Krajicek Cruises Past Scud

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Richard Krajicek won the battle of the big hitters when he defeated former champion Mark Philippoussis on the opening day of the 25th Stella Artois Championships. The Dutchman, playing in only his second tournament since the NASDAQ-100 Open at Miami in March, booked his place in the second round with a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory over Philippoussis, his sixth victory over the Australian in eight career meetings.

"I'm happy I won," said Krajicek, who won Wimbledon in 1996. "The first set, he had more chances but somehow I pulled it out. The last two matches we've had went the same way. At Wimbledon I was a set and 5-3 down and won in five and then in the States he was the better player but somehow I pulled it out."

Wild card

Krajicek, who received a wild card into his first tournament at The Queen's Club, will now meet either Goran Ivanisevic or Jan Vacek in the second round.

He added: "I feel good. I didn't move that great but that's nothing to do with injuries, just age. I was a little bit worried about my draw, but I came through and that's important. It gives me a good feeling.

"It's nice to be back on grass. I've had my best success on it over the last few years. I played very badly in the States earlier this year, had a couple of months off, played one tournament on clay and started to feel better there."

For the 1997 champion Philippoussis, who had two set points in the first set at 5-4 on Krajicek's serve, it was not the ideal start to his grass court season. "There wasn't much I could do out there," said the Australian. "It's obviously going to be a tough first round for both of us. When you have four break points in the first set and don't make a return, you aren't taking your chances.

"It's my first match on grass and I've got two more weeks [before Wimbledon]. It would have been nice to have done well here but I'm not going to put my head down. I've got to work hard, work on my returns and get my grass court range together."

Martin Through

There was better news for 1994 Stella Artois champion Todd Martin, who needed just 46 minutes to breeze past Brazilian Ricardo Mello. The 32-year-old Martin, unseeded this year, is making his 10th appearance at The Queen's Club and reached the quarterfinals last year (l. to Hewitt). He now meets No. 5 Sjeng Schalken in the second round.

Meanwhile, Scott Draper, champion in 1998, went down 6-4, 6-4 at the hands of Cyril Saulnier, whose fellow Frenchman Anthony Dupuis defeated Wayne Arthurs 6-4, 7-6(8) to reach the second round.

Earlier in the day, No. 10 seed Jan-Michael Gambill overcame a tough first round opponent in Thomas Enqvist with a 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory over the Swede. Gambill advanced to the quarterfinals in 2001 (l. to Sampras) and the third round last year (l. to Schalken).

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