TENNIS - GRAF WORKS HARD FOR FIRST-ROUND WIN .
Bill Berkrot
NEW YORK 1996-08-27
It was n't supposed to be this hard for defending champion Steffi Graf to win her opening match at the U.S. Open on Tuesday night .
But the script that called for the usual first-round demolition by the top-ranked top seed was rewritten by 29th-ranked Indonesian Yayuk Basuki playing with nothing to lose abandon .
Graf , of course , prevailed 6-3 7-6 , but not before some tense moments that even had the German superstar thinking the match was going three sets .
" I won the second set , which I did n't think I would do , being down 5-2 and the chances she had at 6-5 , " Graf recalled .
Several of the other women 's seeds eased into the second round with more typical Graf-like efficiency Tuesday .
As afternoon turned to evening , fourth-seeded Spaniard Conchita Martinez took apart Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir in 58 minutes with the loss of just two games , one more than second seed Monica Seles , who opened the second-day programme by crushing American Anne Miller 6-0 6-1 .
Third seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario , the 1994 champion , and eighth-seeded Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Davenport dropped three game each en route to the second round .
But the day was not without its seeded casualties on the women 's side .
Fifth-seed Iva Majoli of Croatia was picked off by Austrian Judith Wiesner and Wimbledon semifinalist Kimiko Date of Japan , the 10th seed , fell 6-2 7-5 to 53rd-ranked American Kimberly Po .
Date 's defeat left no other seeded players in Seles 's quarter of the draw , which lost Anke Huber ( 6 ) and Maggie Maleeva ( 12 ) on Monday .
But Graf , winner of 20 Grand Slam titles , was not about to join that list .
" At some points I felt a little nervous , " she admitted . "
When it came down to the important points , I felt more confident . "
Basuki , a first-round loser here for the fifth consecutive year , was clearly going for winners , hitting the lines and running Graf around the court as she broke the top seed twice in the second set to grab that shocking 5-2 lead .
Graf ran off the next three games to restore some semblance of order .
But Basuki , her long black ponytail flying as she raced for shots , held her serve and twice had set point on Graf 's serve at 6-5 before the German unleashed a forehand pass to force the tie-break .
" I lost the moment , " lamented Basuki , who has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon four times and was a semifinalist in Montreal earlier this month .
Still , the feisty Indonesian got off to a 3-0 lead in the tie-breaker before a pair of costly double faults gave Graf her chance to avoid a third set .
" Usually in the first one or two matches , you want to find your rhythm and want to get into it , " said Graf , who won seven of the last eight points in the breaker .
" To be in that situation today , a couple of times having to play well , get down and play point-by-point , definitely is a good start . "