Tennis Roundup : U.S. Wins in Cup Play, Gains Berth in Olympics
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Chris Evert and Pam Shriver won their singles matches and teamed in doubles Wednesday at Vancouver, Canada, to lift the United States into the quarterfinals of the Federation Cup tennis championship.
The 3-0 victory over France also assured the United States of a spot in the main draw of the 1988 Olympic Games.
Shriver, forced into singles competition when Martina Navratilova sprained her ankle, defeated Isabelle Demengeot, 6-0, 7-6.
Evert trounced Nathalie Tauziat, 6-1, 6-0, then teamed with Shriver to beat Demengeot and Catherine Suire, 6-1, 6-0.
The victory moved the United States, which has won the Cup 12 times, to the quarterfinals for the 25th consecutive year. The only time the United States failed to advance past the quarterfinals was in 1973 when it lost to West Germany, 3-0.
The Federation Cup, with total prize money of $325,000, is particularly key this year, since it forms the draw for the 1988 Olympics at Seoul, South Korea.
The eight nations that make it to the Federation Cup quarterfinals receive automatic byes to the 32-nation main draw. Tennis is making its first appearance as a medal sport at the Olympics since 1924.
In other second-round matches, Czechoslovakia beat Yugoslavia, 3-0, and West Germany eliminated South Korea, 3-0.
At Washington, Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker both advanced to the third round of the $232,000 D.C. tournament by struggling to straight-set victories.
Lendl, seeded No. 1, overcame a shaky start to beat former UCLA player Brad Pearce, 7-6, 6-3. Becker, seeded No. 2, had a surprisingly tough time eliminating Richard Matuszewski, 6-4, 7-5.
Lendl will next face 18-year-old David Wheaton, who defeated Jonny Levine, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Wheaton had advanced to the second round with an upset victory over 15th-seeded Johan Carlsson. Becker’s next opponent is John Ross.
In other second-round matches, Brad Gilbert defeated Chip Hooper, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, and Johan Kriek beat Jeff Tarango of Manhattan Beach, 7-6, 6-4.
At Bastad, Sweden, Stefan Edberg and Joakim Nystrom easily advanced to the quarterfinals of the $202,500 Swedish Open, but a third Swede, Mikael Pernfors, was upset in his second-round match.
Edberg, seeded No. 2, beat compatriot Thomas Haldin, 6-2, 6-0, while No. 5 Nystrom beat Jaro Navratil of Czechoslovakia, 6-0, 6-1.
No. 6 Pernforswas surprised by Pavel Vojtisek, 6-4, 6-2. Vojtisek, a Czechoslovakian-born player who recently became a West German citizen, will play Edberg next.
In a first-round match, defending champion Emilio Sanchez defeated Sweden’s Lars-Anders Wahlgren, 6-1, 6-4.
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