| | Associated Press
WIMBLEDON, England -- Back in the stadium he calls the
"cathedral" of tennis, Pete Sampras opened his bid for a seventh
Wimbledon title Monday with a straight-sets win over Jiri Vanek.
|  | | Pete Sampras closed the match with a 117 mph serve. |
Showing little sign of the back trouble that bothered him in
practice last week, Sampras cruised to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory -- a
performance that underlined his dominance in the grass-court
tournament in which he has lost only once the last seven years.
"Pistol Pete -- Playing for History" read a big yellow sign
held by fans on Centre Court, referring to Sampras' chase for a
record 13th Grand Slam singles title.
Vanek, a Czech ranked No. 84 in the points race and playing his
first match at Wimbledon, put up a strong effort but was no match
for the man considered perhaps the greatest grass-court player.
Sampras' only scare came early in the second set when he jumped
high for one of his patented slam overheads. He seemed to mistime
his leap, sending the shot into the net and landing awkwardly.
Sampras reached for his lower back, suggesting he might have
aggravated the ailment that forced him to cut short practice last
week.
But Sampras seemed fine as he settled back into his game and
cruised the rest of the way, closing the match with a 117 mph
service winner.
Sampras said he needed extra time to stretch and warm up because
of chilly, 60-degree weather.
"There are a couple of tight spots, but nothing to be alarmed
about," Sampras said. "I'm really fine and ready to go."
As for his pursuit of the Grand Slam record, he said, "When
you're on thee battlefield, you don't think about breaking
records."
While Sampras was expected to win, Vince Spadea was not. But the
American snapped an ATP-record 21-match losing streak with a
four-hour upset of 14th-seeded Greg Rusedski of Britain, 6-3, 6-7
(5), 6-3, 6-7 (8), 9-7.
Rusedski, who reached the fourth round last season and the
quarterfinals in '97, was widely considered one of a handful of
players capable of challenging Sampras on grass.
Spadea, who last won in Lyon, France, in October, raised his
hands to the sky after Rusedski hit a shot long over the baseline
to end the marathon match.
In other matches, No. 11 Richard Krajicek, the 1996 champion and
only man to beat Sampras at Wimbledon in seven years, rallied from
a first-set setback to down Germany's Michael Kohlmann 3-6, 6-1,
6-4, 7-6 (3).
No. 6 Cedric Pioline, the runner-up in 1997, dropped a set but
downed Norway's Christian Ruud 7-6 (4), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, No. 16, became the first seeded
player among the men eliminated when he lost 6-3, 6-2, 0-6, 6-1 to
Slava Dosedel of the Czech Republic.
On the eve of the tournament, Spaniards Alex Corretja and Albert
Costa pulled out in protest at not being among the 16 seeded men's
players.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event that doesn't follow the
ATP rankings in determining seedings.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, another Spaniard in top 16 who was not
seeded, withdrew earlier with a reported back injury.
The three Spaniards were bumped in favor of players with
stronger grass-court records, including Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski -- both from Britain -- and Krajicek, of the Netherlands.
All England Club chairman Tim Phillips, sympathetic with the
Spaniards, said the club would waive any fines.
Sampras called the action by the Spaniards "childish," saying
players should enter all the Grand Slams. Sampras said he would be
willing to go unseeded at the French Open, where he has often been
No. 1 despite his lack of success on clay.
| |
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