TENNIS ROUNDUP : Seles Meets the Media, Then Beats Opponent

Monica Seles, competing for the first time since pulling out of Wimbledon last month, routed Andrea Leand, 6-0, 6-2, Thursday night in an exhibition tournament at Mahwah, N.J.

It was Seles’ first match since she beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the French Open final June 8, but she displayed her usual ground game and an improved serve.

Seles is scheduled to play for Yugoslavia in the Federation Cup next week at Nottingham, England. But she said that will depend on how she feels after playing in Mahwah. “I want to test my leg before making a decision,” she said.

“The pain is gone and that’s the most important thing.”

Before her match, she spoke with about 200 reporters. “I don’t think I made a mistake,” she said of her decision to drop out of sight and avoid the media at Wimbledon. “I felt a lot of pressure, a lot of pressure inside myself. . . . I was confused. I just wasn’t ready to talk.”

She said the main reason she avoided the media and WTA officials was because she was as puzzled as everyone else about her injury. Seles claimed she saw six doctors in three countries before finally getting a correct diagnosis from Richard Steadman of Vail, Colo.

“I kept getting all these different answers,” Seles said. “One doctor said I needed surgery, another said it was just shin splints and another said it was OK for me to play.”

Unheralded Luis Herrera of Mexico upset second-seeded John McEnroe, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the third round of the $600,000 Sovran Bank Classic at Washington.

Markus Zoecke posted his second upset in as many days when he beat 10th-seeded Jimmy Arias, 6-3, 6-4.

Zoecke had also beaten seventh-seeded Aaron Krickstein.

Wimbledon champion Michael Stich of Germany beat Javier Sanchez of Spain, 6-3, 6-3, in the $1-million Mercedes Cup tournament at Stuttgart, Germany.

Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands upset ninth-seeded Horst Skoff of Austria, 6-3, 6-4.

Second-seeded Pam Shriver beat Luanne Spadea of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-2, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the Virginia Slims Hall of Fame Invitational at Newport, R.I.

Third-seeded Marianne Werdel of Bakersfield beat Amy de Lone of Lincoln, Mass., 6-3, 6-0.

Jimmy Connors defeated Trevor Kronermann, 6-2, as the Strings beat the Charlotte Heat, 29-18, at Charlotte to improve to 4-1. The Strings’ mixed-doubles team of John Lloyd and Robin White beat Mike DePalmer and Ginger Helgeson, 6-1.