No Graf or Seles, but Carlsbad Has Five of Top 10

Organizers of the $430,000 Toshiba Tennis Classic had hoped for a potential meeting between Steffi Graf and Monica Seles--but neither player apparently is fit enough to compete in Carlsbad this week.

Yet the event, which starts today at La Costa, does feature five of the world’s top 10 players: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (No. 2), Conchita Martinez (No. 3), Mary Pierce (No. 4), Magdalena Maleeva (No. 7) and Lindsay Davenport (No. 9). Jana Novotna had been expected to play but withdrew last week because she is recovering from tonsillitis.

Sanchez Vicario, who lost to Graf in the Wimbledon final earlier this month, is scheduled to play on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against the winner of a first-round match between Ann Grossman and Patricia Hy-Boulais. In last year’s final, Graf beat Sanchez Vicario in straight sets.

If form holds, Sanchez Vicario would play Maleeva in one semifinal and Martinez would meet Pierce in the other. Davenport, the fifth-seeded player, is coming off a successful showing for the United States in recent Fed Cup semifinal play, helping defeat France, 3-2. Davenport won both her singles matches, including a three-set victory over Pierce, and teamed with Gigi Fernandez in doubles.