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Posted on: September 02nd, 2002

Sampras stays calm to outlast Rusedski

- petepage

Source: Selena Roberts, NY Times

Suddenly, Greg Rusedski had a lot of nerve. Sure, he had unraveled during a first-set tie breaker with two double faults and came undone in a third-set tie breaker, too.

Of course, Rusedski had reacted to match point against him by swiping a serve that he failed to follow to the net. And true, on that same point, he took two steps in and took a step back, doing a hokeypokey of sorts as Pete Sampras punched a return that left Rusedski out of position as he flailed at a passing shot that fell wide to end it.

Never mind that Rusedski had just lost to the legendary Sampras last night at the United States Open, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, sending Sampras to the Round of 16 for the 13th time in 14 years.

Whatever, Sampras is done. Rusedski boldly stated that opinion after his summer of sizzle died in Louis Armstrong Stadium in front of a rowdy crowd that had been barking at the Canadian-turned-Briton all night long. If Rusedski was out, Sampras was sure to follow.

"I'd be surprised if he wins his next match," said Rusedski, who entered the Open with three victories against top-10 players under his belt. "I think the movement is not the same and the fitness is not the same.

"He's just not the same player from the past. You're used to seeing Pete Sampras, 13 Grand Slam champion. He's not the same player."

Few have stated the obvious with such unvarnished flair. It is no secret that Sampras has been struggling for two years, not having won a major since Wimbledon in 2000. And after getting his third-round match in after the rain ended yesterday, Sampras will be in a physical bind to be fresh today for his next opponent, another five-set winner last night, Tommy Haas.

"My first thought is to get back to my hotel room," Sampras said.

He had already left the building when Rusedski began his unabashed inspection of Sampras's form. Although Sampras is just a year removed from being a finalist at the United States Open, Rusedski doesn't believe he has another run in his 31-year-old body.

"I wouldn't put any money on it, let's put it like that," Rusedski said. "I think Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick are the top two Americans who have a chance right now."

Agassi and Roddick provided some credence to Rusedski's theory on a night when the rains ended and a shotgun start began a revolving door of matches that left the fans unsure of where to turn next.

Fans were at the top of one stadium, craning their necks trying to catch the play in another. In the span of 15 minutes near 10 p.m., Sampras won; the third-seeded Haas completed a 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 third-round victory against Thomas Enqvist; and Daniela Hantuchova upset the eighth-seeded Justine Henin in three sets to advance to the women's quarterfinals.

Later, playing a round ahead of Sampras, Agassi put away Jan-Michael Gambill and top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt beat Jiri Novak, both in straight sets. Just after midnight, Roddick finished off a 30-stroke rally with a cathartic forehand winner in the third-set tiebreaker to get by Alex Corretja in a third-round match.

It was wild, match madness. And it all began with the unassuming Lindsay Davenport. She finished off a victory in the first match after a seven-hour rain delay ended around 6 p.m.

One minute, Davenport was roaming through a players' lounge that resembled a bus terminal on a snow day. Racket bags were scattered on the floor, a few players napped and others dealt cards on a drizzly afternoon meant for hot chocolate and old movies.

The next minute, Davenport was hustled into Arthur Ashe Stadium with little warning after officials told her she was first when the drops stopped.

The sudden notice and her body alarm were not in sync last night. Sluggish at the start, in need of coffee, Davenport allowed her game to eventually catch up with her talent as she shook off an early service break to advance to the quarterfinals, with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Silvia Farina Elia.

"They gave me a time thing where if it's after 5:45 p.m., we won't put you out there," said Davenport, who went on the court just after 6 p.m. "I looked at the clock. It's 5:40 p.m., and the court is not dry. Everybody in the referee's office has locked themselves in. I was trying to open the door. They said, `You're still on in 10 minutes."'

Normally, a player has time to hit on an outside court before a match to loosen up. "We went on a wet court and I hit serves on the wettest court I've ever seen, but that was it," Davenport said. As if to make up for this time pinch, officials gave Davenport and Elia 10 minutes to warm up against each other inside the stadium instead of five.

"I started slow because of it, but I expected to," the fourth-seeded Davenport said of her brief prematch preparation. "I'm happy now that it's over. In those few minutes, it was a little bit stressful. No one knew what was happening."

The third-seeded Jennifer Capriati had more time to prepare as the second match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Early on, Capriati muscled her way past unseeded American Amy Frazier before experiencing a slight mental lapse in the second set. It was only temporary. Capriati moved onto the quarterfinals after a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Frazier in 53 minutes.

About the same time, Nicolas Massu retired with a right hamstring and groin injury against Gustavo Kuerten, who was leading, 6-1, 5-4, in the third-round match.

Watching the rain outside the lounge window made for a tedious day for the players. Several times during the day, players were told that the rain was within an hour of ending. Several times, officials were wrong.

Sampras left the grounds with less than 24 hours before his next match. Although he didn't look his sharpest, Sampras was able to come up with the kind of pressure points that escaped Rusedski. In the first-set tiebreaker, Sampras punctuated set point with an ace. In the fifth set, Sampras manufactured a match point on Rusedski's serve by crushing a forehand passing shot behind his slow-footed opponent.

Sampras resisted the chance to poke at Rusedski's history of tightening up on big points or his lackluster record in five-set matches.

"I didn't see any nerves in Greg," Sampras said. The real nerve by Rusedski was after the match

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