Tennis : Lloyd, Noah and Connors Win Easily

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — A parade of seeded players, including Chris Evert Lloyd, Yannick Noah and Jimmy Connors, claimed easy first-round victories Wednesday as play resumed at the rain-delayed $1.8-million International Players Championships.

Lloyd, coming off a shocking third-round loss to Kate Gompert in a Virginia Slims tournament in Florida last week, began defense of her women’s title with a 6-0, 6-1 drubbing of South Africa’s Jennifer Mundel.

Noah, seeded No. 4, defeated Claudio Panatta of Italy, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3, while No. 6 Connors beat Ben Testerman, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.

Lloyd, who sat out five months with a knee injury before last week’s women’s event in Boca Raton, said the 38-minute victory over Mundel was exactly what she needed.

“Maybe I could have had it a little tougher,” she said, adding that she’s working hard to regain the level of concentration it takes to be a consistent winner.

“I’m taking it one match at a time right now because I haven’t played in so long. I realize how much of the game is mental for me and that I need to get that back if I want do well this year.”