TENNIS ROUNDUP : A Rested Sabatini Easily Defeats Po at La Costa

Ivan Lendl needed only 56 minutes to eliminate Cristiano Caratti of Italy, 6-1, 6-1, during the first round of the $265,000 Hamlet Cup tennis tournament in Commack, N.Y. , a tuneup for next week’s U.S. Open.

In other matches, No. 2 Michael Chang held off Gianluca Pozzi of Italy, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1; No. 4 Peter Korda defeated Jaime Oncins of Brazil, 6-0, 6-2; No. 5 Boris Becker defeated Alberto Mancini of Argentina, 6-3, 6-2; and unseeded Stefano Pescosolido of Italy upset No. 6 Sergi Bruguera of Spain 0-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich of Germany collapsed after a first-round victory in high heat and humidity at the $255,000 OTB International Open in Schenectady, N.Y.

The defending champion needed a second set tiebreaker to eliminate American qualifier Martin Blackman, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), then slumped to the ground after his postmatch interview.

After more than 30 minutes of sitting in the grass near the interview area, Stich was driven off in a golf cart and tournament organizers said he was expected to play his second-round match today.

Top-seeded Helena Sukova beat Dominique Monami of Belgium, 6-3, 6-4, and fourth-seeded defending champion Brenda Schultz of the Netherlands beat Pascale Paradis-Mangon of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.