Seles Knows Twists and Turns of Game

The housewarming party for the latest jewel in the crown of the Australian Open was barely underway when a featured guest limped out of the tournament.

Result: Fourth-seeded and four-time champion Monica Seles defeated Brie Rippner, 1-0.

Time elapsed: Five minutes.

Fans hardly had a chance to settle in the new 10,000-seat Vodafone Arena--which features a retractable roof, just like the main center court--when Rippner tumbled out of the Australian Open, twisting and spraining her left ankle on the sticky, gluelike Rebound Ace surface today.

For Seles, who was making her first appearance here since the 1999 Australian Open, the match against Rippner already took on an odd note because Rippner had been practicing and staying in Seles’ home at Sarasota, Fla., for two weeks in December.

But she wasn’t about to make any suggestion--even jokingly--that the draw was rigged, a la Jelena Dokic. Every so often, the opening round yields strange matches. On the men’s side, two former No. 1 players, Marcelo Rios of Chile and Carlos Moya of Spain, are playing in the first round.

And, last week in Sydney, Seles and her new doubles partner, Martina Hingis, drew Venus and Serena Williams in the first round.

“Who else can we play?” Seles said, laughing.

Seles and Hingis practiced together on Christmas Day at Hingis’ home in Saddlebrook, near Tampa, Fla., and finalized their doubles plans. Seles does remember, though, that Hingis is the only player to beat her at the Australian Open, in the semifinals in 1999.

This time, Hingis is in the other half of the draw, along with the Williamses. Seles has to deal with the likes of defending champion Lindsay Davenport and a persistent virus, which has slowed her down the last few days.

Naturally, Seles, who was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, was asked how she felt about Dokic deciding to play for Yugoslavia instead of Australia. The news has created front-page headlines here and the Dokic family feared a hostile reception during her match against Davenport tonight.

Interesting timing?

“Maybe she could have waited,” Seles said, smiling.

*

Victories have been rare for former San Diego resident Alexandra Stevenson since she reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1999. The 20-year-old Stevenson, who was unable to qualify for two lead-up events in Australia, has tumbled to No. 127 in the world. She won her first main draw match of 2001--and only her second since August--as she defeated Lubomira Bacheva of Bulgaria, 7-5, 6-1, in 61 minutes.

It is Stevenson’s first Grand Slam victory on a surface other than grass. She will play Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain or qualifier Jill Craybas in the second round.