Graf Answers Critics by Opening With Easy Win in Australian Open

Steffi Graf ran her Australian Open victory streak to 22 today as she opened her bid for a fourth straight title and answered the bold talk of her rivals.

Graf sported a shorter haircut and a blood-red bandana that gave her a lean and mean look in her 48-minute, 6-3, 6-0 hammering of American Jennifer Santrock.

Graf’s German compatriot, men’s No. 2 seed Boris Becker, also came out with something to prove--he hasn’t gotten past the quarterfinals here in five tries--and he took care of business by beating Jeremy Bates, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Sprinting around the court and showing off a stronger backhand than she’s ever had, Graf raced to a 4-0 lead before losing concentration and making four straight errors in a service break.

Santrock, ranked 151st but hardly intimidated amid all the reports of Graf’s vulnerability, held her next two services with deep, angled shots off her left-handed forehand. But she could do little once Graf regained her rhythm and pounded the ball throughout the second set.

“I feel I’m hitting the ball better than at this time last year,” said Graf, who hasn’t won a Grand Slam event since winning here a year ago. “In the first set, I tried a little too much. But in the second set, I was calmer. I served better and concentrated well.”

Graf’s young rivals have been talking bravely about how they no longer fear her after her string of defeats in 1990. Second-seeded Monica Seles, 17, beat her in the French Open final and Gabriela Sabatini, 20, beat her in the U.S. Open final and Virginia Slims Championship semifinals.

Graf, 21, responded to the criticism with her ever-powerful forehand--perhaps the best in women’s tennis--the improved backhand and the still-impressive serve. In fact, she seemed to enjoy the pressure of having to prove herself again.

“It’s better when you go on court and feel there is more competition,” Graf said. “It’s nice to have stronger opponents, for sure,”

A brief shower interrupted the Becker-Bates match with Becker leading, 6-4, 4-0, and after the court was mopped and the retractable roof closed, Becker continued to dominate the match.

Becker lost two straight first-round matches in Adelaide earlier this month and was glad to get past Bates, who was cheered wildly by British fans.

“He’s serving well, and he started really cranking his serve toward the end,” Bates said. “He made a few errors--he was nervy at the start. He’s a class player. I think I wore out a couple of pair of shoes running in the second set.”

Sabatini put behind her the memory of the severely sprained ankle she suffered here a year ago and began her drive for a second straight Grand Slam title by beating dangerous newcomer Linda Harvey-Wild, 6-3, 6-1.

Sabatini’s ankles were heavily taped, as they have been each time she’s played since that spill in the third round a year ago.

Thoughts of the injury, she said, “came to my mind a few times, but it’s nothing serious.”

Australian Open Notes

Katerina Maleeva, seeded No. 5, beat Brenda Schultz, 6-1, 6-3; Zina Garrison, seeded No. 8, beat Rennae Stubbs, 6-2, 6-0, and Amy Frazier, seeded No. 13, beat Kate McDonald, 6-3, 6-4, in other early matches on the first day of play.

In men’s matches, eighth-seeded Jonas Svensson beat Thierry Champion, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1; 12th-seeded Jay Berger defeated Magnus Larsson, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0; 13th-seeded Aaron Krickstein got by Simon Youl, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and 14th-seeded Andrei Cherkasov beat Derrick Rostagno, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 10-8.