TENNIS - STICH GLAD HE STAYED AFTER OPEN VICTORY .
Richard Finn
NEW YORK 1996-08-26
Michael Stich nearly pulled out of the U.S. Open in protest over the men 's seeding fiasco but the former Wimbledon champion was glad he stayed after sweating out a four-set win on Monday over qualifier Tommy Haas .
" I still feel it 's embarrassing what happened and I was about to pull out yesterday and say , ' That 's it , ' " said Stich , one of a host of men who cried foul over seeding procedures that forced an unprecedented remaking of the men 's draw last week .
" But there are so many reasons to play , especially spectators and the kids who come out here and want to enjoy watching tennis , that I decided to stay . "
In a break from tradition , the Open did not seed in strict accordance with ATP rankings , instead taking into account other factors that raised objections of favourtism toward U.S. players .
One prominent player that did not stay for the Open was French Open champion Yvegeny Kafelnikov , who after being dropped three spots from his ATP ranking to a seventh seeding , withdrew and returned home to Russia .
Kafelnikov had pulled out of last week 's tournament with a rib injury .
At a news conference attended by approximately 50 players on Sunday , U.S. Davis Cup player Todd Martin expressed the players ' outrage at the seedings .
" The way the U.S. Open has seeded here , tampering with the ranking system , has tarnished the image and reputation of this U.S. Open in the players ' mind , and we think that is damaging to our sport , " Martin said .
Stich said he felt the players ought to have organised an active protest .
" I feel that we made it a little easy for the USTA .
They did n't really get hurt as much as I think they should have , " said Stich . "
I feel that we should have maybe just cancelled out the Monday , not show up today and start the tournament tomorrow . "
But once the 27-year-old Stich got on the court , he focused his energies on trying to win the year 's last Grand Slam .
He took a positive first step with his 6-3 1-6 6-1 7-5 win over compatriot Haas on a sun-baked Grandstand court .
Others advancing early on Monday included 11th-seeded American Malivai Washington , the Wimbledon runner-up , Sweden 's Magnus Gustafsson , and two-time former French Open champion Sergi Bruguera of Spain , who will be Stich 's next opponent .
The suspicion , however , lingers in Stich 's mind that U.S. Open officials did tamper with the seeding process in order to benefit homegrown players .
" I get the feeling that everything is done here for the American players and they forget about all the other players , " said Stich , who lost the 1994 Open final to Andre Agassi .
It was Agassi who was at the centre of the controversy that engulfed the tournament since the original draw was completed on Wednesday .
The flamboyant American star was bumped up two spots from his ATP ranking of eight to a seeding of six .
" He ( Agassi ) should be seeded the way he is playing tennis right now , " said Stich about the unfairness of moving up Agassi , who made early exits from the French Open and Wimbledon .
Stich , not seeded here for the first time since 1990 , might have benefitted from some fiddling with the seedings himself after Kafelnikov withdrew .
Ranked 18th in the world , Stich might have been slipped into that spot ahead of Spain 's Felix Mantilla , who is 16th but had never been played in the Open and had been left out of the seedings originally .
But Stich did n't want to play that game .
" I think he deserves to be seeded as everybody else who is in the top 16 deserves to be seeded , " Stich said .