have helped me to achieve the position in tennis I have today,'' Becker said. ''I respect his decision to quit and I want to thank him publicly for everything he has done for me in the past.'' Becker said his loss to Masur had no bearing on Bosch's decision to resign.

He told Australian reporters he felt he no longer needed a coach.

''I'm old enough and experienced to play my own game,'' he said. ''I need only helpers.''

Tiriac said Becker felt he no longer needed a coach who was a constant companion.

Becker has recently spent much of his time with his girl friend, Benedicte Courtin, a resident of Monte Carlo. Previously, he and Bosch were inseparable.

''It is a matter of difference of opinion over Bosch's view of a coach's role and Boris' view,'' Tiriac said. ''Boris doesn't need a 24-hour-a-day coach.

''This is a new step in his career and his life.''

Tiriac admitted Becker finds it difficult to accept advice.

''He is an independent and strong-minded young man, and that's why he is where he is at his young age,''Tiriac said.

Tiriac said he was seeking a new coach for Becker and said he favored someone with experience in track and field or boxing who could help the young star with his footwork.

''But,'' Tiriac said, ''We also need to find a human being who is acceptable to Boris.''
 
#145 ·
RICH, INDEPENDENT BECKER SPLITS WITH HIS 24-HOUR COACH
Alan Clarkson
January 23, 1987
Sydney Morning Herald

MELBOURNE: Boris Becker is 19. He has won two Wimbledon singles titles. He made more than $1.5 million from tournaments last year. He feels he does not need a 24-hour coach.

That is basically the reason for the split between Becker and his coach of the past four years, Gunther Bosch.

The move has been hinted at for some time but the speed of its happening, with Bosch announcing his resignation in a column he writes for a German newspaper shortly after he told Becker, caught everyone by surprise.

At 1.30 yesterday morning the phones started ringing in the rooms of the overseas journalists in Melbourne for the $2.5 million Ford Australian Open.

Becker left his Melbourne hotel yesterday for a few days' holiday with his girlfriend before filming a soft-drink commercial on Monday.

Bosch also left the hotel for the airport, probably to return home.

Before leaving Bosch said his decision was because he felt that Becker was not preparing well enough for big tournaments.

"The problem is only with tennis ... nothing else," Bosch said.

Bosch said he was deeply upset and hurt by Becker's on-court display on Tuesday when he was beaten in five sets by Wally Masur and earned $2,000 in fines.

"Boris feels he can do it himself, but I don't think he has grown up enough," Bosch said.

The split may well be the best thing for Becker.

Becker has felt crowded by Bosch. To use the popular phrase, he felt he needed more space.

Perhaps without the constraints of a coach who is beside him almost every waking hour, Becker will act in a more mature way and not revert to his earlier teens when he was a "crazy", according to his manager Ion Tiriac.

Tiriac, the bushy-haired, moustachioed Romanian who has been described as Frankenstein for the way he built young Becker, believes he needs a full-time coach but not a baby sitter.

"Sure a child needs a nanny and sure a child needs a governess and sure a child needs a mentor, but at one point a child is a growing man and the dimensions are changing," he said.

"The decision to quit was a matter of differences between Bosch's view of his coaching role and Becker's view of today's situation.

"Boris feels he does not need a 24-hour coach any more.

"I think this is a new step in his career and it is a correct decision if they are not compatible with their decisions.

"Boris finally accepted a couple of weeks ago the idea of having a physical trainer."

Tiriac said he was looking for either a boxing trainer or an athletics trainer to help Becker with his footwork and his speed.

"I think he needs a full-time coach but it depends on the type of person you decide on," Tiriac said.

"It depends what you deal with with a full-time coach.

"You deal with a Tiriac-Guillermo Vilas relationship ... we are not homosexual but we were like married.

"I am sure Boris, even when he was 15 or 16, would not support that kind of relationship.

"Boris is a different human being, he is much more independent. He is a strong-minded young man and that is the reason he is where he is today.

"He is going to die like that.

"Bosch's job was not an easy one. Being a coach is probably one of the worst jobs you can have, you are as good as the player is.

"Boris Becker is very difficult to accept and advise ... how to make him do things ... you have to absolutely convince him first."

Rod Laver, rated by many as the greatest player of all, did not think Becker needed a coach. "Bosch was a good influence on Becker in his early years but now all he needs is a helper; someone who can organise the million off-court things to make the life of a touring professional a little easier,"Laver said.

"It was right for a while, but now Becker has to be his own self."
 
#146 ·
Tennis: Becker travelling the high road
Rex Bellamy, Tennis Correspondent, on the Wimbledon champion's split with his coach

The Times
London, England
January 23, 1987
REX BELLAMY, Tennis Correspondent

Boris Becker's coach has followed the example of Martina Navratilova's by giving up the job. Within a fortnight the Wimbledon singles champions have lost their closest advisers - men who in the past few years have helped Becker to win two grand slam singles titles and Miss Navratilova to win 10. The Becker case is the more complicated of the two and also the more serious, because at 19 he is still learning his trade.

Most of these full-time relationships between players and coaches tend to become repetitive and stale after two or three years. Mike Estep gave Miss Navratilova plenty of notice that he wanted to move on to a fresh challenge. Miss Navratilova recently engaged Randy Crawford to succeed Estep and also acquired Virginia Wade's services as 'consultant'. Those could be described as routine team changes within the Navratilova entourage.

Becker's break with Gunther Bosch, the first man to recognize his potential and do something about it, has been brewing for months. Becker has matured and become increasingly self-willed in his attitude to training and practice and his decision to take his girlfriend on tour with him. He wanted Bosch to accept the reduced role of part-time rather than full-time coach. Bosch, a gentle but proud man, demurred.

The stress within Becker may have had something to do with the fact that he incurred fines of almost pounds 1,400 for misconduct while losing to Wally Masur in the Australian championships on Tuesday. The stress within Bosch became evident on Wednesday when he went to Becker's hotel room and courteously announced that he had decided to quit.

Becker's manager, Ion Tiriac, is an old friend of Bosch's. In 1984 Tiriac agreed to organize Becker's career if Bosch would look after the coaching. Tiriac said yesterday that he was looking for not merely one replacement, but two. Among the possibilities are Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle. Becker has agreed that he needs a physical trainer and Tiriac is casting around for somebody from boxing or athletics. Tiriac also considers that Becker still needs a full-time coach. Tiriac is wrong, though only because he cares too much. Nowadays, Becker needs only a part-time coach.

Rod Laver, who achieved the first of his two grand slams 25 years ago and is now a spokesman for Nabisco (the Grand Prix sponsors), said yesterday that the young Becker had needed help and that Bosch and Tiriac had provided it. 'But Boris doesn't need a coach now,' Laver added. He needs a confidant and helper - to take the pressure off, make him feel good, organize the courts and balls for practice, and take care of the off-court routine.'

Laver conceded, though, that a coach was useful for special jobs. He cited the case of Tony Roche, who occasionally works with Ivan Lendl, 'teaching him to chip and charge and volley.'

Commenting on Becker's defeat here, Laver said: 'He lost through being annoyed. You have to control your temper. He'll mature. Already he's mature for his age - and a great credit to the sport. Tennis needed him.'

Laver's collected thoughts made this by far the most balanced, trenchant and educational press conference of the tournament. But a few other extracts must suffice. For example, Laver on the subject of his grand slams: 'The toughest was the ''amateur'' grand slam in 1962, but the most rewarding was the second, in 1969, because all the players were competing. The toughest tournament was the French.'

On changes in the game: 'Sponsorship and TV have made a huge difference. Plus the amount of quality players. Back in 1962 there were eight or 10 who could challenge the best players and cause an upset. Now there are 40 or 50. The standard is tremendous now, the competition much stiffer. It's great that the game has progressed to where it is.'

On modern rackets with larger heads: 'The game is easier to play because there's a greater margin for error and you don't have to work as hard. You can spin the ball and put more work on it. Serve-wise, the modern racket is an advantage. Maybe the wooden racket has a little more feel - for volleys, drop-shots, the touch game.'

On what it takes to make a champion: 'The player who excels under pressure, controls his emotions and has the killer instinct is the one you look for. Stefan Edberg hasn't got the killer instinct yet, but he's improving. Yannick Noah is probably the best athlete but doesn't play his ground strokes so well on grass and doesn't penetrate with his volleys.'

On the obscenities more prevalent among today's players than those of his own era: 'You'd be locked up if you used that language in Queen Street. It should be curbed.' On the ideal height for a tennis player. 'Six feet two inches.'

Finally, on next month's choice of a playing surface for the new centre where next year's Australian championships will be played: 'With 11 months to go, the decision is being made too soon. To get a true test of a court they should use it for a tournament or exhibition played under match conditions. The name of the game is a court that will remain standard for all 14 days of the championships. A synthetic surface is feasible. You play on what's there - you have to adapt.'

The choice of a surface for Flinders Park is controversial but, yesterday, there was light at the end of the tunnel. The management of the Supreme Court surface are lending their considerable weight to an idea put forward by Kim Warwick, runner-up for the Australian men's title in 1980.

The proposal is that heavy-duty hard courts should be installed for year-round use by the public, but that the Supreme Court (a surface in use at no other grand slam championship, though it is prevalent indoors) should be rolled down on top of the hard courts for big tournaments. So far, there has been no other proposal as likely to satisfy as many people.
 
#147 ·
Tennis: Cash triumphant in chilling battle between two hard men
The Times
London, England
January 24, 1987
REX BELLAMY, Tennis Correspondent, MELBOURNE

Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl were supposed to play the final of the men's singles in the Australian championships tomorrow. But Becker could not even reach the last eight and Lendl was beaten 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4, by Pat Cash yesterday in a reverberating semi-final 'slugfest' that bludgeoned the senses of the packed centre court crowd for four hours and eight minutes - an awfully long time for a four-set match on grass.

Cash must now play the holder, Stefan Edberg, who gave Wally Masur a tennis lesson for a while but then had increasing difficulty in winning 6-2, 6-4, 7-6. Cash and Edberg have both had only 21 birthdays. Cash is the first Australian to reach the final since Kim Warwick in 1980, when the overseas challenge was anything but intimidating.

As you can imagine, there has been a joyous public reaction to the fact that an Australian - moreover, a Melbourne man who lives only half an hour's drive from the courts - will contest the final of the last Australian championships to be played at Kooyong before the championships move to a new national tennis centre and a synthetic surface next year.

Two more Australians, Peter Doohan and Laurie Warder, who beat Ken Flach and Robert Seguso 10-8 in the fifth set of a semi-final, will play Edberg and Anders Jarryd in today's doubles final. That match will be preceded by the womens' singles final between Martina Navtratilova and Hana Mandlikova.

Today's last match, the mixed doubles final, is interesting for three reasons. First, the mixed event, last played in 1969, has been restored to the programme as part of a general policy designed to bring the championships into line with other grand slam tournaments. Second, Anne Hobbs and Andrew Castle have become the first all-British pair to reach the final of any grand slam doubles championship since Lesley Charles and Mark Farrell were runners-up in the 1974 mixed event at Wimbledon.

Third, Miss Navratilova, who has won 42 grand slam titles and has hit most of the obvious targets, is still finding one of them elusive: she has yet to win the maximum of three championships in a grand slam tournament. Yesterday she and Paul Annacone were beaten 3-6, 7-5, 10-8, by Zina Garrison and Sherwood Stewart.

Castle, aged 23, made a late start on the international circuit (exactly 12 months ago) and he and Miss Hobbs are playing their first tournament together. They have made the most of an easy draw and won 6-2, 6-3, yesterday against the Swiss partnership of Christiane Jolissaint and Dominic Utzinger. Miss Hobbs says this is already her best all-round performance in a grand slam event: the last 16 of the singles, the quarter-finals of the womens' doubles (with Jo Durie) and the final of the mixed.

Tomorrow's programme will consist of the women's doubles final - in which the old firm of Miss Navratilova and Pam Shriver will play two players whose games matured on the public parks of Houston, Miss Garrison and Lori McNeil, who have already beaten two more highly seeded partnerships - and that interesting chance for Cash to become the first Australian to win a men's singles title in a grand slam event since Mark Edmondson won this same championship in 1976.

Four weeks ago Cash became a national hero by beating Sweden almost single-handed in the Davis Cup final on this same court. One of his victims was Edberg but what is far more important is the fact that, once the David Cup final was over, Cash had a depth of self-assurance missing from his tennis since 1984 - the year in which he reached the Wimbledon and United States semi-finals.

By March of 1985 Cash ranked seventh in the world. Little more than a year later he ranked 413th. In between, back trouble put him out of tennis and ruined his confidence - in his health and in his ability. In May of last year he became a father, which makes most men buck up, but shortly before Wimbledon he had his appendix out. Then he astonished us by reaching the quarter-finals. The Davis Cup final dotted the i's and crossed the t's of his comeback.

Lendl, the French and US champion and runner-up at Wimbledon, is not a natural grass-court player. His ground strokes are as fierce as his first service. The once-renowned Tony Roche has taught him a lot about chipped approach shots and effective volleys. But in those nerve-twanging crises when a man reverts to instinct, Lendl is less at ease than the likes of Cash - to whom the forecourt game is second nature.

The match was desperately close. One could imagine the strong, hard men stepping into a boxing ring with robes draped around their shoulders. It was as if Joe Frazier, rejuvenated, was throwing punches with Mike Tyson. There was not much grace or finesse about the match but the concentrated intensity of a thoughtful violence - the unflinching, total commitment of both players - was somewhat chilling. So was the astonishing speed of their reactions. This was a tennis match that looked more like a war to the death.

Cash had his usual headband, with loose ends flopping about at the back. In moments of frustration he muttered to himself and flung his arms out laterally, as if he wanted to stop the music. Lendl was even more twitchy. He jerked his head to and fro like a rooster, shrugged his shoulders one at a time, and went through the familiar routine of juggling two balls in one hand, plucking the strings of his racket as if they had something to say to him, and tapping his shoes with his racket - a hint that this was a man reared on adhesive shale rather than non-adhesive grass.

Both men broke service four times. Cash had six break points in the set he lost. There were 18 deuce games, 10 of them in the second set. In the first set, won by Cash, Lendl was 2-5 down but had three break points for 6-5. In the second set, won by Lendl, Cash had three break points in the first game. In the third set, won by Cash, Lendl had a set point and in the tie-break (crucial to the morale of both men and to the outcome of the match) he let 5-2 with two services to come. In the fourth set Lendl had a break point for 4-3. That was how close it was. At times the games seemed to be chiselled out of stone.

The Kooyong edition of Edberg - the bounces here are high and true, the pace slower than it is at Wimbledon - has been a graceful yet exciting revelation. I have never seen him play so well. In his thinking, his movement and his technique he has looked totally at ease - without losing that air of slightly bored languor. Edberg's service games were often formal one-two punches. He lost only three points in his first five service games.

'That good start was important' Edberg said, well aware that Masur and most of the spectators were Australian. 'If Wally had had a good start, the crowd would have gone nuts. From a set and 1-4 down he started to play a lot better and came back strongly. After that it was tough'.

Masur said he was nervous: 'From the first game the scales tipped - he went up and I went down. Stefan served very well and his second serve was better than his first. It kicked like a mule and had so much variation. It was impossible to do anything with it'.

Gradually, though, Masur worked himself into the match. The second set was closer than the first and the third set (in which Masur had a set point) was closer than the second. Masur was a long distance runner in a middle-distance race. He had a lot of running in him when Edberg breasted the tape first.

Yesterday's results

MEN'S SINGLES: Semi-finals: S Edberg (Swe) bt W Masur (Aus), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6; P Cash (Aus) bt I Lendl (Cz), 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4.

WOMEN'S DOUBLES: Semi-finals: Z Garrison and L McNeil (US), bt H Sukova (Cz) and C Kohde-Kilsch (WG), 7-6, 7-6; M Navratilova and P Shriver (US) bt P Hy (HK) and E Inoue (Japan), 6-1, 6-0.

MIXED DOUBLES: Semi-finals: A Castle and A Hobbs (GB) bt D Utzinger and C Jolissaint (Switz), 6-2, 6-3; S Stewart (US) and Garrison bt P Annacone (US) and Navratilova, 3-6, 7-5, 10-8. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Boys' singles: Final: J Stoltenberg (Aus) bt T Woodbridge (Aus), 6-2, 7-6.
 
#148 ·
CASH IS BETTER THAN A CZECH
Alan Clarkson
January 24, 1987
Sydney Morning Herald

MELBOURNE: Pat Cash reproduced his triumphant Davis Cup form to beat the world's top-ranked player, Ivan Lendl, in a drama-charged semi-final of the Ford Australian Open at Kooyong yesterday.

It was a magnificent victory, earned through his courage, his gifted play on grass and the ability to lift his game under pressure.

A sign in the crowd said it all: "Cash is better than a Czech."

Cash was in trouble early after taking a 4-1 lead in the first set and then losing the momentum when Lendl broke back in the ninth game and held service to level the scores.

At 5-all Cash trailed 0-40 and it was here again his maturity showed. He kept his head and when Lendl missed a simple volley to make it deuce he was back in control.

The real hiccup in the match came in the second set when Cash had six break points on Lendl's service, failed to clinch one, and eventually lost the set 7-5.

Lendl's great plan to take out the grand slam was destroyed at the first hurdle and if there is any consolation for him it took one of the finest grass court players in the world to do it.

Cash virtually won the match in the third set when he refused to knuckle under even though Lendl had him on the ropes several times.

Cash was down a service break early, he had a set point against him in the 12th game, and in the tie-breaker Lendl led 5-2 with two services to come.

"The third set, and particularly the tie-breaker, was the turning point of the match," Cash said later.

As he had done so superbly in the deciding set of his Davis Cup match against Mikael Pernfors, Cash fought his way out of trouble to win the third set and the match 7-6 (7-1) 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in four hours and seven minutes

In tomorrow's final, which starts at 2pm, Cash will meet the defending champion, Sweden's Stefan Edberg, who trounced Wally Masur 6-2 7-4 7-6(9-7) in the first semi-final.

It will be a repeat of the Davis Cup clash on Boxing Day when Cash beat Edberg 13-11 13-11 6-4, but Cash believes the Open final will be a lot tougher.

Cash said he was "pretty happy" to beat Lendl, although he rated his victory over John McEnroe as the best effort of his career.

"I hit a couple of good shots at the right time but Ivan made a couple of mistakes he normally wouldn't," Cash said.

It will be the first final Cash has played since 1983 in the Melbourne Indoor, when he was beaten by the American Matt Mitchell.

Cash, who was ranked 413 in the world before last year's Wimbledon after his long lay-off because of injury, has stormed up the computer rankings. His victory over Lendl will earn him at least 180 points, which will boost him to 13th in the world.

Part of the reason for Cash's improvement is his intense training program, coupled with a strict diet designed for him by Melbourne sport conditioner Pat Quinn.

Cash was a little stunned when told that he had made it to 13 in the world, and then with a grin said he expected to be higher after the final.

"I did not expect to be back as high as this for a long time," he said. "The best I was hoping for at this stage was to be about 80 to 100 in the world, which would enable me to play in tournaments without having to go through qualifying rounds."

The difference between the two players yesterday was stark. Cash is a natural grass court player, Lendl is a manufactured one who does not like the surface and lacks confidence when he gets into big matches on it.

Lendl had his chances with a break of Cash's service to lead 3-1 in the third set, he had a set point at 5-6 on Cash's service but could not get the ball back into play, and he had a commanding lead in the tie-breaker.

It was here that Cash shattered Lendl's confidence. The big Czech served at 5-2 and Cash hit a series of superb shots, levelled the scores, and then went on to take the tie-breaker 7-5.

"I have put a lot of effort into trying to win here and naturally I am disappointed," Lendl said.

"I had my chances but if you don't take them on grass you generally don't get another opportunity.

"I thought this was the start of a good year and I had to give it my best shot.

"I tried my best but I hit a couple of loose shots at critical times and played some poor volleys."

It was a tight match, with some glorious passing shots from both players.

In the tense fourth set Cash had a break point against him in the seventh game when a volley went close to the baseline. Lendl argued that the ball landed out but the it was ruled in for deuce and Cash retained his service.

Still unsettled by the incident, Lendl netted two volleys on his next service and hit a half volley out to drop service and give Cash a 5-3 lead.

The final - Cash's first in a grand slam event - will be a superb match if Edberg's form in beating Masur in straight sets is any guide.

Masur was nervous and he could not counter the blazing start by the defending champion.

"You can't afford to give a player like Stefan a start of a set and 4-1 in the second," Masur said later

"I could not seem to co-ordinate my feet with my hands and nothing seemed to be going right," Masur said later. "I started to worry about the stringing in my racquet, about the tennis balls which seemed heavy, and it was all negative."

Martina Navratilova's hopes of winning three grand slam titles at the one tournament ended late yesterday when she and Paul Annacone were beaten by Zina Garrison and Sherwood Stewart in the semi-final of the mixed doubles, 3-6 7-5 10-8.
 
#149 ·
Cashy upholds that beloved Aussie tradition of playing major finals while bevvied up!

Headline unavailable
January 23, 1987
United Press International
BRIAN DEWHURST

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Pat Cash muscled his way into the Australian Open final by blasting top seed Ivan Lendl today in a grueling semifinal that lasted 4 hours, 6 minutes.

Lendl, the world's top rated player, wilted under Cash's relentless power game and lost 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to the 11th seeded Australian. Lendl has been the top seed for the past three Australian Opens and has appeared in only one final, in 1983 when he fell to Mats Wilander.

Lendl has never won a major grass court title and Cash prevented his determined bid to capture the year's first Grand Slam event.

The 12,000 fans at Kooyong went berserk when Lendl sprayed a forehand volley over the sideline on Cash's second match point.

''I am very happy to beat the world number one player but I'll be happier when I have a couple of beers,'' Cash, 21, said. ''Lendl made mistakes today he normally would not make. The tie break in the third set was the turning point of the match.''

''I have put in a lot of effort for this tournament,'' he said. ''All the four sets were close but I should not have lost that tiebreaker.''

Cash will meet defending champion Stefan Edberg of Sweden in Sunday's final. The winner of $1.65 million Australian Open receives $103,875.

Edberg, seeded fourth, was in scintilating form earlier Friday when he completely outplayed unseeded Australian Wally Masur 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7). He needed just under two hours to beat his 23-year-old opponent.

Edberg overwhelmed Masur with his serve and a barrage of passing shots that caught the Australian charging.

Edberg defeated only one seeded player, No. 6 Miloslav Mecir, on his way to the final.

''I am playing very well. I got a good start and that was important,'' said Edberg. ''If Masur had got a good start and with the crowd behind him, that could have caused trouble. I am playing as well as I did at this time last year and the center court suits me even if the ball bounced higher.''

''Whoever takes the opportunities will take out the championship,'' Cash said. ''I took my opportunities in the Davis Cup final and hopefully I will take them again.''

Cash defeated Edberg, who turned 21 last week, in the Davis Cup final in December on the Kooyong center court, 13-11, 6-4.

The Australian is suffering from a strained right calf muscle, which has forced him to withdraw from the New South Wales championships which begin in Sydney on Monday.

Cash suffered the injury six days ago and has been keeping it iced. He says it will not hamper him against Edberg.

Edberg has a chance to hone his game Saturday when he partners with Anders Jarryd in the men's doubles finals against Australians Peter Doohan and Laurie Warder.
 
#150 ·
Easy win puts Edberg in Aussie Open final
Swede's powerful serve overpowers Wally Masur

The Toronto Star
January 23, 1987
Associated Press

MELBOURNE - Defending champion Stefan Edberg of Sweden powered past Australian Wally Masur, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7), today to move into the men's singles final of the $1.65 million (U.S.) Australian Open tennis championship.

Edberg, the fourth seed, used his strong serve to beat the unseeded Masur in just under two hours.

Top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia played 11th-seeded Pat Cash of Australia in the other semifinal today. The men's final is scheduled Sunday on the grass court at Kooyong.

Yesterday, Martina Navratilova beat Sweden's Catarina Lindqvist, 6-3, 6-2, while Hana Mandlikova, the Czech who wants to become an Australian, defeated West Germany's Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3, to advance to the women's finals. The women's final is tomorrow.

Edberg qualified for the second Grand Slam final of his career. He defeated compatriot Mats Wilander in the last Australian Open final, played in December 1985.

Lacked consistency

Masur, a 23-year-old ranked just 71st in the world, was playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal after ousting two-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in the fourth round.

Edberg and Masur had met only once before, in the fourth round of the last Australian Open, when Masur held two match points before Edberg emerged victorious.

The 21-year-old Swede found things a lot easier this time, with Masur being unable to find the consistency he needed to prove a serious threat. Despite losing, Masur improved his world rank to a career-high 41st by making the semifinals.

Edberg's serve was the major factor in the first set. He dropped only four points on his first six service games.

Edberg stamped his authority on the match from the start, racing to a 4-0 first-set lead. He also led 4-1 in the second set before the Australian rallied briefly, breaking twice to get back to 4-4. Edberg, however, broke serve again, and took the set 6-4.

There were no service breaks in the third set, but although Masur was tenacious, he was ultimately tamed. The third set tiebreaker went to 9-7, with Masur holding one set point, before Edberg's power and coolness clinched the match.

"He was very sure of himself. He just imposed himself on the match," Masur said. "He served very well. He never let up on it, and his second serve was even better than his first."

Masur said he felt dropping serve in the first game of the match had proved crucial.

"The scales tipped right from the start," he said.
 
#151 ·
EDBERG GAINS AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL
The Miami Herald
January 23, 1987
From Herald Wire Services

Defending champion and No. 4 seed Stefan Edberg of Sweden defeated unseeded Wally Masur of Australia, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7), today to reach the men's singles final against the winner of the match between top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia and No. 11 Pat Cash of Australia.

Masur played the normal grass-court serve-and-volley game, but Edberg stayed back on the baseline and lobbed over Masur or hammered passing shots down either side of the court.

"He served brilliantly, and he's got the best second service in the game," said Masur. "I couldn't get started. I need a kick in the backside for the way I played."

Masur, a 23-year-old ranked just 71st in the world, was playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal after ousting two-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in the fourth round.

The men's final is scheduled for Sunday (10 p.m. EST Saturday).
 
#152 ·
Cool Cash bounces Czech in Aussie Open
Ivan Lendl disappointed after four-hour struggle

The Toronto Star
January 23, 1987
Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia - Australian Davis Cup hero Pat Cash battled for more than four hours before toppling top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia today to advance to the men's final of the $1.65 million (U.S.) Australian Open tennis championships at Kooyong.

Cash, 21, the 11th seed, moved into the first Grand Slam final of his career by outdueling Lendl 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in a struggle between two of the most powerful players in the world.

The fiery Cash will meet defending champion Stefan Edberg of Sweden, the fourth seed, in Sunday's final.

Edberg romped to a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) victory over unseeded Australian Wally Masur in today's other semifinal.

The women's final will be held tomorrow, with defending champion Martina Navratilova of the U.S. meeting Czechoslovakia's Hana Mandlikova.

Cash, who will be playing in only the fourth Grand Prix tournament final of his career, defeated Lendl for the first time in five career meetings.

First since 1976

He will be aiming to become the first Australian to win the title since Mark Edmondson did it in 1976.

"I think I'm playing pretty good tennis, and it really helps that I can stay at home for this event," said Cash, who grew up in suburban Ringwood, just a 30-minute drive from Kooyong.

"You have to be organized to tackle a tournament like this. Being prepared is the key and I can prepare best at home."

Cash, a former U.S. Open and Wimbledon semifinalist, faced Edberg in the opening match of the Davis Cup final against Sweden at Kooyong last month, beating the 21-year-old Swede in straight sets to spark Australia's 3-2 victory. Edberg won their only other meeting.

Lendl had prepared on grass for three weeks prior to the Open, but Cash played him evenly and showed tremendous concentration on the key points.

"I was really making a special effort to block everything out," said Cash. "You can always improve on your concentration."

Cash, who went into Wimbledon last year ranked No. 418 in the world after being sidelined by a back injury that threatened his career, saved a set point in the third set and came from 2-5 down in the third-set tie-breaker, reeling off five straight points.

Cash broke serve for a 5-3 lead in the fourth set, only to drop his own serve. But he broke Lendl again to clinch the victory after the Czech missed a couple of easy volleys.

"I just didn't expect anything like this to happen so soon (after my comeback)," Cash said. "At this stage, I would have settled for being 80 or 100 in the world."

Cash entered the Open ranked No. 24. Making the final will lift him at least 11 notches.

Cash said the match was extremely evenly balanced.

"I hit a couple of good shots at the right time, while he made a couple of mistakes he wouldn't normally make," he said.

"I've improved with every match I've played, so I'm feeling good."

Lendl said he was desperately disappointed. Lendl had prepared on grass for three weeks prior to the Open, but Cash played him evenly and showed tremendous concentration on the key points

"I put a lot of effort into this," he said. "I had chances in all four sets. Patrick played some good shots, I played some loose ones in the third set tie-break and that swung it. If you don't take your chances on grass, you don't get too many others."

Lendl has never won a Grand Slam event on grass.

"I thought I competed well, although I was disappointed I missed a couple of crucial volleys. I gave it my best shot," he said.

Earlier, Edberg qualified for the second Grand Slam final of his career. He defeated fellow Swede Mats Wilander in the last Australian Open final, played in December, 1985.

Masur, a 23-year-old from Canberra ranked 71st in the world, was playing in his first Grand Slam semifinal after ousting two-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in the fourth round.

Edberg and Masur had met only once before, in the fourth round of the last Open, when the Australian held two match points before Edberg emerged victorious.
 
#153 ·
CASH UPENDS LENDL, FACES EDBERG IN OPEN FINAL
The Charlotte Observer
January 24, 1987
Associated Press

Pat Cash, winning two tiebreakers en route to a four-set upset over top-seeded Ivan Lendl on Friday, moved within one victory of becoming the first Australian since 1976 to win the Australian Open tennis championship.

Cash, 21, seeded 11th, beat the world's top-ranked player 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in a tense four-hour match to advance to Sunday`s final against defending champion Stefan Edberg.

Edberg rode his powerful serve to a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) victory over unseeded Wally Masur.

The women's title was to be decided today in a match between top-seeded Martina Navratilova and second-seeded Hana Mandlikova.

Cash's victory over Lendl, who has never won a Grand Slam event on the grass, moved him into the first Grand Slam final of his career.

Cash, who will be playing in only the fourth Grand Prix tournament final of his career, simply over-powered Lendl as he beat him for the first time in five career meetings.

The first set of the match was a see-saw affair, with Cash jumping to a 5-2 lead only to see the Czech player even the score. But Cash then took the tiebreaker 7-1, capturing the set by 7-6.

The next two sets were just as dramatic, with both players agreeing after the match that either could have won. The crucial moment came in the third set tiebreaker, which Cash eventually won, 7-5.

He will be aiming to become the first Australian since Mark Edmondson to win the title.

"I think I'm playing pretty good tennis, and it really helps that I can stay at home for this event," said Cash, who grew up in suburban Ringwood, just a 30 minute drive from the grass courts of Kooyong.

Seven months ago, Cash was recovering from an appendectomy and hoping he had put a persistent back injury behind him. He took a wild-card entry into Wimbledon because his computer ranking of 418th wasn't good enough to get him into the main draw.

Since then, Cash has completely overcome his back problem, improved his ranking from 418th to 13th, got a grip on his once fearsome temper and led Australia to a memorable victory over Sweden in the final of the Davis Cup at Kooyong last month.

Cash ignited that victory with a 13-11, 13-11, 6-4 win over Edberg in the opening match, but expects a much tougher battle on Sunday.

"Stefan is simply playing a lot better," said Cash. The two have a 1-1 head-to-head record.

Cash said he is amazed at the way his career has progressed since he made the Wimbledon quarterfinals last July.

"It's been a good six months," he said. "I'd lost almost two years, and I just wanted to get back as quickly as possible.

"I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. I would have settled for being 80 or 100 in the world and just getting into tournaments."

Lendl had prepared on grass for three weeks before the Open, but Cash played him evenly and showed tremendous concentration on the key points.

''I was really making a special effort to block everything out,'' said Cash. ''You can always improve on your concentration.''

Lendl was disappointed. ''I put a lot of effort into this,'' he said. ''I had chances in all four sets. If you don't take your chances on grass, you don't get too many others.''

Edberg, for his part, has a score to settle with Cash. He vividly remembers their meeting last month.

"Sure, I would like revenge for the Davis Cup," he said with a smile.

"I think my attitude is right. It's different.

"When you get to a final you have to feel confident. I'm hitting the ball well and moving well. There is no reason why it should go bad."

Both Cash and Edberg were impressive in their semifinals.

"You have to be organized to tackle a tournament like this. Being prepared is the key, and I can prepare best at home."

Edberg qualified for the second Grand Slam final of his career. He defeated fellow Swede Mats Wilander in the last Australian Open final, played in December 1985.

"He was very sure of himself. He just imposed himself on the match," said Masur.
 
#154 ·
Martina and Hana battle for Aussie title
Navratilova impressive in clinical semifinal win

The Toronto Star
January 23, 1987
Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia - Top-seeded Martina Navratilova and second-seeded Hana Mandlikova won semifinal matches yesterday and advanced to final of the Australian Open tennis championships.

Navratilova, the Czech who became an American, beat Sweden's Catarina Lindqvist, 6-3, 6-2, while Mandlikova, the Czech who wants to become an Australian, defeated West Germany's Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3.

They will meet tomorrow (9 p.m. EST tonight) for the women's championship in the $1.65 million (U.S.) tournament on the grass courts of Kooyong Stadium.

The men's title matchup will be decided today when defending champion Stefan Edberg of Sweden plays unseeded Wally Masur of Australia and top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia meets Australian Pat Cash. The men's final is scheduled for Sunday (10 p.m. EST tomorrow).

Martina holds edge

Navratilova, who is 30, has a commanding 23-6 career record against her 23-year-old opponent. The last time she lost to Mandlikova was in the three-set final of the 1985 U.S. Open.

Navratilova, playing with typical power and grace, needed only an hour to crush the hopes of Lindqvist - Sweden's first woman Grand Slam semifinalist - but Mandlikova was less impressive.

In a match twice interrupted by rain, Mandlikova ripped through the opening set, breaking serve in the fourth and sixth games, but lost her superiority totally in the second set.

After a second rain delay in the first game of the third set, Mandlikova rediscovered her drive and direction.

Mandlikova, who has applied for Australian citizenship, said she felt very relaxed playing in Melbourne.

"I feel happy here and I have a lot of friends. I am very happy to be in the final and I just hope that I keep playing well," she said.

Despite evidence to the contrary in Mandlikova's lacklustre triumph over fifth-seeded Kohde-Kilsch, Navratilova said she believed Mandlikova was now playing more consistently.

"She is much tougher mentally now, but also more predictable," said Navratilova.

'Percentage tennis'

"She is playing more percentage tennis, but I've been playing better against her because I can concentrate more."

Navratilova said she did not believe that the Czech would have the support of the crowd simply because she was seeking Australian citizenship.

"Australian tennis fans are fairer than anywhere else in the world," she said. "They'll want to see a close match and will support whoever is behind."

Navratilova will be bidding to win the Australian championship for the fourth time while Mandlikova will be going for her second title - she won in 1980 by defeating Australian Wendy Turnbull in the final.

Navratilova also is aiming to become the first player since Billie Jean King at Wimbledon in 1973 to capture three titles in the same Grand Slam event.

Navratilova and Pam Shriver have the reached the women's doubles semis, while she and Paul Annacone have reached the semis of the mixed doubles.

"It is something I haven't done in my career, so I'd love to do it here," Navratilova said.
 
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