International Players Championship : Lendl, Navratilova, Connors Win

Top-seeded Ivan Lendl and Martina Navratilova advanced Sunday to the fourth round of the Lipton International Players Championships.

Lendl, after dropping the first set, disposed of Thomas Muster of Austria, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. Navratilova routed Gabriela Sabatini, 6-1, 6-3.

Lendl started slowly, losing the first two games and the last three of the first set. The second set was also close until the Czech started making his passing shots.

“I feel I haven’t played too well this year so far,” Lendl said. “I just haven’t got enough work in . . . to do everything I’m capable of doing. Earlier in this tournament, I wasn’t able to make my passing shots work for me. In my last match with Paul Annacone, I was forced to make that shot work and it helped me again today.

“I feel I am gradually getting to the point where I can play good competitive tennis. These five-set matches here in the heat can help you work out any problems you might have.”

Late in the final set, Lendl injured his left knee.

“I was going after a ball and fell,” he said. “After I walked around for a while, I knew it wasn’t any ligament or cartilage damage because it didn’t hurt enough, but I felt there wouldn’t be a big problem finishing the match. I don’t think it will be a problem for the rest of the tournament.”

Sabatini, 15, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has lived and trained in Key Biscayne for the last three years. She was a semifinalist at Wimbledon this year and is ranked No. 10 in the world.

Sixth-seeded Jimmy Connors also had an easy time, defeating Darren Cahill, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. Connors, who injured his knee in the final of his last tournament, said he felt no pain.

Steffi Graf, of West Germany, the third-seeded woman eased past Kathrin Keil of Los Angeles, 6-0, 6-1, to advance to the fourth round.

Brad Gilbert, seeded 16th, snuck past Marc Flur, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3, after winning a 12-10 tiebreaker in the first set and a 7-5 tiebreaker in the second.

In other matches, Derrick Rostagno defeated Israel’s Amos Mansdorf, 7-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Jay Berger downed Italy’s Paolo Cane, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.

Johan Carlsson lost the first two sets to Carl Limberger but swept the final three to win 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0. It also took five sets for Robert Seguso to defeat Danie Visser 7-6, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

In other women’s matches, Nathalie Tauziat of France defeated Silke Meier of West Germany, 6-0, 6-3. Mary Joe Fernandez, who upset fifth-seeded Pam Shriver in the second round, lost to Lisa Bonder, 6-4, 6-1.