Tennis: Reneberg rattles Ivanisevic's cage

(First Edition)

GORAN IVANISEVIC, the top seed, displayed the dark side of his nature when he went out of the Australian Indoor Championship in Sydney in the first round yesterday, and incurred two fines totalling dollars 2,500 ( pounds 1,600).

The defending champion, Jaime Yzaga of Peru, also stumbled at the first hurdle, losing in three sets to Aaron Krickstein, but the second seed, Boris Becker, went through after dropping a set against the Australian qualifier, Sandon Stolle.

Ivanisevic was fined dollars 1,500 for swearing at a spectator, threw his racket to the ground and argued repeatedly with officials during his 7-6, 6-3 defeat by the unseeded American Richey Reneberg.

The Croatian world No 2 stormed off court at the end and appeared to spit on the ground on his way to the sidelines. He then refused to appear at the mandatory post- match press conference, prompting an automatic dollars 1,000 fine.

'Goran appeared a little distracted out there,' said Reneberg, ranked 38 in the world. 'By the middle of the first set, I sensed he did not really have his mind on the match.

'I don't think he played that well,' added the 29-year- old Reneburg, who put Becker out of the US Open in the first round in August.