TENNIS ROUNDUP : Graf, Capriati Critical of No. 1 Seles

Steffi Graf and Jennifer Capriati helped their countries advance to the second round of the Federation Cup Tuesday at Nottingham, England, and then took their shots at top-ranked Monica Seles.

Graf criticized Seles for playing in a lucrative exhibition tournament in New Jersey last week after withdrawing from the Federation Cup because of injury.

“You just can’t do it.” Graf said. “There are a few things that aren’t quite right about it.

“It’s strange. I don’t know what kind of injuries she’s got, but it is not possible to let her play an exhibition event if she says she can’t play the week after. It is just not excusable.”

Capriati, who beat Seles in the final of the exhibition tournament Sunday, said: “She looked fine to me. If she was hurting, she shouldn’t have played.”

Capriati defeated Manon Bollegraf, 6-2, 6-3, and Zina Garrison beat Nicole Jagerman, 7-5, 6-4, in a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands. The doubles match was canceled because of darkness.

Graf, playing in her first match since winning Wimbledon, defeated Angeliki Kanellopoulou, 6-1, 6-2, and teamed with Barbara Rittner to win the doubles in a 3-0 victory over Greece. Anke Huber won her singles match, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, over Christina Papadaki.

Top-seeded Spain got singles victories from Conchita Martinez and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in a 2-0 victory over Belgium.

Fourth-seeded Czechoslovakia beat Sweden, 2-0; fifth-seeded Austria beat Portugal, 3-0, and No. 8 Italy was tied, 1-1, with Israel with the doubles today.

Pete Sampras and Michael Chang lost to unseeded players during the second round of the Canadian Open.

Chang, the fifth-seed player and defending champion, lost to Italian Stefano Pescosolido 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-3. Pescosolido is ranked 103rd in the world.

Sampras, seeded fourth, squandered three match points, losing a third-set tiebreaker to 91st-ranked Shuzo Matsuoka of Japan, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8).

Both Sampras and Chang were playing their first matches after receiving first-round byes.

In other matches, Patrick McEnroe defeated Todd Witsken, 6-1, 6-1; Jimmy Arias got past Grant Connell of Canada, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (13-11), and Guillaume Raoux of France upset No. 14 Jaime Yzaga of Peru, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.

Lori McNeil defeated Nicole Pratt of Australia, 6-3, 7-5, in the first round of the Westchester Ladies Cup tournament at Purchase, N.Y.

Top-seeded Laura Gildemeister of Peru beat Kristi Boogert of the Netherlands, 6-4, 7-5, and Lisa Raymond beat Susan Sloane, 6-3, 7-5.

Top-seeded Sergi Brugera of Spain beat Diego Perez of Uruguay, 6-4, 6-4, in the opening round of the Dutch Open at Hilversum, the Netherlands.

Second-seeded Karel Novacek of Czechoslovakia beat Alberto Mancini of Argentina, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1; Horst Skoff of Austria ousted Jacco Eltingh of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-3; Omar Camporese of Italy defeated Martin Jaite of Argentina, 6-1, 6-3, and Magnus Gustafson of Sweden beat Francisco Clavet of Spain, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1).