NEWPORT, Rhode Island, July 6: Sa-ndon Stolle of Australia and sixth seed Byron Black of Zimbabwe won

first-round victories at the 200,000 dollar Hall of Fade tennis championships on Monday, reports Reuter.

On the sixth and final leg of the tours grass court swing which climaxed at Wimbledon the past two weeks, Stolle upset seventh seed Nicolas Pereira of Venezuela 6-2, 6-3 while Black beat American Kenny Throne 6-3,6-2.

South African Christo van Rensburg defeated American doubles specialist Luke Jensen 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

The top two seeds here, Bryan Shelton of the United States and Luis Herrera of

From the start. Stolle. ranked 137th, opened fire on the 1 16thrated Pereira, holding serve with four aces in the first game, then breaking immedi ately to grab a 2-0 lead. The lanky Stolle took the first set on a break in the eighth game.

Pereira, who has yet to ad vanee fccyond the Wimbledon first round since capturing the Junior Mlle there in 1988, came back from being down 3-0 in the second set to hold a rare opportunity to even the set at 4-4 but fell apart

Up 40-love, he double-faulted and netted two low volleys. Stolle broke with a beautifully angled backhand return, then served out the match.

Though the 22-year-oki son of Hall of Famer Fred Stolle grew up in South Florida, he lacks neither confidence nor experience on grass

I spent a lot of time tn Australia when I was growing up. and I've been back there living in Sydney for live years now, Stolle said.

1 play like my father played, though with more top-spin, and I grew up around great grass couriers. I've taken every chance to play on grass over the years because I love it.

Double-handed player Black started shakily but took advantage of Thomes errors to gain momentum. We were both shaky at the beginning, and J was lucky to break back (in the first set), said Black.

1 think the sun and wind were getting to him — he has a high ball toss. After that, I got on a roll, said Black, who lost in the Wimbledon third round to champion Pele Sampras. For Van Rensburg, who will turn 31 in October, this week in picturesque Newport is no sail through the harbor.

Its relaxed here, but at my age I need the computer points, said the South African.

If I don't make the semifinals here, won't make it straight into the US Open draw. For me, this week is as big as Wimbledon — I'm going full out.