21.  The only seeded player to go down thus far, Gambill lost his first-round singles match to qualifier Christian Ruud on Tuesday night.

22.  The only seeded player who looked impressive from start to finish was Lindsay Davenport, seeded seventh and appearing in her first Championships.

23.  The only male seeded player in contention is the two-time champion Sergi Bruguera.

24.  The only seeded player to lose Thursday was the big-serving but erratic Brenda Schultz-McCarthy.

25.  The seeded players have yet to be announced and the sages have yet to weigh in.

26.  They watched such seeded players as Dominique Van Roost, Barbara Schett and Amelie Mauresmo winning on the field courts and Andre Agassi and Alexandra Stevenson practicing.

27.  Tim Henman of England, a Wimbledon semifinalist, was only the third seeded player to win this week.

28.  Only one seeded player is left this year, too, and just barely.

29.  Other happenings on a glorious day at the Foro Italico included three seeded players losing.

30.  Other seeded players advanced with few problems.