KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- A Pete Sampras signature remains a valuable commodity, even after the drubbing he endured Monday. That's why a cluster of kids leaned over the first-row stadium railing, holding out oversized tennis balls for their hero to sign.

	Monday's upset made it 24 tournaments in a row without a title for Pete Sampras.

Bad timing. The autograph-seekers had to settle for the sweaty wristband Sampras flipped over his shoulder as he walked past without a glance and disappeared into a tunnel, completing his hasty exit from the Nasdaq-100 Open.

Lopsided losses are becoming alarmingly commonplace for Sampras, but this one was surprising because it was administered by a qualifier, Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, who won 7-6 (1), 6-1.

The third-round upset made it 24 tournaments without a title for Sampras since he won a record seventh Wimbledon championship in 2000. The drought began shortly before he married actress Bridgette Wilson in September 2000, which he admits may not be a coincidence.

"The years that I was No. 1, I was probably a little bit too consumed with the sport," said the 30-year-old Sampras. "It's hard to say how really happy I was. I was happy winning tournaments. But in order to stay up there for as long as I did, it took a lot of sacrifice.

"You know, those days are over. I've lost enough hair over the years to all the worries and all the stress that I put on myself. ... I'm married and things couldn't be better. I just wish I could be playing a little bit better."

Commitment questions aside, Sampras' defeat reinforced the impression that he has lost a step, making him late reaching volleys he once put away with ease. He won only 22 of 48 points at the net against Gonzalez, perhaps the hardest hitter on the men's tour.

"It wasn't a good day. I got outplayed," Sampras said. "I just have to get back to work and not panic, and look at the big picture and the rest of the year. It's not the way I wanted it to go this week. But we've got a few more big events coming up."

One is next week, when the U.S. Davis Cup team plays Spain in Houston. With Sampras losing, the only member of the U.S. team to reach the fourth round at Key Biscayne was James Blake, who beat No. 15 Guillermo Canas 6-4, 6-3.

Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt rallied to defeat Jan-Michael Gambill for the third time this year, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

No. 6 Marat Safin barely avoided an upset against another South American qualifier, Luis Horna of Peru. Safin broke a racket in anger, drew a point penalty for another outburst, twice blew a third-set lead and still managed to win, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3).

The No. 11-seeded Sampras, a three-time champion at Key Biscayne, was eliminated in the third round for the second year in a row. Gonzalez, 21, termed the victory the biggest of his career.

"He's the best player ever," Gonzalez said. "I've been dreaming to play with Sampras maybe, like, 12 years. I'm just happy to play with him."

Gonzalez rallied from a 4-1 deficit and smacked a 130-mph ace to reach 6-6 in the opening set. In the tiebreaker, he dug a forehand out of the corner to save the first point and took control from there, belting two service winners and two baseline winners to close out the set.

As the second set progressed, Sampras looked increasingly overmatched, and Gonzalez lost just seven points in the first five games. The rout was reminiscent of Sampras' losses in the past two U.S. Open finals to Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, only this time the opponent was an obscure Chilean ranked 62nd.

"You can't play conservative out there, and I think that happened a little bit today," Sampras said. "I just tried to get the ball back in play, and he controlled the match with his spin and his pace."