WIMBLEDON, England, June 30 — Goran Ivanisevic and Mark Philippoussis sport tattoos on their non-serving shoulders, attract hordes of women fans to their matches and depend on their power games to succeed. They also have an unpleasant history in recent Grand Slam tournaments — in Philippoussis’s case, in all Grand Slam tournaments — that they are hoping to change this week.

Ivanisevic and Philippoussis advanced to the quarterfinals today — the first time Philippoussis has come this far in any major tournament, and the first time since the 1997 Australian Open for Ivanisevic, who used to consider himself a regular in the later rounds. Philippoussis next plays No. 1 Pete Sampras, and apparently Philippoussis now has a fan.

"We’re concentrating so far so good," said Ivanisevic, a two-time Wimbledon runner-up, "and I wish [Philippoussis] to beat Sampras and also to win the semis — whomever it’s going to be — and we can play in the final."

Ivanisevic, a Croatian, took the court early this afternoon to play American Todd Martin and hoped to finish him in straight sets — and in time for the kickoff of Croatia’s World Cup soccer quarterfinal. Instead, he faltered in the third set and had to save three set points, then win a tiebreaker, to prevent the match from going to a fifth set.

"It’s a big clock, so always when I look to the left, you always see that clock," Ivanisevic said, referring to the clock on Court 13, where he played, that keeps the time of day, not time of the match. "Two o’clock, 2:30, 3, 3:20, I look, and I’m still playing."

Krajicek Injures Knee
Richard Krajicek, one of the favorites in the men’s field, injured his right knee during his straight-set victory over Russia’s Wayne Ferriera today, and though he managed to finish the match without a problem, Krajicek fears it might prove to be a problem in later rounds.

Late in the second set, Krajicek slipped and his right knee bent at an odd angle, forcing him to overstretch his leg. By the time he appeared for an interview after his match, fluid was collecting on the kneecap, though Krajicek had no idea how serious the injury might be. Krajicek had surgery on that knee in December 1996.

"I don’t know what it is. I’ve no idea, and if this stiffens up and gets worse, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next match," said Krajicek, who is scheduled to meet Italian Davide Sanguinetti in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Female Attraction
HBO Sports decided to air predominately women’s matches during its seven daily hours of coverage of Wimbledon’s first week, and the decision paid off with ratings that jumped 25 percent from 1997.

According to Ross Greenberg, the executive producer, HBO showed women’s tennis 65 percent to 70 percent of the time throughout the first week, and that percentage jumped to nearly 80 percent during the second Monday of play.

"We knew going into the tournament that the women would make for better story lines, and it’s been proven true," Greenberg said. "[Monica] Seles has become a fan favorite here and her run is just great television. Venus Williams is the new superstar on the circuit. . . . The women’s game is exploding on the television set and that’s why we’ve slanted the coverage to the women.

"Other than Sampras, who are we supposed to show?" Greenberg added, referring to the men’s field. "Look, [women’s tennis] is happening. I’ve been doing this tournament for 20 years and I’ve never seen this in 20 years, but it’s here. I guess we’re feeling the pulse of the American public, and it’s slanted towards the women."