TENNIS ROUNDUP : Graf Wastes Little Time in Australian Open Win

Steffi Graf, the favorite in the absence of three-time champion Monica Seles, needed only 23 minutes today to win her first-round match in the Australian Open at Melbourne.

Graf defeated Kimberly Po of Rolling Hills, 6-1, 2-0, when Po retired in the second set because of a strained stomach muscle.

Goran Ivanisevic, seeded fifth among the men, had 15 aces in a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Alex O’Brien.

Graf, the only woman in the tournament who has previously won the event, dropped only four points on her serve in the first set. The German, ranked No. 1 in the world, won the tournament in 1988-89-90.

Seles had hoped to make her comeback in the tournament, but she still has not recovered from being stabbed in the back by a spectator during a match in Hamburg, Germany, last April.

“Sure, it’s different with Monica not being here,” Graf said. “But I’m not thinking about it now that I’m playing the tournament.”

Seles’ absence was the most glaring as the first Grand Slam event of the year opened without several top players.

Andre Agassi is recovering from surgery on his right wrist. Boris Becker is in Europe awaiting the birth of his first child. Michael Chang couldn’t fit the $5.7-million tournament into his schedule.

Martina Navratilova and Jennifer Capriati are skipping the event.

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Top-seeded Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden warmed up for the Australian Open by defeating Patrick McEnroe, 6-4, 6-0, to win the New Zealand Open at Auckland.

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Japan’s Kimiko Date won the women’s title of the New South Wales Open, defeating Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-4, 6-2, at Sydney, Australia.