TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Stich Finally Realizes He Must Slow Down

Tennis burnout, that torpid condition caused by too many tournaments, too many exhibitions, too many hotel rooms and even too much money, was consuming Wimbledon champion Michael Stich like a slow-moving fire.

He dragged himself 10,000 miles from home, wondering where his motivation to win had gone only six months after he burst upon the tennis scene with his dynamic serves and daring spirit.

All the flights and rooms were starting to look the same. All the matches were beginning to lose meaning. Lethargy was setting in where cool professionalism and a love of the game had dominated.

He played more singles and doubles matches (149) than anyone else last year, and had risen to No. 4 in the rankings while winning $1.2 million at 23. The ATP player guide called him a “workhorse,” and he was starting to perform like one instead of like a thoroughbred.

A week before the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the year, the tall, lanky German lost during the first round of a tuneup in Sydney and worried aloud about how he would get over the tennis blahs in time for this championship.

After winning his first-round match Tuesday night, beating Javier Sanchez 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, Stich thought he had found part of the answer: a week off to relax and practice without pressure.

“I got the fun back for the game,” he said, though his flat voice was not entirely convincing. “I worked pretty hard, and now I’m enjoying it again. For me, that’s the most important thing, because then I can play good tennis if I really enjoy being out there. Over the last seven days, that’s come back.”

Also Tuesday, Steffi Graf, the No. 2 women’s seed, withdrew because of a viral infection shortly before her first match and returned to Germany. Pete Sampras, the men’s No. 6 seed, withdrew Monday because of a shoulder injury.

John McEnroe beat Broderick Dyke, 6-2, 6-0, 6-1, and second-seeded Jim Courier struggled to a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over France’s Rodolphe Gilbert. Also, Goran Ivanisevic defeated Australia’s Jason Stoltenberg, 7-6 (14-12), 6-3, 6-4 and third-seeded Gabriela Sabatini beat Julie Halard of France, 6-2, 6-0.

Stich said the cure was “a matter of being into your rhythm,” practicing in the morning, going back to the hotel for rest, and practicing again in the afternoon. Work and more work was his way of relaxing.

“It’s a Grand Slam tournament, and I think the motivation and the expectations of myself are so much higher,” he said.

Stich couldn’t say he wasn’t warned about the demands on his time and the pressures he would face after winning Wimbledon. Boris Becker, who lost to Stich in the Wimbledon final, told his compatriot that his life would never again be the same.

Becker was right. In chasing every exhibition dollar, and racing from tournament to tournament, Stich lost the fervor he displayed at Wimbledon when he beat Courier, defending Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg, then Becker.

The trick now for Stich is to recover that fervor without burning out.