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Tim Mayotte leaps high to smash an Ivan Lendl lob in the Rio International Tennis Challenge final at the National Indoor Sports Centre last night. Lendl won 6-4, 6-4. Help
Tim Mayotte leaps high to smash an Ivan Lendl lob in the Rio International Tennis
Challenge final at the National Indoor Sports Centre last night. Lendl won 6-4, 6-4.
Lendl storms in
to take Rio
By MARK WALLACE
The world's No 1 player, Ivan
I ' Lendl, completed a perfect
i warm-up for next week's Aus
! tralian Open with a straight-sets
j win over American Tim Mayotte
) in the final of the Rio Interna
| tional Tennis Challenge at the
i National Indoor Sports Centre,
Bruce, last night.
Lcndl overcame a cut hand
and a poor first service to win
6-4, 6-4.
But despite the lopsided scorc,
Mayotte was far from disgraced
as he pulled ofi* some miraculous
saves off Lendl's smashes which
the capacity crowd could barely
.see.
The match was not without
incidents and for the fourth night
running players had trouble with
officials.
The problem came to a head in
the second set with Lcndl serving
at 2-3.
Mayotte hit a fine forehand
drive down the line which he
. thought good enough to give him
his first break of the Czechoslo
vak's serve. The linesman ruled
the ball in, only to be overruled
by the central umpire. Following
a minor spate between Mayotte
and the umpire Lendl suggested
| the linesman involved be re
i placed.
| The umpire agreed and for the
second time in the series a lines- t
" - •man^was replaced.
On reflection it was probably
an appropriate way to end the
series, such was the standard of
the umpiring generally.
The incident did, however,
spark Mayotte into action and
the crowd warmed to his seem
ingly impossible task, yelling en
couragement and applauding
every point he won.
But Lcndl was in no mood to
sympathise with the underdog
and went about breaking the
American's serve to take a 4-3
lead in the second set.
But then the champion's game
momentarily went to pieces as he
missed an easy smash, a simple
half volley and finally another
volley to let Mayotte back into
the match.
But that's where the lapse
ended.
Mayotte failed to win a point
on his subsequent serves. Lendl
was simply too good with some
scorching passing shots.
Afterwards Lcndl admitted he
was not terribly pleased with his
performance. "My concentration
was not there tonight," he said.
"1 blistered and cut my hand. It
cut when the racquet turned in
my hand.
"It was hurting every time I
served, but I'm not too con
cerned about it," he said of its
■ eflcct onhi^ diances for an Ays
Mayottc was satisfied with his
game despite the result.
"Ivan's a top player and is
always hard to beat," he said "I
had my chances tonight, but he
was just too good."
The crowd of around 4,000
may be one point in favour of a
decision by Rio to bring the tour
nament back to Canberra next
year, but tennis fans should not
hold their breath waiting for the
world's best to return.
In the play-off for third and
fourth the world's No 3 ranked
player Mats Wilander, of Swe
den, had little trouble in beating
his fellow countryman Joakim
Nystrom 7-5, 6-4.
The match was highlighted by
several astonishing duels at the
net which, at times, threatened to
decapitate one or other of the
players.
Wilander met early trouble in
several long rallies when he tried
to force the pace, playing too long
as he approached the net.
However, his thundering serve
was enough to get him out of any
short-term bother, enabling him
to take the first set with a crucial
break in the Uth game.
Games went with service in the
second set until the seventh when
Wilander pressured his younger
opponent into a scries of errors
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