Becker Defeats Edberg in Davis Cup Final : Tennis: Victory avenges loss in Master’s. Wilander beats Steeb as W. German, Sweden split singles.

STUTTGART, West Germany —  Boris Becker overpowered Stefan Edberg 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 today as defending champion West Germany and Sweden split the opening two singles in the Davis Cup final.

Earlier, Mats Wilander overcame Carl-Uwe Steeb 5-7, 7-6 (7-0), 6-7 (7-4), 6-2, 6-3, giving Sweden a 1-0 lead.

Becker, who lost to Edberg in the Masters final in New York this month, needed less than two hours to get his revenge victory.

After winning the first two sets with ease, the Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion hit some sparkling returns to take a 4-3 lead in the third set.

Becker, who faced a break point in the sixth game, then ended the match by twice holding serve to love in the eighth and 10th games.

“I played great tennis against a very good opponent,” Becker said after his victory before a sellout crowd of 10,500 at the Schleyer Halle.

“I don’t think I can play any better. The key was that I got an early break. And once I started to roll I didn’t look back any more and I played better and better. I also had a very good return.”

The doubles match will be played Saturday. Becker is scheduled to team with Eric Jelen against Anders Jarryd and Jan Gunnarsson. The doubles pairs were announced at Thursday’s draw, but both team captains can make changes until one hour before the start of the match.

In last year’s final, Becker and Jelen rallied from two sets down to beat Edberg and Jarryd, clinching West Germany’s first Davis Cup triumph.

Wilander said his 4 1/2-hour match against Steeb was “comparable with a few of the Grand Slams.”

“Maybe not the U.S. Open, but it means a lot for me,” he said. “It’s great that it means so much for the team and for Sweden. It’s a great feeling.”

Wilander’s victory avenged a bitter five-set loss to Steeb in the opening match of last year’s final on indoor clay at Goteborg, Sweden.

“I think it’s the first time I’ve won a five-set match in a Davis Cup final,” Wilander said, after beating Steeb for the second time in three meetings.

“I don’t know if I played better today than last year. I wanted to play better, and I wanted to win this match. I was psyched up.”

The setback in last year’s final started Wilander’s slide. He dropped out of the top 10 early this year after finishing 1988 as No. 1 following his three Grand Slam titles in the Australian, French and U.S. Opens.

“I think it’s a good end of a lousy year,” said Wilander, now ranked 12th in the world. “Next year is going to be different.”

Playing on a fast carpet surface at the Schleyer Halle, Wilander took command after a 10-minute break following the third set.

Leading 3-2 in the decisive set, Wilander won 10 of the last 13 games.

“Things started to turn around a little in the fourth and fifth sets,” Wilander said.