TENNIS ROUNDUP : Seles Gets Past Fernandez, Faces Sabatini Today

Top-ranked Monica Seles held off a tough challenge from Mary Joe Fernandez on Saturday and will defend her Italian Open title against second-seeded Gabriela Sabatini today at Rome.

Sabatini breezed into today’s final with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over fifth-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain.

Seles, however, needed 2 hours 13 minutes to overcome Fernandez, the fourth-seeded player, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.

Fernandez also had taken Seles to three sets in their semifinal at the Australian Open earlier in the year.

Seles had breezed into the semifinals, barely breaking a sweat while winning six sets out of six in her first three matches. But Fernandez matched the Yugoslav shot for shot from the baseline, and kept Seles off the baseline to prevent her from setting up for her sharply angled passing shots.

Sabatini had a much easier time in her semifinal match against Martinez, who had played brilliantly while eliminating No. 3-seeded Martina Navratilova on Friday.

Fifth-seeded Jimmy Arias advanced to the finals of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, victory over Javier Frana of Argentina at Charlotte, N.C.

Arias will meet seventh-seeded Jaime Yzaga of Peru in today’s final. Yzaga defeated MaliVai Washington, 7-5, 6-2.

Arias will be trying to win his first tournament since 1983, when he won the U.S. Clay Courts.

Arias and Yzaga have met six times, most recently in the Australian Open, where Yzaga won to even their series at 3-3.

Arias won his first title at age 17, but he has struggled over the past several years. Once ranked among the top five players in the world, he is now No. 58.

Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden, trying for his second title in a row, and Karel Novacek of Czechoslovakia won semifinal matches by winning tiebreakers in the $1-million German Open at Hamburg.

Gustafsson, winner in Munich last week, outlasted Goran Prpic of Yugoslavia, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4).

Novacek, helped by a foot-fault call against Michael Stich, outlasted the crowd favorite, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), to reach his third final this season. Stich lives in Munich but is originally from the Hamburg area.

Stich was called for a foot fault in the final set, leading 5-3 and serving for the match. Angry over the call, he committed a double-fault to fall behind 30-40. Novacek pounced on the weaker second serve to break Stich’s serve. He then held his own to tie at 5-5.