Tennis: Bates boosts spirits by beating Becker: British game lifted as veteran's defeat of three-time Wimbledon champion highlights fine day for men and women

JEREMY BATES gave the British game another shove in the right direction yesterday by defeating Boris Becker, 7-5, 7-6, here to advance to the third round of the Stella Artois Championships.

Having ended the nation's 17- year wait for a title on the mainstream men's tour in April, Bates capped his victory in Seoul by beating the three-times Wimbledon champion on the lawn where Becker says he was born as a player in 1985. It was after winning the first of his three Queen's titles that the 17-year-old Becker went on to become the youngest and only unseeded Wimbledon champion.

The 31-year-old Bates, who was unable to convert a match point against the Frenchman Guy Forget for a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals two years ago, held his nerve to win on his third match point in the second set tie-break yesterday. 'It's definitely one of my biggest wins,' Bates said. 'People wondered where South Korea was, so it's nice to win at home.'

Results prior to Grand Slam championships have to be put in perspective, and Bates was quick to do so. 'I'm not kidding myself that Boris is at the top of his game,' he said, 'but I still had to take advantage of the situation.'

Becker has had an erratic year on the courts since returning to the tour in February after taking a break to marry and become a father. He was playing his first match since a back injury caused him to withdraw from the French Open.

Bates, by contrast, came here after a busy week at Beckenham, which involved playing two matches on Sunday, including the final, which he lost to Forget. On Monday, Bates defeated another Frenchman, Guillaume Raoux, to reach the second round and then partnered Christo Van Rensburg in a doubles match against Goran Ivanisevic and Patrick Rafter.

'I played for four hours yesterday,' he said. 'After playing against Goran, I felt like a pin cushion last night, but I suppose playing against big servers like Forget and Ivanisevic was good preparation for playing Boris today.'

Not that Bates was at his best yesterday morning. 'I had the worst night ever,' he said. 'I didn't get home till 10, and when you're over- tired, it can be difficult to get to sleep.' He was still too sharp for Becker in the key moments, beating the 26-year-old German having been unable to take even a set from him in their four previous matches.

It was the first time they had met on grass, and the world No 10 said he paid the price for lack of preparation. 'Jeremy played like a guy who had played eight matches on the trot on grass. I was physically fit, but I had only practised for three and a half days.'

Bates, eager to attack Becker's second serve, made the crucial break to lead 6-5 in the first set. The game began with laughter, Becker delivering an ace with a drop-shot serve, a mis-hit which sent the ball spinning in a gentle arc to land just inside the centre line, with Bates scampering for it in vain.

Becker came to the net and shook his opponent's hand, but the smile left his face after he double-faulted for 30-40. Bates devoured the opportunity with a confident forehand return.

Another Becker double-fault presented Bates with a chance to break in the ninth game of the second set, but on this occasion a service return landed beyond the baseline.

Becker led 4-2 in the tie-break, but Bates won three consecutive points from 3-5 and created match points against the German's serve at 6-5 and 8-7 (having saved a set point at 6-7) before eventually serving on the third match point at 9-8.

His aim was good, and the crowd was ecstatic when Becker's backhand return landed over the baseline to bring the contest to a close after two hours.

Bates's triumph topped a second encouraging day for the Brits. The 19-year-old Tim Henman earned a second-round match against Todd Martin, the world No 9, by defeating Peter Lundgren, a Swedish qualifier, 7-5, 7-6, and Mark Petchey defeated Maurice Ruah, of Venezuela, 6-2, 7-5.

(Photograph omitted)