NEW YORK Sept 8: Need a new tennis racket? How about the Hammer. Sabre or Thun-dersttek. Or perh-

•I strung one of these wooden things up and played with it for five minutes, and my arm hurt so bad,' said Powless, who coached Arthur Ashe and

Stan Smith.

Tennis racket makers advertise their inventions with a confusing whirlwind of technologies — wldebody. asymmetric or

aps the Blast. Storm or Explosion. For something more ethereal, try the Galaxy. Genesis or Revelation.

The dizzying names of today's tennis rackets match the glitzy image of the sport. On the surface, tennis seems to be as much about clothing and racket design as lobs and crosscourt forehands, reports AP.

"People like gimmicks," said Brad Gilbert, who lost In the fourth round of the US Open to No. 12 seed Thomas Muster of Austria. "All these different names — the Viper and the Venom — these things breed competition. ■ People want to have better for cheaper. It's always the 'new, Improved.'

The old-fashioned tennis whites are largely a thing of the past, especially In the colourful clothing booths at the National Tennis Center In New York's borough of Queens.

On court, if* much the same.

Between the big serves of Richard Krajicek and lunging' returns of Todd Martin In tnelr third round match Sunday, It was hard to Ignore their outfits.

Krajicek, who won the match, wore a shirt with disjointed blue and purple stripes on the back and half the front. Even the brim of his white baseball cap had a sort of mottled purple pattern.

Martin's shirt of black and greeh smudges looked like It would have been better off Iq a modern art museum.

Some tennis old-timers de-■fend the new rackets, If not the clothes, as offering more than Image — they reduce shock and vibration, which cause tennis elbow and other ailments.

John Powless, a 61 -year-old former coach for the US Davis Cup team, said he recently sampled his collecUon of 300 old rackets.

aerospace; systems — shock absorbing. air bridge; and concepts — symmetrical bridge.

The International Tennis Federation, based In London, rules whether a racket is legal or not For example, the racket cannot be more than 32 Inches (81 cms) in length, though it can be any shape.

Then there are the spectators. some of whom have shown up at the US Open dressed In tennis gear. Why? American football fans don’t wear helmets at games. Soccer fans don't put on studs.

•It s my custom at a tournament,' said Hugo Archondo, a 49-ycar-old New Yorker who was born in Bolivia. 'I feel more comfortable. I wouldn't wear a tie. Everybody prefers to dress In white clothes."

Three Roman Catholic nuns from France in dark habits were among the few fans Tuesday who seemed Immune to the commercial frenzy of racket and sweatshirt-buying around them.

Any talk of tennis fashion must Include Andre Agassi. who lost in the first round this year.

f Andre Agassi Is like a rock star. Neon clothes, neon hair. He's got bo much energy he could make a hummingbird nervous," writes Gilbert in his book 'Winning Ugly-, about mental warfare in tennis.

As for 32-year-old Gilbert, ranked No. 33 In the world, he's from the old school.

"I've played with two rackets my whole life," he said. Tm not a creature lor change.'