THE SIDELINES : Santoro Overpowers Krickstein

Fabrice Santoro, an 18-year Frenchman with a two-handed forehand, overpowered sixth-seeded Aaron Krickstein of the United States, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3, today in the third round of the New South Wales Open tennis tournament.

Third-seeded Guy Forget of France also advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Australian Todd Woodbridge, 6-1, 6-0. Forget is the only seed to have made it to the quarterfinals of the men’s event.

A rainstorm that hit the White City courts interrupted a match between top-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez of Miami and Regina Rajchrtova of Czechoslovakia in the first set with the players on serve at 2-2.

Rajchrtova won only one more game after the resumption, with Fernandez powering to a 6-3, 6-0 lead.

Santoro, a French junior champion and Davis Cup squad member, has impressed Krickstein.

“He’s fast, he hits the ball hard and he hits it high,” Krickstein said. “I wasn’t returning his serve well, but he still played very well.”