OLYMPICS / Barcelona 1992: Tennis: Steeb stitches up bitter Stich
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Your support makes all the difference.MICHAEL STICH, the former Wimbledon champion and eighth seed, joined a host of seeds who have disappeared from the tennis when he was despatched 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 by his countryman, Carl-Uwe Steeb.
Michael Chang of the United States, seeded six, continued his recent slump, exiting to Brazil's Jaime Oncins 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. He has now lost five of his last eight matches. Hometown boy Sergi Bruguera, seeded 11, became the first Spaniard to lose, going down in four sets, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, to Mark Koevermans of the Netherlands.
Goran Ivanisevic, of Croatia, was another serve-and-volleyer to bite the clay when Andrei Cherkasov, of the Unified Team, put him out 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Stich did not take defeat well, and complained bitterly about the the clay surface, which he said was the slowest he had ever played on. Chang agreed, saying it had been like playing 'on chocolate powder'.
But there were no problems for Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who is coping with the pressures of being the darling of Barcelona well. She despatched Mana Endo of Japan for the loss of just one game.
And Jennifer Capriati remained on course for a semi-final against Sanchez Vicario with a neat 6-4, 6-1 disposal of Argentina's Patricia Tarbini. She showed a more mature attitude to the surface than Stich. 'I like the faster surface better,' she said. 'I don't have a lot of patience, but I'm getting better.'
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