Graf, Other Seeds Victims Of Upsets

Steffi Graf’s 45-match winning streak in Grand Slam events ended today in the oven-like Australian Open as she succumbed to the oppressive heat and Amanda Coetzer 6-2, 7-5.

Graf, who had won all six majors she entered in the past two years, failed to reach the quarterfinals of one of tennis’ big four tournaments for only the second time in a decade.

With temperatures soaring to 100 degrees in the shade, and probably 40 degrees higher on the sunbaked rubberized hard courts, the top-seeded Graf asked to be treated several times with ice packs during the match. But there was no escape from her own mistakes and the pressure of No. 12 Coetzer, who clawed back from 2-5 in the second set.

Graf’s first loss in a major since the final of the 1994 U.S. Open ended a stunning afternoon of defeats by seeded women.

No. 3 Conchita Martinez, also a victim of heat exhaustion, fell to Sabine Applemans 2-6, 7-5, 6-1; Mary Pierce beat No. 5 Anke Huber 6-2, 6-3; and Kimberly Po ousted No. 7 Lindsay Davenport 7-6 (15-13), 6-4.

Graf, now able to return to Germany for the verdict later this week in her father’s tax evasion trial, trailed 2-5 for the third straight match. This time, she couldn’t come back.

Coetzer, at 5-foot-2 one of the shortest players on the tour, grew up playing in the Karoo Desert in South Africa and dealt with the heat better than Graf, though both were drenched in sweat just minutes into the match.

In men’s matches, No. 2 Michael Chang cruised into the quarters with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Andrei Medvedev of the Ukraine, and No. 14 Felix Mantilla of Spain beat MaliVai Washington 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.

Spain’s Carlos Moya, who conquered defending champion Boris Becker in the first round, also advanced to the quarters with a 6-3, 1-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman.