Muster Edges Costa

About the only person that Thomas Muster has trouble with lately is rival tennis player Alberto Costa.

Muster needed 3 hours and five sets again, rallying to beat Costa 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win his second consecutive Monte Carlo Open at Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was Muster’s seventh straight victory in a clay court tournament.

Muster joined Ilie Nastase and Bjorn Borg as the only three-time Monte Carlo winners since the open era began in 1968.

At Salzburg, Austria, the United States overcame injuries to advance to the semifinals of the Federation Cup, beating Austria 3-2 behind Mary Joe Fernandez’s heroics.

Fernandez beat Barbara Paulus 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), then teamed with longtime partner Gigi Fernandez to beat Judith Wiesner and Petra Schwarz-Ritter 6-0, 6-4.

The United States next plays Japan, a surprise winner over Germany.

At Tokyo, Kimiko Date beat Steffi Graf 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 12-10 in 3 hours as Japan advanced to the semifinal for the first time.