TENNIS ROUNDUP : Graf Has Sinus Operation, Will Be Sidelined for Month

Steffi Graf, the top-ranked women’s player in the world, is expected to be out of competitive tennis for up to a month after an operation on her sinuses.

The West German, beaten by American Zina Garrison in the Wimbledon semifinals last week, left a hospital in Heidelberg, West Germany, Wednesday after the surgery, Graf’s medical advisers said today.

Graf said at Wimbledon she planned the operation at the end of the year. But she was persuaded by doctors to seek an earlier solution to the sinus problem which has troubled her for some time.

She had already pulled out of the Federation Cup team event in Atlanta starting July 23. She will now miss a tournament in Montreal the following week and is unlikely to compete in the Great American Bank Classic, which begins Aug. 26 in San Diego.

Earlier this year Graf was forced out of the game for several weeks after breaking a thumb in a skiing accident.

Second-seeded Emilio Sanchez advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Open today in Gstaad, Switzerland, with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over fellow Spaniard Jordi Arrese.

Marc Rosset of Switzerland won a quarterfinal shot at Sanchez with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (9-7) victory over Australian Wally Masur.

In the only upset of the day, Juan Aguilera of Spain, the No. 6 seed, was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by countryman Sergi Bruguera.

Fourth-seeded Andre Chesnokov of the Soviet Union defeated Tomas Carbonell of Spain 7-5, 6-3 and will meet Bruguera in the quarterfinal.

Mats Wilander’s tennis comeback suffered a setback today when he was beaten by Marcelo Filippini of Uruguay 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) in the second round of the Swedish Open.

Wilander, ranked No. 1 in the world before slipping and then taking a five-month break, made several unforced errors in losing the tiebreak which decided the match at Bastad, Sweden.

With Wilander out, the tournament has lost its No. 1 and 2 seeds. Top-seed Guillermo Perez Roldan of Argentina was upset by Swede Lars Jonsson in three sets Wednesday.

No. 4 seed Richard Fromberg of Australia was extended to three sets by Swede Nicklas Utgren, winning 6-7, 7-6, 6-3. In the quarterfinals, Fromberg will play Diego Perez of Uruguay, who scored a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Magnus Nilsson of Sweden in the only other second-round match Thursday.

In the women’s singles, Csilla Bartos of Switzerland upset former champion and No. 2 seed Catarina Lindqvist of Sweden 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach Friday’s quarterfinals.

Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland upset second-seeded American Jay Berger, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round of the Gunze World tournament today in Osaka, Japan.

Hlasek, firing five aces and hitting 66.8% of his first serves, needed just 67 minutes on the artificial surface at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium to eliminate Berger.