TENNIS ROUNDUP : Sicilian Open Begins With Pair of Upsets

Top-seeded Emilio Sanchez was eliminated in the first round of the Sicilian Open today, 7-6, 6-4 by Tarik Benhabiles in Palermo, Sicily.

Fourth-seeded Horst Skoff was another upset victim, losing 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 to Francisco Clavet.

Sanchez and Skoff were coming off weekend Davis Cup matches and said they felt unprepared physically and mentally.

Both said they were bothered by the strong wind and the heat, which reached 104.

“I haven’t played for two months on clay and I had trouble with the change in surfaces,” Sanchez said.

Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles dominated their opponents as the two teen-age stars advanced to the third round of the Nichirei International Ladies Tennis Championships today in Tokyo.

Capriati, 14, defeated Magdalena Maleeva, 6-2, 6-4, on the artificial courts of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym. Capriati is seeded sixth.

“I played much better than yesterday because I made fewer errors,” Capriati said. “I played at 75 or 80% and will be at 100% at the end of the week.”

Seles, 16, crushed Eva Pfaff of West Germany 6-1, 6-0. Seles is seeded second.

Top-seeded Martina Navratilova begins play Thursday.

Second-seeded Aaron Krickstein beat Dan Goldie, 6-2, 6-3, in the second round of the Queensland Open in Brisbane, Australia.

In a first-round match, Carl Limberger of Australia beat Marty Davis of Harbor Bay Isle, Calif., 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4.

Eric Jelen, Robbie Weiss and John Fitzgerald also recorded second-round victories.

Steffi Graf got off to a wobbly start but rebounded to beat Laura Golarsa, 6-3, 6-2, in the second round of the Volkswagen Open in Leipzig, East Germany.

Golarsa jumped to a 3-1 lead and looked like she could create some trouble for Graf.

But Graf dominated the rest of the set and won it in 30 minutes.