The Week In Tennis At A Glance

STARS

- Tathiana Garbin of Italy won the Budapest Ladies Open, her first WTA Tour title, by beating Dutchwoman Kristie Boogert 6-2, 7-6 (4) in Budapest, Hungary.

- France's Mary Pierce stopped Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain 6-1, 6-0 to win the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

- Frenchman Cedric Pioline defeated Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) to win the Tennis Master Series-Monte Carlo Open.

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SPEAKING

"I've just become more and more relaxed and more at peace with everything that I do." - Mary Pierce, after winning the Family Circle Cup.

"Once Mary was on a roll, she didn't miss much." - Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, after losing to Mary Pierce in the Family Circle Cup final.

"I have a little anger management problem." Rylan Rizza, 15, of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, explaining the bloody towel around his right hand after he punched his racket at the Easter Bowl junior tournament.

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SHE'S BACK

Nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova is coming out of retirement to partner Mariaan de Swardt in the doubles at Eastbourne in June. Tournament organisers said the pair has been given a wild card for the June 19-24 grass-court Wimbledon tune-up. Navratilova, now 43, will be making her first appearance in the tournament in four years. She will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July.

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SETS MARK

When Mary Pierce crushed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-1, 6-0 in the final of the Family Circle Cup, she broke one of Chris Evert's records at the Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, tournament. Pierce lost only 12 games during the tournament, lowering the record of 15 set by Evert when she won in 1985.

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SLAMS STARS

Patrice Dominguez, tournament director of the Monte Carlo Open Masters Series event, is upset over the absence of several top stars, including American Pete Sampras and Australian Pat Rafter. Participation for all top 50 players is mandatory in Masters Series events, but Rafter, Sampras, Australian Lleyton Hewitt, American Todd Martin and Andre Agassi and Germany's Nicolas Kiefer all skipped Monte Carlo because of injuries. Dominguez took care to excuse Agassi and Kiefer from his complaints.

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STRAIGHT SETS

Unseeded Tathiana Garbin of Italy won her first WTA Tour title by beating Kristie Boogert of the Netherlands 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the final of the $110,000 Budapest Open. Garbin advanced to her second final of the season when defending champion Sarah Pitkowski of France retired from their semifinal with a back injury. It was Boogert's first final in almost nine years on the tour.

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SLOW RETURN

When Cedric Pioline beat Dominik Hrbaty to win the Tennis Masters Series-Monte Carlo, he became the first Frenchman in 37 years to win a title on the clay courts at Monaco. The last to do so was Pierre Darmon in 1963. Pioline is a former finalist at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

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SELECTED

For the second straight year, the Ericsson Open was voted by ATP Tour players as Tournament of the Year. Other awards given out during a dinner in Monte Carlo included Andre Agassi as Player of the Year, Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti as Most Improved Player, Indians Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes as Doubles Team of the Year, Australian Patrick Rafter won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, American Chris Woodruff was Comeback Player of the Year and Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero was selected Newcomer of the Year.

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SHOWING RED

The United States Tennis Association had a deficit of nearly $13 million last year, although its revenues are so great that none of its programs are imperiled. The deficit was due largely to unanticipated expenses and poor performance of some of its investments. However, the USTA's earnings were $148.7 million, with $125 million coming from the US Open. The loss comes a year after the USTA reported a $3.2 million surplus.

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SPIRIT AWARD

The Tim and Tom Gullikson Foundation (TTGF) is seeking worthy nominees to receive its second annual Tim Gullikson Spirit Award. The $5,000 award is given to a brain-tumor patient, caregiver, volunteer, corporation or benefactor that has shown extraordinary and unique courage, resourcefulness or even ingenuity in battling this disease and in doing so, gives hope to others. Nominations should be in the form of an essay of 500 words of less explaining what they have done to cope courageously with their illness or to help others do the same. The nomination should be accompanied by at least one other seconding essay and forwarded to The Tim Gullikson Spirit Award, c/o Donna Doherty, Executive Director, Tim and Tom Gullikson Foundation, 175 North Main St., Branford, CT 06405 no later than May 31, 2000.

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SITES TO SURF

www.itftennis.com www.dtb-tennis.de/ tenis.ccb.hr/ladies www.tennisstation.com

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Tournaments This Week

ATP TOUR $1,000,000 Open Seat Godo, clay, Barcelona, Spain

FED CUP Group A: Italy, Spain, Germany, Croatia at Bari, Italy Group B: Slovak Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic at Bratislava, Slovak Republic Group C: Russia, France, Belgium, Australia at Moscow Regionals: Asia-Oceania Groups I and II at Osaka, Japan; Americas Group I at Florianopolis, Brazil

SENIOR TOUR Trigon Champions, Richmond, Virginia

Tournaments Week of May 1

ATP TOUR $475,000 Mallorca Open, clay, Mallorca, Spain $375,000 BMW Open, clay, Munich, Germany $325,000 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Orlando, FloridaM

WTA TOUR $535,000 Betty Barclay Cup, clay, Hamburg, Germany $170,000 Croatian Bol Ladies Open, clay, Bol, Croatia

SENIOR TOUR BTI Champions, clay, Raleigh, North Carolina.