21.  King said the most interesting aspect of this coaching stint involved getting the rookie from Michigan through her opening match Saturday against Wiesner.

22.  Last week in Barcelona, he struggled mightily to beat Furlan in his opening match and then was dismissed in straight sets by Cedric Pioline of France.

23.  Most of the equation will remain constant for this month, if the opening match of the US Cup is an indication.

24.  Pierce had looked sluggish in her opening match on Wednesday, something she attributed to a lingering bout with the flu.

25.  Seoul got to stage the glitzy opening match and ceremonies last week, and Tokyo, accordingly, gets the final game four weeks from now.

26.  Steffi Graf went partying Thursday just before her opening match in the Pathmark Tennis Classic.

27.  Teams likely will choose training sites in the area of their opening match.

28.  The biggest home court booster will be Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who is expected to attend the opening match.

29.  The clinching took place on Monday night at Hanover, N.H., in the opening matches of the Auld Lang Syne tournament.

30.  The opening match against Spain is pivotal.