TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Kijimuta Is No Pain in the Neck for Seles

Defending champion Monica Seles, making her first tournament appearance since November, shrugged off a sore neck and defeated Japan’s Akiko Kijimuta in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday.

Seles rebounded from a first-game service break and needed only 48 minutes to win, 6-2, 6-0. Kijimuta failed to hold any of her seven service games.

Seles, the top-seeded woman, has been slowed by a neck strain since arriving in Australia a week ago. She wore a brace for a day before switching to a scarf for warmth.

“Today was the first day I played without the scarf,” she said. “Maybe just one or two points I was aware of (the injury). But it felt fine.

“I’m not feeling that comfortable with the service because I didn’t hit that many this week. I just wanted to get over the match.”

The two-month layoff helped Seles’ attitude, however.

“I feel fresh,” she said.

Pete Sampras, seeded sixth, wasn’t as lucky.

A sore shoulder forced him to withdraw from the Grand Slam event for the second consecutive year without playing a point.

Sampras, ATP champion and 1990 U.S. Open winner, left because of an inflamed shoulder tendon that was aggravated last week during a tune-up event in Adelaide.

Second-seeded Boris Becker of Germany defeated Jan Gunnarsson of Sweden, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, and seemed surprised when told he had 25 aces.

“That’s good news,” Becker said with a smile. “That’s quite a lot, even for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better match.”

Top-seeded Stefan Edberg, also appearing in a major tournament for the first time after a two-month layoff caused by injuries, was nervous before his match. But he beat doubles partner Jeremy Bates of Britain, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

“I didn’t feel good to start with,” Edberg said. “It took me a couple of games to get into it.”

The day also marked the Australian pro debut of 15-year-old Jennifer Capriati, who delighted an enthusiastic center-court crowd with a display of strength while defeating Natalia Medvedeva 6-2, 6-0.

“I thought the crowd was cool,” Capriati said. “They were into it. The atmosphere was great. I didn’t know what to expect.”

Fifth-seeded Ivan Lendl, a two-time Australian Open champion, beat Australian Richard Fromberg, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, in the opening match on the 15,000-seat center court.