Tennis Roundup : Lendl, Cash Are Close to Rematch of Wimbledon Final

Ivan Lendl and Pat Cash moved a step closer to a rematch of their Wimbledon final Thursday when both reached the quarterfinals of the $375,000 Benson and Hedges indoor tennis championships at Wembley, England.

Cash struggled before beating Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

With a little luck, Chesnokov, 21, might have upset Cash.

On match point, with Cash serving at 40-30, his forehand volley appeared to have landed well beyond the baseline.

Chesnokov, who would have tied the score at deuce with a chance to break back into the match, watched as line judge David Wynne failed to call the ball out.

Cash also looked surprised, turning to serve again, only to be awarded the match.

“It was a long way out, not a short way, yes?” the disappointed Chesnokov asked. “I don’t understand how he can make a mistake like that on match point. Pat said sorry to me and told me linesmen make mistakes every day.”

It was not the only stroke of luck Cash had in a match that he threatened to dominate after taking the opening set but that, in the end, he had to fight hard to win.

“I didn’t play as well as yesterday (Wednesday),” said Cash. “But I should not be expected to go out and win every match just because of Wimbledon. You don’t suddenly become unbeatable. The sooner people realize there is no such thing as an upset any more, the better.”

In the quarterfinals, Cash will meet Anders Jarryd of Sweden, who beat Switzerland’s Claudio Mezzadri, 6-4, 6-3. American Paul Annacone also reached the final eight, ousting Christo van Rensburg of South Africa, 6-2, 6-2. Miloslav Mecir advanced with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Johan Kriek.

Qualifier Niklas Kroon, 17, of Sweden upset his countryman, top-seeded Mats Wilander, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round of the Frankfurt Cup in West Germany.

In other matches, second-seeded Andres Gomez of Ecuador defeated Richy Reneberg, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1; Derrick Rostagno beat Mark Woodforde of Australia, 6-3, 6-4; Brad Gilbert downed Christian Bergstroem of Sweden, 6-2, 6-2, and Dan Goldie topped Greg Holmes, 6-4, 6-3.

Kate Gompert, who has never won a major tournament, took advantage of numerous unforced errors to defeat second-seeded Hana Mandlikova of Czechoslovakia, 6-2, 7-6, to advance to the quarterfinals of the $150,000 Virginia Slims of Chicago tournament.

Gompert, ranked 25th in the world, will face Natalie Zvereva of the Soviet Union today. Gompert has played in only one final this year, losing to Chris Evert.

Zvereva’s Soviet teammate, Leila Meskhi, earlier upset seventh-seeded Bettina Bunge, 6-4, 6-2.

Meskhi will face third-seeded Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia. Sukova won her second-round match from fellow Czech Jana Novotna, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

In the final second-round match, fourth-seeded Zina Garrison of Houston beat Mary Lou Piatek-Daniels of Munster, Ind., 6-1, 6-0.

Officials of the Volvo International at Stratton Mountain, Vt., have given up attempts to complete the Aug. 9 final in which John McEnroe was leading Ivan Lendl, 7-6, 1-4, when rain halted play.