Top Tennis Players Lose

With top 10 players tumbling out in rapid succession from the richest tennis tournament in the world, Boris Becker squeezed into the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam Cup.

Becker had to battle hard to beat Cedric Pioline of France 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 9-7.

While Becker, ranked No. 4 in the world, advanced to the final eight and made sure of earning at least $250,000, No. 3 Thomas Muster and No. 5 Michael Chang lost. Byron Black defeated Muster, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-1, and Jacco Eltingh beat Chang, 7-6 (12-10), 6-3. Goran Ivanisevic topped Petr Korda, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.

The entry list for next month’s Australian Open is the strongest in the history of the event, tournament director Paul McNamee said Wednesday.

Every male player in the world’s top 30 has entered, along with 18 of the top 20 women.