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--> --> Seles survives tough first-round match By Rick Gano AP Sports Writer PARIS - Monica Seles lost her first five games today, regrouped after a long rain delay and pulled away to beat Angeles Montolio in the first round of the French Open. Seles, who has never failed to make the quarterfinals in her nine previous trips to this Grand Slam tournament, started sluggishly on another cool, rainy day at Roland Garros. After a second-set delay of 1 hour, 40 minutes, she overwhelmed Montolio by winning the final nine games after play was resumed for a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0 victory. "I wasn't ready for the conditions. They really surprised me," said Seles, the French Open champion from 1990-92. "I was happy the rain came. It was at the right time from my point of view. I came back and played better tennis." Joining the sixth-seeded Seles in the second round was fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters, last year's runner-up. Clijsters, cheered on by boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt, the men's top seed, rallied to beat Tatiana Poutchek 3-6, 6-3, 8-6. Seles and Clijsters were originally scheduled to play Monday, but were pushed back by rain. The wet conditions again created a backlog of matches, with 22 women's matches postponed Tuesday, including No. 3 Serena Williams' match against Martina Sucha. Seles, coming off a victory in Madrid last week, has been playing down talk of retirement at age 28. For a while Tuesday, she appeared headed for an early exit. But after quickly falling into a 5-0 hole, she reeled off six straight games before dropping the first set in a tiebreaker. With the second set tied at 3-3 and Montolio serving at 40-30, play was halted. When the players returned, Seles quickly won three straight points to break serve, and she didn't lose another game against a dispirited Montolio, who returned with her left thigh wrapped. Clijsters, using an effective drop shot on the slow, wet clay, won a long game on her own serve for a 7-6 lead in the final set and then broke to capture the match. Pete Sampras couldn't overcome two rain delays or his own erratic play Monday and was knocked out of the only Grand Slam he hasn't won. "It just hasn't happened," a weary Sampras said after he was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (3) by baseliner Andrea Gaudenzi. "It might not ever happen." After months of preparation with new coach Jose Higueras, the 13-time Grand Slam winner was unable to produce a winning game on clay in hopes of capturing the only Grand Slam title to elude him. And it showed in his uncharacteristic displays - throwing his racket and drawing a warning after hitting a ball skyward. That's what 93 unforced errors will do to even the most mild-mannered champion, one who hasn't won a tournament in his last 28 tries, dating to Wimbledon 2000. "I think over the years I have played with a little anxiety, feeling all the pressure I put on myself, and I think that affects me to a certain point," Sampras said. "If Paris never happens over my career, life will go on. But I will come back and try again. But as you get a little older, slams go by, it's pretty difficult to kind of get over it. It's not like I'm 20 and I have the next 10 years to have that opportunity." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing