THE SIDELINES : American Upset in First Round

American Angelica Gavaldon, the No. 5 seed in the Strasbourg Open women’s tennis tournament, was upset in the opening round today, losing to Barbara Romano of Italy, 6-1, 6-1.

Gavaldon, 16, who reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January, is ranked 47th in the world.

In other first-day matches, two Argentines beat two Americans. Bettina Fulco defeated Monique Javer, 7-5, 6-0, and Florencia Labat beat Cammie MacGregor, 6-4, 6-3.

Elsewhere, top-seeded Manuela Maleeva of Bulgaria and No. 2 Barbara Paulus of Austria won first-round matches in the Geneva European Open tennis tournament.

Maleeva, the defending champion, breezed to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Laura Lapi of Italy. Paulus, the 1988 winner, defeated Gabriela Castro of Argentina, 6-3, 6-1.