Krajicek Has the Speed to Burn Ivanisevic : Tennis: With both serving in the 120-m.p.h. range, the Dutchman has the big edge in accuracy.

INDIAN WELLS — In perhaps the first match that should have been played on a runway, two of the biggest hitters in tennis met Wednesday in a duel of supersonic first serves and ball-flattening second serves.

Richard Krajicek, a Dutchman living in Monte Carlo, sandblasted fifth-seeded Goran Ivanisevic, a Croatian also living in Monte Carlo, 6-0, 6-3, in the second round of the Newsweek Champions Cup at Hyatt Grand Champions.

But the score wasn’t nearly as important as the matchup, except possibly to Krajicek. As fast as these 6-foot-4 twin towers hit serves, this was not just two players launching balls, it was the Space Shuttle versus the Concorde.

Ivanisevic’s serve of 126 m.p.h. at Milan hasn’t been topped this year. Krajicek was next with a 125-m.p.h. serve in an event at Brussels. Last year, Krajicek’s serve of 129 m.p.h. was the fastest on the tour.

So in anticipation of their first meeting, one of the radar guns was moved from the Stadium Court and installed at the Clubhouse Court for the match.

It was over, well, fast, which seemed entirely appropriate. Krajicek closed out the first set in 18 minutes and finished off the fifth-seeded Ivanisevic in 49 minutes, although Ivanisevic noted some progress from last year’s event.

“Last year I won two games,” he said. “This year, I improved. I won three games. Next year, I don’t come back, so I won’t improve.”

Ivanisevic and Krajicek took turns burning out the radar gun, especially in the second set. At 2-2, Krajicek made back-to-back 122-m.p.h. first serves, then missed consecutive first serves clocked at 123 m.p.h. and 129 m.p.h.

Then it was Ivanisevic’s turn. In the next game, he missed four consecutive first serves, all over 120 m.p.h.

Said chair umpire Dana Loconto: “I expected a lot of blurry serves . . . and there were.”

Ivanisevic’s problems were tied directly to his serve. Hitting it hard was no problem, but getting it to land on the court was. He got in only 29% of his first serves.

There was also the speed of the cement court, which seems to be throwing off a lot of the players who expected it to be a lot faster than it is.

“It is slower than a clay court almost,” Krajicek said.

Ivanisevic had more problems adjusting, though, especially following the bouncing ball.

“It bounces very high, so you have to be with the legs,” he said. “You have to come (to the net) easily. I didn’t do anything. I was like old man. I am losing my confidence here.”

Meanwhile, Jimmy Connors didn’t lose his confidence, he just lost, 6-4, 6-3, to third-seeded Michael Stich. Connors, 39, said he felt a little stiff after playing his first-round match Tuesday afternoon, but credited Stich for keeping pressure on with consistent groundstrokes. Besides, Connors said, he didn’t really expect to win the tournament anyway.

“Hey, if I was winning tournaments now, you should close this game down,” he said. “Maybe you should close it down anyway.

“I’ve done my tennis show. My road show is going on.”

Tennis Notes

Qualifier Bernd Karbacher, ranked No. 219, who lost in the first round of qualifying in last week’s Challenger event, nearly upset 12th-ranked Andre Agassi, but fell, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5. Karbacher, a 23-year-old from Munich, led, 3-0, in the third set and served for the match at 5-4. “Sometimes ranking isn’t a fair indication of a person’s ability . . . like my ranking,” Agassi said, smiling.

Guy Forget, who reached the final last year, couldn’t get out of the second round. The fourth-seeded Forget was upset by Andrei Cherkasov of Russia, 6-4, 6-0. As many have before him, Forget found fault with the slow courts at Hyatt Grand Champions. “It’s like sandpaper,” he said. “It’s slower than clay. . . . I have a sore elbow and shoulder from hitting the heavy balls.” . . . Top-seeded Jim Courier and second-seeded Pete Sampras advanced, but not without trouble. Both needed three sets. Courier defeated Christo van Rensburg, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, and Sampras defeated Bryan Shelton, 6-7 (7-5), 6-0, 6-4. “I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had played three tiebreakers,” Sampras said. “I didn’t have good rhythm. I didn’t play great. I played pretty good.”

Courier on the number of good, young American players: “If Michael (Chang) were from Portugal, he’d be God. Here he’s just another guy on the street because we’ve got so many stars.” Chang won his second three-set match in two days, a decidedly uphill 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 decision over Javier Sanchez and said even he was put off by the slow courts. “Maybe (tournament director Charlie Pasarell) is doing something to the courts we don’t know anything about,” Chang said. Pasarell said the courts are exactly as they have been.