Connors Scores 6-2, 6-4 Victory over Denton

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Third-seeded Jimmy Connors, trying to get the rust off his 33-year-old body, knocked off Steve Denton, 6-2, 6-4, Wednesday night in the first round of the $1.8-million Lipton International Players tennis tournament.

Earlier in the day, Wimbledon champion Boris Becker and French Open titleholder Mats Wilander also scored easy victories.

Becker, seeded No. 4 in this two-week event, dispatched Pavel Slozil of Czechoslovakia, 6-4, 6-4, in a second-round match.

The second-seeded Wilander, playing a first-round match, routed Ramesh Krishnan of India, 6-1, 6-3, in less than an hour to highlight a big day for the Swedes.

Connors was a late entry in this event, getting a wild-card spot last Friday.

“I felt like coming down and playing some tennis,” Connors explained after his 68-minute match. “I’m kind of struggling to find some form and I’d rather do it sooner than later.”

In other late-afternoon matches, sixth-seeded Yannick Noah of France bore down after a sloppy first set to beat veteran Harold Solomon, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, and American Brad Gilbert, one of the hottest players on the men’s tour, beat Diego Perez of Uruguay, 6-3, 6-3.

West Germany’s Steffi Graf, the second-seeded woman, breezed past Shawn Foltz, 6-2, 6-4.

About the only time the Swedes didn’t win was when they had to play against each other. Fifth-seeded Stefan Edberg beat countryman Stefan Eriksson, 7-6, 6-4, but No.7 Anders Jarryd was upset by fellow Swede Jonas Svensson, 6-4, 7-6, in first-round matches.