Edberg Succumbs; Exit Is Classy

Stefan Edberg, one of the great gentlemen champions of tennis, bade farewell to the Australian Open on a day marred by the temper tantrums.

Two five-setters in a row proved just too much for Edberg, and his classy exit sparked a 5-minute ovation after his 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to qualifier Jean-Philippe Fleurian.

Edberg, who turns 30 on Friday, has seen his former No. 1 ranking sink to No. 31 as he begins his last year on the tour. He hopes he has one more Grand Slam title left in him.

He gave everything he had to save two match points. But he couldn’t save a third as Fleurian, ranked 153, drove a forehand crosscourt out of Edberg’s reach to end the match 2 minutes shy of 3 hours.

“I knew that everybody would be for Stefan,” Fleurian said. “It’s his last Australian Open, and he’s such a gentleman, but that didn’t mean they were against me.”

In another five-setter, Patrick McEnroe, a semifinalist in 1991 now ranked 57, beat No. 14 Andrei Medvedev 0-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

Tempers flared predictably when Jim Courier and Jeff Tarango dueled, an Ugly American match of umpire baiting and racket throwing.

Courier, twice champion of the Australian, vented his frustration by flinging his racket and cursing to the sky. Tarango expressed his displeasure with line calls by keeping up a running argument with the umpire.

The antics of both players spiced a baseline confrontation Courier finally won with a run of nine straight games that brought him back from 1-4 down in the third set to a 7-5, 6-7 (7-2), 6-4, 6-3 victory.

No such commotion accompanied Monica Seles’ 6-1, 6-1 romp over Katarina Studenikova of Slovakia, a 51-minute victory that gave Seles a 23-0 mark in Australian Opens as she pursues her fourth title.

Seles had been worried the groin pull that hurt her Tuesday in a first-round victory might be aggravated.

Michael Chang, No. 5, advanced with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Jakob Hlasek, but No. 9 Wayne Ferreira, hampered by a hamstring injury, lost 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 to Karol Kucera.

In women’s matches, No. 6 Gabriela Sabatini beat Karina Habsudova 6-4, 6-3; No. 9 Mary Joe Fernandez defeated Maria-Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo 6-2, 6-0; No. 13 Chanda Rubin edged Tina Krizan 6-7 (7-3), 6-2, 6-3; and No. 15 Naoko Sawamatsu downed Linda Wild 6-4, 6-3.