The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 26

8C THE PALM BEACH POST TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1995 Tennis PASSING SHOTS GRANDSTANDING Bud Collins watch: Broke modern U.S. Open garishness record this week with red mesh hat riding high on head. Media colleagues dubbed him the "Cat in the Hat." COURT QUIRKS was inspired. Just came out here with 'Cat blood flowing through my veins." Northwestern alumnus Todd Martin. Headbands have been on the way out since Bjorn Borg, but Mark Philippoussis wears one.

The untanned top of his hforehead looks grafted on, like Frankenstein c3 is -J Open Notebook Winners all: Seles, Agassi and Becker Match Breakdown Petr Korda defeated Vince Spadea 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 Monday at the U.S. Open. Spadea Korda OPEN From 1 Seles, wearing five different colors of nail polish on one hand, had plenty of time left to play the merry prankster, writing her name on a CBS camera. Seles, who meets Jana No-yotna in the quarterfinals, said she isn't trying to take anything too seriously in the first Grand Slam since her 1992 stabbing. Before she played Monday, she said, she saw a young player in the locker room crying after a loss.

Seles remembered her own tears after losses earlier in her career. "But you really shouldn't cry over a tennis match," Seles said. "You start playing tennis because it is fun, but not be to be crying or sad. I try to find the balance if I had a good day at the office, kind of, or a bad day at the office." No. 4 men's seed Boris Becker tried something underhanded in his win over over No.

13 seed Marc Rosset 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3. An underhanded serve at the start of the third set. 40-love. "I served underhand and thought I won the game, but then Marc didn't react and neither did the umpire, so I had to serve all over again," he said. Becker next plays quarterfinal opponent Patrick McEnroe, a three-set winner over Daniel Va-cek Monday.

Korda, a Czech nicknamed "Big Bird" for his gangly build and bird-like facial features, meets top seed Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals. Unseeded and ranked No. 39 this year, Korda has been in the top 10 at some point each of the last four years. Agassi, who beat unseeded Ja-red Palmer 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 Monday, Seles a TV analyst? Not really, but CBS officials would love it if she stuck around for another week. By CHARLES ELMORE Palm Beach Post Staff Writer NEW YORK Is Monica Seles angling for a TV analyst job? The 21-year-old tennis star demonstrated her telestrating skills Monday by signing her name i with a black magic marker on a CBS camera lens after a fourth- round win over Germany's Anke Huber.

Unfortunately, she didn't re-j member to write backwards, so it appeared to viewers' as acinoM seleS. The lens on the $85,000 Fu- jinon camera was undamaged, CBS officials said. Seles signed a protective glass cover for the lens t-and the marker was easily re- moved with solvent. Seles explained her behavior "running around and just hav- ing a fun time." I Even if the signature was permanent, CBS probably wouldn't care as long as Seles keeps winding. Officially, of course, CBS executives don't root for one player or another.

I Unofficially, it is a different story. A network employee said there was general elation in CBS studios at Flushing Meadows after Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the defending champion, lost to Miami's Mary Joe Fernandez Sunday. Not only is Sanchez Vicario seen as dull TV, but she was a threat to break up a dream finals matchup between Seles and No. 1 seed Steffi Graf. Sanchez Vicario could have faced Graf in the semis.

CBS's must-have on the men's side is Andre Agassi. CBS Senior President Rick Gentile was observed groaning and dropping his head when Agassi was down two sets to one to Alex Corretja the first week before coming back to win. i Said one CBS staffer, "We desperately need Agassi in the final Sampras is good but not essential and we desperately need Seles and Graf. This is one of the last big sports events we have left on the network." DUTCH TREAT: Brenda Schultz-McCarthy became the first Dutch woman since Betty Stove in 1977 to reach the U.S. quarterfinals.

That year, Stove, seeded No. 5 U.S. Open Report Monica Seles hits a few balls to the fans after beating Germany's round of the U.S. Open on Monday. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Anke Huber 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth 1st serve pet.

54 73 Aces Double faults Winners 19 38 30 Unf. errors 35 Time 1:47 said Korda is a tough "He is a dangerous player who when his shots are on, it is tough for anybody to beat him," Agassi said. I Korda hit 73 percent of his first serves and let Spadea, a serve-return specialist, break him only once in an hour and 47 "He seemed not to miss many first serves at all," Spadea said. Spadea said he has fresh appreciation for players who can win a big match and play up to that same level the next time. He knows what lies between them and him, at least at this point.

"For sure, it is experience," Spadea said. 1 TODAY'S MATCHES TO WATCH: In a women's quarterfinal, Miami's Mary Joe Fernandez, the No. 14 seed, faces No. 9 seed Gabriela Sabatini in the second match of 11 a.m. session on stadium court.

That's followed by No. 14 seed Jim Courier against No. 3 seed Thomas Muster. No. 2 seed Pete Sampras faces No.

15 seed Todd Martin about 9 p.m., def. Anke Huber (11), Germany, Jana Novotna (5), Czech Republic, def. Katarina Studeni-kova, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-3. Conchita Martinez (4), Spain," def. Zina Garrison Jackson, Houston, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.

Women's doubles third round Jill Hetherington, Canada, and Kristine Radford, Australia, def. Meredith McGrath, Midland; and Larisa Neiland, Latvia (3), 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-4. Gigi Fernandez, Aspen, and Natasha Zvereva, Belarus (2), def. Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Iva Majoli (13), Croatia, 6-4, 6-3. Jana Novotna, Czech Republic, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Spain (1).

def. Nicole Bradtke, Australia, and Linda Harvey-Wild, Hawthorn Woods, III. (16), 6-2, 6-2. Stadium court Michael Chang (5), Henderson, vs. Michael Tebbutt, Australia.

Gabriela Sabatini (9), Argentina, vs. Mary Joe Fernandez, Key Biscayne. Thomas Muster (3), Austria, vs. Jim Courier (14), Miami. Night session Steffi Graf (1), Germany, Amy Frazier, Rochester Hills, Mich.

Pete Sampras (2), Tampa, vs. Todd Martin (15), Ponte Vedra Beach. Grandstand Court Alex O'Brien, Amarillo, Texas, and Sandon Stolle, Australia (15), vs. Ken Flach, Alpharetta, and Kelly Jones, Escondido, Calif. Michael Stich (8), Germany, vs.

Byron Black, Zimbabwe. Conchita Martinez, Spain, and Patricia Tarabini, Argentina (7), vs. Jill Hetherington, Canada, and Kristine Radford, Australia. U.S. Open Updates Call 511 and enter PostLines category 3861 to hear frequent updates throughout the U.S.

Pastikova netted a forehand on the final point. "I've been working not so much on the physical side of my game as the mental side," said Miller, 17. "If I lose a point, I'm learning to go on to the next one and not dwell on it." That attitude showed in her comeback from a second-set 0-6 wipeout. In other juniors action, top seed Anna Kournikova of Russia beat Kristina Triska of Sweden 6-4, 6-2. No.

11 singles seed Corina Morariu of Boca Raton plays 5, reached the semifinals (beating Tracy Austin in the quarters) before losing to eventual champion Chris Evert. Schultz-McCarthy, who has a home in Delray Beach, managed to beat No. 7 seed seed Kimiko Date of Japan 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, Monday despite 16 double faults and 62 unforced errors. She also had 12 aces and 37 winners. "I hit my second serve way too hard," Schultz-McCarthy, seeded No.

16, explained. "When I didn't (hit it hard), she returned right on my feet and I guess I didn't have much confidence in my rallies." Nonetheless, Schultz-McCarthy, the hardest server in wom Youth is served as Szymanski takes title en's tennis, finds herself in the Open quarterfinals for the first time. "I have been hanging in there the whole U.S. Open," she said. "I came to the quarters in Wimbledon, so maybe the girls have a little bit more respect for me than they had before." MILLER TIME: Megan Miller, formerly of Stuart and now of Bradenton, won in tennis' equivalent of extra innings in junior girls singles Monday.

Miller, trailing 9-8 in a third set tiebreaker, rallied to win her match over Czech Michaela Pasti-kova 7-5, 0-6, 7-6 (11-9). Both were unseeded. Palm Beach County Championships WHAT: $9.86 million U.S. Open tennis championships. WHERE: Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

WHEN: Through Sunday. TV: 1 1 a.m.-6 p.m. and p.m., USA; 12:35 a.m., WPEC-12, WCIX-6. Men's fourth round Andre Agassi 1 Las Vegas, def. Jared Palmer, Tampa, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

Boris Becker (4), Germany, def. Marc Rosset (13), Switzer-land, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3. Women's fourth round Monica Seles (2), Sarasota def. Anke Huber (11), Germany 6-1, 6-4. Conchita Martinez (4), Spain def.

Zina Garrison Jackson Houston, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Jana Novotna (5), Czech Re public, def. Katarina Studeni kova, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-3. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (16), Netherlands, def. Kimiko Date (7), Japan, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.

Men's singles fourth round Boris Becker (4), Germany, def. Marc Rosset (13), Switzerland, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3. Andre Agassi (1), Las Vegas, def. Jared Palmer, Tampa, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. Petr Korda, Czech Republic, def.

Vince Spadea, Boca Raton, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. Patrick McEnroe, New York, def. Daniel Vacek, Czech Repub-lic, 7-6(10-8), 6-3, 6-4. Men's doubles third round Grant Connell, Canada, and Patrick Galbraith, Seattle (4), def. Ola Kristiansson and Marten Renstrom, Sweden, 7-5, 6-3.

Rick Leach, Laguna Beach, and Scott Melville, Ponte Vedra Beach, (10), def. Shelby Cannon, Ponte Vedra Beach, and Michael Tebbutt, Australia, 6-2, 6-2. Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, Australia (2), def. Mark Philippoussis and Patrick Rafter, Australia (16), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. Byron Black, Zimbabwe, and Jonathan Stark, Seattle (6), def.

Luke Jensen, Marietta, and Murphy Jensen, Norcross, 6-3, 6-3. Women singles fourth round Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (16), Netherlands, def. Kimiko Date (7), Japan, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. Monica Seles (2), Sarasota, By BRUCE WELLS Palm Beach Post Staff Writer LAKE WORTH Top-seeded Jim Szymanski, a 19-year-old from Venezuela, became the youngest men's open champion when he disposed of No. 2 seed Greg Neuhart 6-4, 6-3 at the 15th Palm Beach County Tennis Championship, Monday at Lake Worth Racquet Club.

i Szymanski took 90 minutes to hand Neuhart of Wellington his sixth straight county championship final loss. "If I could have run better out there, maybe I would have given him a better game," said Neuhart. "My legs felt like Jell-0 after the first five games." The heat and the 15-year age difference seemed to take its toll on Neuhart early in the match. The only break in the first set came in the third game. Neuhart rallied from love-30 to tie the score, but lost the next two points.

'7 "I had several chances to break in the first set," Szymanski said. "But couldn't get the points when I needed them." The points fell into place in the first game of the second set. Szymanski dropped the first point then completed the break with four straight points including two forehand passing shots. The closest the Venezuelan came to dropping his serve came in the second set's eighth game. Neuhart extended him to deuce twice, but watched the threat dissolve as Szymanski closed the door with two unreachable cross court placements.

The effort took so much out of Neuhart that he drew a warning from the umpire for a lengthy delay. When he came back, he fell jquickjy behind and Szymanski, ranked No. 338 by the ATP, put a quick end to the match. "I missed a couple of shots by inches that would have changed the match," Neuhart said. "He'll do well with his good ground strokes and good serve.

He should be in the top 100 in the next two to three years." Neuhart, 34, said, "I have no plans of quitting. I'll be back for seven next year." For Szymanski, the tournament was a tune-up for his appearance as a member of the Venezuelan Davis Cup team, which faces Denmark in three weeks. He had planned to use the U.S. Open to prepare, but failed to qualify for the Open field. In the men's 'A' division championship, No.

2 seed Gary Packwood claimed the title when top-seeded Ryan Layton was forced to retire because of leg cramps. Packwood was winning 6-2, 3-6, 4-3 when Layton was unable to continue. No. 3 seed Billy Jean completed his streak of upsets with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 triumph over No. 2 seed Kim Frey in the men's 'B' division championship.

Christi Turdo won the women's open division when Annie Opalach defaulted. West Palm Beach's Natalie Schwartz, 15, was a 0-6, 6-1, 6-3 winner over Tammy McNierney of Pompano Beach in the women's 'A' division. ml) SHERMAN ZENTStaff Photographer Top-seeded Jim Szymanski returns a shot during his 6-4, 6-3 victory over Greg Neuhart Sunday. Open. 35 for up to five minutes.

See 2A for more details. i.