Confidence Carries Sugiyama; Injury Sidelines Venus Williams

All you need is Ai.

Ai Sugiyama was explaining the exact meaning of her first name, earnestly trying to clarify it Monday for reporters at the Acura Classic at the Manhattan Country Club. It means love.

“Not love in tennis,” she said. “The other kind of love.”

Of the heart, not the score in a tennis match.

Curiosity about the 23-year-old Sugiyama--already a major figure in her native Japan--has increased lately for several reasons. She is slowly inching toward the top 10, reaching her current career-high No. 16 in the world after defeating Jennifer Capriati and Steffi Graf last week at the Toshiba Tennis Classic.

Additionally, Sugiyama is the latest member of the million-dollar club, surpassing that mark by reaching the quarterfinals at La Costa.

For her, the scrutiny in Japan is more intense.

“If I walk in here, nobody is going to bother me,” she said, laughing. “I feel free. In Japan, some people recognize me. Sometimes I feel better being here. Japanese people, they are just saying, ‘There’s Sugiyama.’ They don’t bother me that much. They are very polite.”

She has invested in the community. For the last three years, Sugiyama has owned a sporting goods store near Tokyo named Belly Buttons. She and her mother, Tadamasa, picked the name together.

There is a tennis connection. Sort of.

“The belly button is the center of your body,” Sugiyama said. “On the tour everybody supports me. I’m the center and everybody is supporting me.”

The benefits of that support are showing in 1998. This year, she has won two tournaments and has recorded victories against Amanda Coetzer and Conchita Martinez. After defeating wild-card Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round on Monday, she will play third-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain in the second round.

“That tournament [last week] gives me a lot of confidence because I played pretty good against Steffi. That was amazing for me,” she said.

Venus Williams, 18, withdrew from the doubles event at Manhattan Beach, a wise decision considering the way she hobbled off the court on Friday at La Costa. Williams, who has been bothered by tendinitis in her left knee since the tournament at Stanford late last month, retired in the third set of her quarterfinal match against Mary Pierce.

Venus and Serena Williams had been scheduled to play the fourth-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain and Patricia Tarabini of Argentina in the first round of doubles.

Spotted practicing at the courts on a light opening day of final qualifying matches and a handful of first-round, main-draw matches was fourth-seeded Monica Seles. Seles, who had been bothered by an ailing back at La Costa, is still in the singles draw. Last week, she said she was considering withdrawing from singles here.

Today’s Featured Matches

$450,000 Acura Classic at Manhattan Country Club, Manhattan Beach:

STADIUM COURT, STARTING AT 10 A.M.

* Nathalie Tauziat, France, (5) vs. Chanda Rubin.

* Iva Majoli, Croatia, vs. Rita Grande, Italy.

* Natasha Zvereva, Belarus, vs. Anne Kremer, Luxembourg.

****

STADIUM COURT, 7 P.M.

* Serena Williams vs. Larisa Neiland, Latvia.