Tennis / Australian Open: Roof comes to rescue of a rueful Stich: Carlsen undone by an end to the great outdoors while injury worries surface for Edberg

AUSTRALIA DAY will be marked here tomorrow by the unveiling of bronze busts of Rod Laver and Margaret Court, two of the nation's greatest champions. It might be an idea to commission a couple more in honour of Jamie Learmont and Peter Brooks, who designed the Centre Court stadium with its retractable roof.

Thanks to them, play is possible at the Australian Open even on rainy days like yesterday, though not everybody likes the idea of a select few playing indoors while the rest are washed out. The issue becomes even more contentious when a match on the Centre Court which starts outdoors is completed indoors.

There was a case in point yesterday, when the roof figuratively fell in on Kenneth Carlsen, the first Dane to make an impression on the sport for two decades. Before the rain came, Carlsen was leading Michael Stich, the 1991 Wimbledon champion, 7-6, 3-2, and the German had saved five break points.

When play resumed, under the roof, Stich, with an advantage point to his credit, won the game with an ace, and Carlsen was doomed. A service break early in the third set was the Dane's only flourish thereafter as Stich advanced to the quarter-finals, producing his best tennis since winning the Grand Slam Cup in Munich in December to wrap-up the match, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0. Perhaps the roof created the impression that he was back in the Munich Olympiahalle.

Stefan Edberg, the No 2 seed, was among those who sympathised with the Dane, pointing out that playing indoors suited Stich's game, because the bounces tended to be lower. In Edberg's view, it would be fairer to close the roof and bring forward the next match in the order of play and suspend the one which had started with the roof open until it could be completed with the roof open.

Edberg had his own worries, withdrawing from the doubles event after experiencing a back spasm towards the end of his third round match against Amos Mansdorf on Saturday.

The roof may have been only part of the reason why Stich calmed himself and played impressively after being fined for bad behaviour in each of his previous two matches (dollars 500 (pounds 335) for an an audible obscenity and dollars 2,000 for verbal abuse).

Most of his anger had been caused by the malfunctioning of Cyclops, the service line machine. After obvious errors yesterday, the machine was switched off when Stich and Carlsen resumed the match. John McEnroe once said that Cyclops beeped false calls because it knew who he was. In his absence, the machine appears to have recognised his doubles partner.

Once the machine ceased to be a factor, Stich served with power and precision. He hit two consecutive aces at the end of the third set (having delivering three in succession in the eighth game) and his 22nd ace, on match point, was recorded at 211 kmh (124 mph), the fastest of the tournament (one of his second serves registered 198 kmh).

Stich's demeanour has not endeared him to spectators and officials, and he admitted that it was par for the course. 'I was always a guy that got really upset and really angry on the court,' he said. 'I played two matches at Wimbledon where everybody said I was very cool and very boring on the court, and from that point on I had that image. You can ask a lot of guys I played as juniors, and even after that. I wasn't quite a nice guy on the court. I am pretty nice, compared to that, right now.'

Jim Courier, the defending champion, was another who profited yesterday, defeating the 15th seed, Sergi Bruguera, of Spain,

6-1, 6-3, 7-6. 'It was humid in there,' Courier said. 'and for some reason it just doesn't feel like playing indoors.' Perhaps it was the twittering of a couple of birds which had failed to notice that the roof was closing. 'They sounded like Cyclops,' he said, 'only the birds are more accurate.'

The speed gun has recorded the world No 1's serve at 182 kmh, which ranks him no higher than 15 in the table. If Courier had his way, he would ban the device. 'I think it's stupid,' he said. 'I don't pay attention to it. If I hit a 140 kilometre an hour slice serve in the corner, that's just as effective as a 250 kilometre an hour serve.'

Gabriela Sabatini would endorse that view, having caused much mirth by delivering one first serve at 102 kmh. Even with a dolly-drop like that, the Argentinian third seed was still able to fend off Nicole Provis, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the quarter-finals. The Australian failed to take her chances (she lost 14 consecutive points after netting a smash when leading 3-1, 40-love in the first set), which was a common failing among those who had begun the day as contenders.

Anke Huber, the 11th seed, tested Arantxa Sanchez Vicario for a set before the fourth-seeded Spaniard took control, winning

7-5, 6-2. And in the only match played on Court One before the rain came, Steffi Graf, Huber's celebrated German compatriot, won a battle to hold serve, defeating Magdalena Maleeva, the 17-year-old Bulgarian, 6-3, 6-3. There were six service breaks in the second set.

The rain did not arrive soon enough to save Gigi Fernandez's embarrassment on Court Six. The American was beaten, 6-0, 6-0, by Mary Pierce, the Canadian-born Frenchwoman, who earned the chance to attack Sabatini's serve when they meet to duel for a place in the semi-finals.

The latest on McEnroe, incidentally, is that he is planning to interrupt his retirement and request a wild card for Wimbledon, where last July he was defeated by Andre Agassi, the eventual champion, in the singles semi-finals and won the doubles title with Stich.

McEnroe, 34 next month, announced recently that he did not wish to be considered for the United States Davis Cup squad, at least in the early rounds. According to his agent, Sergio Palmieri, the New Yorker will make a reappearance to play exhibition matches in April. He then intends to practise with Agassi, and is likely to seek grass-court preparation at the Dutch tournament in Rosmalen, two weeks before Wimbledon. We shall see.

RESULTS FROM FLINDERS PARK

AUSTRALIAN OPEN (Melbourne) Men: Singles, Third round: C Bergstrom (Swe) bt S Simian (Fr) 6-0 6-4 6-4; A Boetsch (Fr) bt A VOLKOV (Rus) 6-4 6-4 6-2; R Fromberg (Aus) bt C COSTA (Sp) 6-2 7-6 2-6 6-3; M WASHINGTON (US) bt J Stark (US) 6-4 6-7 6-2 6-4; W FERREIRA (SA) bt B Black (Zim) 6-2 3-6 6-1 7-6; S EDBERG (Swe) bt A Mansdorf (Isr) 6-3 6-1 1-6 7-6; B Steven (NZ) bt A Olhovskiy (Rus) 6-3 7-5 3-6 6-3; P SAMPRAS (US) bt A Antonitsch (Aut) 7-6 6-4 6-2. Fourth round: J COURIER (US) bt S BRUGUERA (Sp) 6-1 6-3 7-6; M STICH (Ger) bt K Carlsen (Den) 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-0.

Doubles: Second round: M Briggs and T Kronemann (US) bt H J DAVIDS (Neth) and L PIMEK (Bel) 5-7 6-3 6-4; D VISSER (SA) and L WARDER (Aus) bt J Bates (GB) and M Schapers (Neth) 4-6 6-3 6-2; J ELTINGH and P HAARHUIS (Neth) bt N Borwick and S Youl (Aus) 6-4 6-3; J GRABB (US) and R RENEBERG (US) bt P Kilderry (Aus) and P Rafter (Aus) 3-6 7-6 9-7; M KRATZMANN (US) and W MASUR (Aus) bt B Pearce (US) and B Talbot (SA) 6-4 6-4; J FITZGERALD (Aus) and A JARRYD (Swe) bt G Michibata (Can) and D Pate (US) 7-6 6-4; J-L De Jager and M Ondruska (SA) bt K JONES and R LEACH (US) 7-6 6-3.

Women: Singles, Third round: S GRAF (Ger) bt C Porwik (Ger) 6-1 ret; J CAPRIATI (US) bt N Zvereva (Belarus) 7-5 7-5; M J FERNANDEZ (US) bt N Sawamatsu (Japan) 2-6 6-3 6-1; K MALEEVA (Bul) bt B Rittner (Ger) 6-1 6-1; A SANCHEZ VICARIO (Sp) bt R Zrubakova (Slovak) 6-1 6-3; A HUBER (Ger) bt I Gorrochategui (Arg) 6-2 7-5; M MALEEVA-FRAGNIERE (Swit) bt G Helgeson (US) 6-2 3-6 6-1; M MALEEVA (Bul) bt M Babel (Ger) 6-3 6-2. Fourth round: M PIERCE (Fr) bt G Fernandez (US) 6-0 6-0; GRAF bt M MALEEVA 6-3 6-3; SANCHEZ VICARIO bt HUBER 7-5 6-2; G SABATINI (Arg) bt N Provis (Aus) 7-5 6-3.

Doubles: Second round: L McNEIL (US) and R STUBBS (Aus) bt C MacGregor and S Stafford (US) 6-3 6-4; F LABAT and P TARABINI (Arg) bt P Hy (Can) and S Rehe (US) ret; P SHRIVER (US) and E SMYLIE (Aus) bt A Fusai (Fr) and N Tschan (Swit) 6-4 6-1; R FAIRBANK-NIDEFFER (SA) and J RICHARDSON (NZ) bt A Frazier (US) and R Hiraki (Japan) 6-3 6-2; L Davenport and C Rubin (US) bt S Dopfer (Aut) and M Zivec-Skulj (Ger) 6-3 6-1; I Gorrochategui (Arg) and L Harvey-Wild (US) bt M Kiene and M Oremans (Neth) 6-0 3-6 6-1; Y Basuki (Indon) and N Miyagi (Japan) bt S McCarthy (US) and K Po (US) 6-3 5-7 8-6; K MALEEVA (Bul) and N TAUZIAT (Fr) bt J Limmer and K McDonald (Aus) 6-4 6-3; L NEILAND (Lat) and J Novotna (Cz Rep) bt J Emmons and G Helgeson (US) 3-6 7-5 6-2; K Date (Japan) and M Jaggard-Lai (Aus) bt R McQUILLAN (Aus) and C PORWIK (Ger) ret.

Mixed doubles: First round: K Radford (Aus) and P Norval (SA) bt L Golarsa (It) and S Casal (Sp) 2-6 6-3 7-5; P Shriver (US) and S Stolle (Aus) bt K Adams and L Jensen (US) 6-4 6-3; K Rinaldi (US) and G Connell (Can) bt M Pierce (Fr) and H J Davids (Neth) 6-7 6-2 6-2; C Martinez (Sp) and J Sanchez (Sp) bt R Fairbank-Nideffer (SA) and G Muller (SA) 6-4 6-4; G Fernandez (US) and T Witsken (US) bt P FENDICK (US) and S DEVRIES (US) 6-4 6-4; M Bollegraf (Neth) and T Nijssen (Neth) bt G Sabatini (Arg) and E Sanchez (Sp) 6-3 6-4; N PROVIS and M WOODFORDE (Aus) bt R White (US) and T Kempers (Neth) 5-7 7-6 6-4; A SANCHEZ VICARIO (Sp) and T WOODBRIDGE (Aus) bt A Frazier (US) and R Bathman (Swe) 6-4 6-2.

(Photograph omitted)