TENNIS - HUBER AND MALEEVA FALL , UP-AND-COMERS ADVANCE AT OPEN .
Larry Fine
NEW YORK 1996-08-26
Martina Hingis led a youthful charge and Australian Open finalist Anke Huber and Magdalena Maleeva were fallen seeds on Monday in a hot , sunny opening to the U.S. Open tennis championships .
The 15-year-old Hingis , seeded 16th , was honoured to play the first match of the season 's last Grand Slam on Stadium Court but happy to hurry off with a straight-sets victory over the 112th-ranked Angeles Montolio of Spain .
" It was very hot and I did n't want to stay long on the court , " said a cheery Hingis , who had no worries in racing to a 6-1 6-0 victory against the overmatched Spaniard .
Hoping for a longer engagement on the cement at Flushing Meadows were the sixth-seeded Huber of Germany and 12th seed Maleeva of Bulgaria .
Huber , who lost to Monica Seles in the Australian Open final , fell victim to an unfortunate draw in bowing to dangerous floater Amanda Coetzer of South Africa .
Coetzer , ranked 17th , avenged her defeat to Huber in the Australian Open semifinals by winning 6-1 2-6 6-2 .
" I looked at it as not a first round match , just a great challenge for me , " said Coetzer , 24 . "
I was really concentrating on keeping my own momentum and my own rhythm .
" She is tough to play in that way because she plays very up and down .
She played one great game and than a few errors .
The challenge was just for me to keep playing my own game . "
Huber , who reached the final a week ago at Manhattan Beach , could only mourn her luck of the draw .
" I was n't happy when I saw the draw .
She was the first non- seeded player , " said the 21-year-old German . "
It 's always tough to play somebody like that in the first round in a Grand Slam .
" I think I did n't play that bad today .
It was maybe my best first round match in a Grand Slam I ever played . "
Monday brought the best out in U.S. Open rookie Aleksandra Olsza of Poland , ranked 110th .
The 18-year-old Olsza , last year 's Wimbledon junior champion , celebrated her debut in the main draw of the Open by removing Maleeva 6-4 6-2 .
The curtain-raising victories by Hingis and Olsza provided a ringing endorsement for the newest wave of women 's players coming up from the junior ranks .
The Swiss teenager , a twice French Open junior champion and a Wimbledon juniors winner , had already proven her main stage mettle by reaching the quarters at this year 's Australian Open .
" I hope I can get into the last 16 , " said Hingis , seeded to face third seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the fourth round .
Hingis has been working hard on conditioning and has lost eight pounds ( 3.5 kilos ) in advance of the championships .
" There will be tough matches but I hope I can get there , " she said . "
Then we 'll see if Arantxa will be there , too . "
The fast-moving Olsza , 18 , was cool in her opening match .
" I was n't scared when I heard that I was playing Maleeva , " said Olsza . "
I know that if I want to play professional tennis I have to do my best to try to beat her and I ca n't be scared . "
Olsza is undaunted by the level of competition in the pros .
" In terms of tennis , I think the junior players are really good now .
In a few years , it could change a lot among the top players . "
Two big-serving women 's players made quick work of Japanese opponents .
Brenda Schultz-McCarthy of the Netherlands , the 13th seed , was a 6-1 6-4 winner over Japan 's Nana Miyaga , while Czech veteran Helena Sukova prevailed over Yone Kamio 6-2 6-3 .
Austrian Barbara Paulus , seeded 14th , also reached the second round with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Yi Jing-Qian of China .