Posted on: September 03rd, 2002
Sampras answers Greg's taunt
- petepageRoddick, Sampras record thrilling victories to bridge eras of US Tennis
Source: Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald
The sky was clear for a change at the U.S. Open, but the men who played in Tuesday night's fourth-round matches left drenched anyway. Drenched in sweat. Four-time Open champion Pete Sampras, who advanced to a quarterfinal against younger American star Andy Roddick, was perspiring so much he dripped puddles onto the court and required a new delivery of shirts in the fourth set.
And with every drop of sweat, every ace, and every winner during his four-set win over No. 3 Tommy Haas, Sampras seemed to be saying: Take that, Greggie!
Greg Rusedski, after losing to him in five sets Monday night, questioned Sampras' resilience.
''I would be surprised if he wins his next match against Haas,'' Rusedski said. ``To be honest with you, I'd be very surprised. . . . I just think his movement is not the same, the fitness is not the same.
``He's not the same player.''
Maybe not, but he was good enough to win the first two sets off Haas 7-5, 6-4. Haas came back to win the third set 7-6 after a 7-5 tiebreaker. Sampras held on to win the deciding set 7-5.
Asked to respond to Rusedski saying he was a step and a half slow, Sampras replied, ``Against him, I don't need to be a step and a half quicker. I don't care what he thinks.''
Earlier, on the Louis Armstrong Stadium court, Roddick looked like he had just taken a shower after a come-from-behind win over Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Roddick said after his match it would be a dream come true to play Sampras.
But Sampras said: ``I hope it's a nightmare for him. He is the future of the game. He has a big game, a lot of power.
``It's going to be the older veteran playing the young gun, and I'm really looking forward to it.''
Playing on a heavily taped ankle, and inspired by a rowdy pro-American crowd, Roddick spared no energy against Chela.
On a point late in the second set, Chela ran Roddick side to side, and Roddick got to five hard-to-reach balls, landing a tricky between-the-legs shot.
He celebrated by jumping into the crowd and slapping high fives with three fans.
Asked whether leaping into the audience was a spontaneous act, Roddick deadpanned and replied: ``No, I planned to hit a between-the-leg shot, run down a ball and run into the crowd. That was all in the works from the beginning.''
On another point, near the end of the match, Roddick did a Boris Becker impersonation, diving for a serve and leaving a sweaty imprint of his body on the court.
''I was really feeling the crowd,'' Roddick said. ``They pumped me up so much. My foot was hurting at first, but adrenaline's an amazing thing. I was definitely feeding off it. The crowd was giving me everything, so I had to give them my all.''
Roddick said his left ankle remains inflamed, but he has all of today to receive treatment and rest.
Roddick watched the end of the Sampras-Haas match from a television monitor, rooting for Sampras. He is 2-0 against Sampras and 0-3 against Haas, and he said given a choice, he preferred to face his American mentor.
''It would be very special for me to play Pete,'' Roddick said. ``He is one of my idols. So from a little kid dreaming about playing his idol angle, that would be a really cool situation.
``Pete is still Pete. No one can take anything away from the guy. And this is his house, the U.S. Open. He's a different player here.''
In today's men's quarterfinals, No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia plays No. 20 Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco, and No. 6 Andre Agassi plays No. 32 Max Mirnyi of Belarus.
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