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In the Sauna, Wheaton Beats Heat and Jabali

David Wheaton, who was the 12th-ranked player in the world after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in 1991, continued his comeback from a heel injury by beating Brazil's Roberto Jabali, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, yesterday in the first round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center. Wheaton said he was less impressed with how he played than with how he survived the 97-degree heat.

"It was an oven out there," Wheaton said after the 2-hour 12-minute match. "I mean, it was unbelievably hot. I was happy with the way I competed today, more so with the way I played. It literally felt like a sauna. When I was practicing, it didn't feel that bad. I was practicing at 1 o'clock. By the time I got on the court at 4 o'clock, it seemed so much hotter. ... I was just happy with the amount of resilience I was showing out there."

Wheaton played on the stadium court, where most spectator seats are in the sun. The other three courts being used all have covered seating areas for spectators.

Sales Soar
Tournament officials said ticket sales were up 10 percent over the same day last year. "We're trying to make it more of a festival atmosphere, besides just tennis," said tournament director Kari Mutscheller.

The Cartoon Network's "Smash Tennis" display, located on the west side of the stadium court, is one new feature, Mutscheller said. Programs include interactive tennis games for children and feature inflatable cartoon characters.

Chang Next for Herrera
Mexico's Luis Herrera will be first up for top-seeded Michael Chang in tonight's second-round action on the stadium court. Herrera, playing his third match in three days after qualifying for the tournament, came back yesterday to beat Jim Grabb, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Herrera is 0-2 in his career against Chang. They last met in 1992, the year Herrera reached the top 50 in the rankings. Now ranked 155, Herrera is in his second year back after taking nearly two years off because of a shoulder injury.

"We're both very fast, and it's tough to play him," Herrera said of Chang. "I just want to compete and have fun. He's playing very well right now, and it's going to be good for me. I've got nothing to lose." ...

Six former NCAA singles champions were in the Legg Mason main draw. Luke Smith (Nevada-Las Vegas, 1997) was a winner yesterday, while Steve Bryan (Texas, 1990) and Cecil Mamiit (Southern California, 1996) lost first-round matches. Sargis Sargsian (Arizona State, 1995) and Mark Merklein (Florida, 1994) play today, and fourth seed Chris Woodruff (Tennessee, 1993) has a first-round bye and plays his first match today. ... Tournament officials said tickets still were available for all sessions, though fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for Sunday's championship match.

© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company

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