Tournament Faces an Olympian Task

In the world of sports marketing, there are a few rules that seem almost obvious.

Try to avoid scheduling your event during the Super Bowl, for instance, and never go up against the Olympic Games.

This week at the Infiniti Open at UCLA’s Los Angeles Tennis Center, organizers again find themselves in the unenviable position of having to break the latter rule.

This is the third time the L.A. tournament and the Summer Olympics have coincided. In September of 1988, the Olympics at Seoul were held at the same time as the L.A. event, which used to be held in fall, after the U.S. Open.

In 1990, the tournament was moved to its current slot in the Assn. of Tournament Professionals schedule, and it played opposite the Barcelona Games in 1992.

There is little room for flexibility in the ATP Tour schedule. Organizers had a choice between last week or this week for their tournament. They chose this week based on the fairly safe bet that television ratings will drop during the second week of the Olympics, after the popular gymnastics and swimming competitions end.

So today, 10 days into the Games, officials are hoping people will turn off their televisions and head to the tournament’s first-round matches.

“We try to provide entertainment for people who don’t want to spend the 11th night in a row watching the Olympics,” said tournament director Bob Kramer. “If you want to come out and get a breath of fresh air, we’ll provide you with [Olympic] updates.”

The Infiniti Open not only is competing with the Olympics for spectators, it also is competing with the Games for players. Despite many last-minute adjustments, the tournament has fared remarkably well.

Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek is seeded second, behind Michael Chang, ranked No. 3 in the world. Thomas Enqvist, who lost in the third round of the Olympics on Saturday, is seeded third. Six-time Grand Slam event winner Stefan Edberg is seeded sixth.

Chang will open against Mauricio Hadad of Columbia at 9 tonight. In the Tuesday session beginning at 11 a.m., Krajicek plays Jan Kroslak of Slovakia, Enqvist plays USC’s Cecil Mamiit, and defending champion Michael Stich, seeded fourth, plays Scott Draper of Australia.

Edberg plays his first-round match against Stephane Simian of France on Tuesday night in the evening session beginning at 7:30.

In doubles, three teams of brothers will compete--Rick and Jon Leach, Luke and Murphy Jensen and Bob and Mike Bryan.

Edberg, 30, is making his farewell tour this year. He won the 1984 Olympic demonstration tournament at the L.A. Tennis Center and the 1990 Los Angeles Open.

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Tournament at a Glance

* What: Infiniti Open.

* Where: Los Angeles Tennis Center, UCLA

* When: Today through Sunday

* Seeded singles players: Michael Chang, Richard Krajicek, Thomas Enqvist, Michael Stich, Jan Siemerink, Stefan Edberg, Nicklas Kulti, Jonas Bjorkman.

* In the doubles field: Luke and Murphy Jensen, Bob and Mike Bryan, Rick and Jon Leach, Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic.