Top-seeded Jim Courier overpowered a potentially tough opponent and Andre Agassi won the most lopsided rout so far in the men's draw as both advanced to the third round of the French Open.
Courier, the defending champion and world's top-ranked player, was never in danger in his 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Austrian Thomas Muster.The 11th-seeded Agassi, who lost in the finals here the past two years, crushed Gianluca Pozzi 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 in only 84 minutes. Agassi had the edge in total points, 88 to 45, and break points, 22 to three.
Another seeded American, Pete Sampras, had a much tougher time, winning 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) against an obscure Frenchman Laurent Prades, ranked 204th in the world and playing his first French Open.
Organizers started play 30 minutes early to accommodate a backlog of matches postponed by rain. On tap were 31 of the 32 men's second-round matches, and 21 of the women's second-round matches. But for the third time in four days, rain came in the afternoon, interrupting play.
After three days with no major upsets among the women, three seeded players lost. Jo Durie of Britain beat No. 9 Anke Huber of Germany, 6-1, 7-5; Elena Brioukhovets of Russia rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 11 Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria and Natalia Zvereva of Russia beat No. 16 Sabina Appelmans of Belgium 6-1, 7-6 (9-7).
Winners among the men included No. 8 Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 over Carl Limberger of Austria, and No. 9 seed Carlos Costa of Spain, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, 6-2, over Austria's Gilbert Schaller. The youngest player in the men's field, 17-year-old Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine, won 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 over the second-oldest, South African-born American Kevin Curren, 34.
No. 3 seed Gabriela Sabatini overpowered Sandra Cecchini of Italy, 6-0, 6-1. Sabatini has lost only one game in two matches
Other women's winners included No. 5 seed Jennifer Capriati, who won 6-4, 6-4, over Sandrine Testud of France; No. 7 Conchita Martinez of Spain, 6-2, 6-0 over Veronika Martinek of Germany; No. 12 Nathalie Tauziat of France over American Ginger Helgeson 3-6, 6-1, 6-3; and Mary Pierce, an American playing out of France, over Larissa Savchenko-Neiland of Latvia, 6-2, 6-3.
Sixth-seeded Guy Forget, the local favorite, has been the only prominent casualty on the men's side, losing in straight sets Wednesday to Belgium's Bart Wuyts. All 16 of the seeded women have survived. John McEnroe was fined $7,500 for swearing during his first-round loss to Nicklas Kulti on Tuesday. An official statement said the fine was determined after interviews with court supervisers and a review of video tape of the match.