TENNIS ROUNDUP : Sampras Returns to Lyon, Scene of His Lost Weekend

Pete Sampras made his return to Lyon, France, a winning one as he beat Jeff Tarango, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, Wednesday in the first round of the $600,000 Lyon Open.

Last December, Sampras lost both of his singles matches in the Davis Cup final against France. Sampras won this tournament last year and is top seeded but is known more for his defeats that gave the French team its first Davis Cup title in 59 years.

In second-round play, No. 3 MaliVai Washington was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Jakob Hlasek, who will lead Switzerland against the United States in the Davis Cup finals in December.

*

Jimmy Connors arrived only 15 minutes before his first-round match because of a massive traffic jam in Vienna and lost to Fabrice Santoro of France, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, in the CA Trophy tournament. Connors, 40, led Santoro, 6-3, 5-4.

*

Steffi Graf, whose purse was stolen from the locker room after her first-round match, beat Andrea Strnadova of Czechoslovakia, 6-0, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals of the Midland Bank Championships in Brighton, England.

“It had everything possible in it--money, my driving license, my credit cards and some personal stuff,” Graf said. “I am not too worried about the money, but losing the personal stuff really angers me.”

Mary Joe Fernandez won her first-round match by default when Britain’s Jo Durie twisted her ankle on the first point.