TENNIS ROUNDUP : Americans Say Arrivederci Again in the Italian Open

One day after American hopes were raised, all three remaining U.S. players were eliminated from the Italian Open.

Defending champion Alberto Mancini blasted his way into the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over top-seeded Brad Gilbert Thursday at Rome.

“I played a great match today,” Mancini said. “I returned service well, and my passing shots were sharp. And Gilbert’s baseline shots are a little less effective on clay than they are on a faster surface.”

Second-seeded Aaron Krickstein was ousted by Guy Forget of France, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), and ninth-seeded Jim Courier lost to No. 8 Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Only three Americans have won at Rome in the last 30 years.

In other matches, 10th-seeded Thomas Muster of Austria beat Jan Gunnarsson of Sweden, 6-3, 6-2; third-seeded Andres Gomez of Ecuador beat No. 14 Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden, 6-4, 7-5; unseeded Omar Camporese of Italy downed Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-1; fourth-seeded Emilio Sanchez of Spain beat No. 13 Jonas Svensson of Sweden, 6-3, 6-2, and Guillermo Perez-Roldan of Argentina defeated sixth-seeded Martin Jaite, also of Argentina, 6-4, 6-3.

Third-seeded Gabriela Sabatini was upset by No. 16 Sandra Cecchini of Italy, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, in the third round of the German Open at West Berlin.

In other matches, second-seeded Monica Seles of Yugoslavia defeated Magdelena Maleeva of Bulgaria, 6-2, 6-3; sixth-seeded Conchita Martinez downed Larisa Savchenko of the Soviet Union, 6-3, 6-1, and ninth-seeded Judith Wiesner of Austria advanced when fourth-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez retired with a back injury after one game.