TENNIS ROUNDUP : Pierce Beats Sabatini for First Top 10 Victory

Mary Pierce of France got her first victory over a top 10 player Tuesday night, beating sixth-ranked Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3, to advance to the second round of the Virginia Slims Championships in New York.

“Finally, finally,” Pierce said. “It feels so good. I always said to myself I think I could beat them. Now I know I can. I’ve given myself that confidence every time I play now.”

Unlike their last meeting, in which Sabatini eliminated Pierce in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Pierce didn’t make as many mistakes.

“I kind of sensed she was pushing the ball into play and waiting for me to make mistakes. She wasn’t being very aggressive,” Pierce said.

Pierce earned a quarterfinal meeting with third-seeded Martina Navratilova, who won her first-round match on Monday.

In Tuesday’s other matches, seventh-seeded Jana Novotna defeated Zina Garrison Jackson, 6-4, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, and second-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario beat Helena Sukova, 7-5, 6-2.

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Michael Chang, who seldom beats Jim Courier and never wins in the ATP Tour World Championships, overcame both obstacles on in a first-round match in the tour-ending event at Frankfurt, Germany.

Taking advantage of his speed, Chang beat Courier, the world’s No. 2-ranked player, 6-4, 6-0.

Chang will play Michael Stich, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Andrei Medvedev, a rookie in the event.

In another match, Stefan Edberg, the 1989 champion, beat Sergi Bruguera, 6-2, 6-4, after coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set.