Tennis Roundup : Wilander Is Upset by Tulasne

Thierry Tulasne of France served brilliantly Tuesday to upset Mats Wilander of Sweden, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of the $375,000 Stockholm Open.

Yannick Noah of France averted a loss when he overcame Jimmy Arias, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6.

Wilander, the No. 2 seed who is ranked third in the world, outplayed his 22-year-old opponent in the first set, breaking three times. But Tulasne, who beat Wilander in September at Barcelona, Spain, won four straight games to take the second set, 6-2.

He continued to play aggressively. And with his groundstrokes flowing and serve booming, he captured the decisive set, 6-2.

Noah needed six matchpoints before he could finish off his opponent. The Frenchman used his acrobatics to win the first set, 6-4. But Arias clinched the second set, 7-5, after a break in the 11th game and then forced the seventh-ranked player to a tie-breaker, which he lost, 9-7.

Top-seeded John McEnroe, who beat Wilander in the final last year, begins play today.

Seeded players Gabriella Sabatini of Argentina and Carling Bassett of Canada advanced to the second round of the $150,000 Florida Federal Tennis Open at Largo, Fla.

The third-seeded Sabatini defeated Melissa Gurney of Palos Verdes, Calif., 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, in a first-round match. Fourth-seeded Bassett defeated Kris Kinney of New Canaan, Conn., 6-1, 6-3.

Anne White of St. Petersburg, Fla., advanced into the second round with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Leigh Thompson of Kingsmill-on-the James, Va.