Gambill’s Big Run Ends With First-Round Loss

Just as suddenly as he has burst onto the American tennis scene, Jan-Michael Gambill was given a reminder of what lies ahead.

Gambill, touted as a rising star on the U.S. horizon, was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by Mark Woodforde in the opening round of the Lipton Championships on Thursday. Jim Courier, a victim of Gambill last week when the 20-year-old from Colbert reached the semifinals of the Newsweek Champions Cup, blitzed Radomir Vasek 6-1, 6-0 in another first-round match.

In climbing from the 227th ranking in the world to No. 81, Gambill has reached the quarterfinals of two tournaments in addition to his semifinal appearance last week at Indian Wells, Calif. Last week, he defeated Mark Philippoussis, Courier and Andre Agassi, who had beaten Gambill in the quarterfinals at San Jose, Calif., and Scottsdale, Ariz.

In women’s openers Thursday, Jennifer Capriati’s latest comeback bid lasted barely an hour, and Steffi Graf never even made it to her opening match.

But neither departure was a surprise.

Capriati, playing for the first time since November, lost to Magdalena Grzybowska 6-0, 7-5. Graf withdrew because of a strained left hamstring that is expected to sideline her for a month.

Both players have had better days at Lipton. Graf won the tournament five times, and Capriati reached the semifinals in 1992, when she was a 16-year-old prodigy.