U.S. OPEN NOTES : Tarango Banished by Loss, Suspension

NEW YORK â€”  Seventh-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov beat Jeff Tarango in a first-round match on Tuesday, 6-0, 6-4, 7-5, in what may be one of Tarango’s last matches for a while.

Tarango has been fined by both the International Tennis Assn. and the Assn. of Tennis Professionals for walking off the court at Wimbledon and making accusations against an umpire. He has been suspended from three tour tournaments and two Grand Slam events.

Tarango, of Manhattan Beach, has said he will appeal the decisions, but intimated Tuesday that he didn’t have enough money to pursue the appeal.

“If I want to mount $200,000 in lawyer bills, I can fight this and probably win, but what is the point?� he said.

Despite his status, Tarango persists in tweaking the nose of the powers that be in men’stennis.

“I feel like a victim--used and abused,� he said.

Tarango said he was getting only a few hours’ sleep a night because of stress.

“I am taking two sleeping pills every night, and I still am not getting any sleep,� he said. “I don’t know what to do. I go to the chiropractor three times a week. He says I am so stressed out, he can’t even turn my neck.

“I am spending four hours a day talking to my lawyer and trying to collect some kind of sanity. It is just not working. I guess I just have to go back to the drawing board, just go sit on the beach for a couple of weeks.�

*

Joannette Kruger of South Africa defeated Shaun Stafford, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. The match held little interest to anyone until tournament officials discovered that Stafford, of Gainesville, Fla., had chosen to write “WTA Tour� on the back of her leg.

Stafford was caught between conflicting rules: Her apparel company does not allow patches to be worn on players’ blouses. Yet the WTA is encouraging players to support the tour by giving its logo visibility.

On the other hand, tournament officials don’t look with favor on patches or advertising--or, apparently, handwritten logos--on players’ bodies.

Tournament officials were looking into the situation.

*

In evening matches, No. 14 Jim Courier beat Bernd Karbacher, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; and unseeded Mats Wilander, the 1988 champion, continued his comeback at age 31 with a 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Steve Campbell.