Sampras Shows It Doesn't Have to Be a Struggle

By RANDY HARVEY

June 30, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

WIMBLEDON, England — Unlike Wednesday for Pete Sampras, there were no lost service games, no dramatic fifth sets, no reputations made against him. Remember Barry Cowan? The English certainly do. On Friday, the country’s new hero still was signing autographs because he almost defeated Sampras.

Meantime, Sampras was on to Wimbledon’s third round against Sargis Sargsian, who was not destined to become the Barry Cowan of his native Armenia.

He was merely another Sampras victim, the seven-time champion’s 31st consecutive at the All England Club. His winning streak is tied with Rod Laver’s as the second-longest here behind Bjorn Borg’s 41. Sampras’ Wimbledon record since his first title in 1993 is 56-1.

He had a brief flashback to Wednesday at 6-5 in the third set. Against Cowan, he won the first two sets, then lost a third-set tiebreaker to give the Englishman--the world’s 265th-ranked player--hope. But Sampras dashed the 124th-ranked Sargsian’s, breaking him in the 12th game of the set to close out a 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory on Court One.

Sampras was so relaxed that he even allowed himself a rare moment of levity. After he slipped on the grass in the third set, a ball bounced into his shorts and lodged there. When the ball boy came to retrieve the ball, Sampras told him he could have it if he wanted to get it. The ball boy declined.

Asked later if he was worried that his joke might have been in poor taste, Sampras said, “Sure, yeah, yeah. You know, it was a funny moment. I didn’t want to let it slip away, wanted to take advantage of that personality that I have.”

Sampras, 29, has the weekend off before returning to face one of the tour’s promising young players, Roger Federer, 19, of Switzerland. After his victory Friday over Jonas Bjorkman, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (2), the 15th-seeded Federer said it was his dream to meet Sampras on Center Court. That will likely happen Monday.

Another young player, U.S. Open champion Marat Safin, 21, of Russia, also advanced to the fourth round, but he wasn’t very pleased with his play in a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 6-3 victory over David Prinosil. Safin lost his temper and broke his racket--supposedly not easy to do on grass--after losing a service game that would have given him the match in the third set.

“They break very fast, believe me, on any surface,” he said.

Still another of the game’s new wave, Andy Roddick, 18, of Boca Raton, Fla. (via Omaha), lost to Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic.

Although Ivanisevic is a three-time runner-up and Roddick was playing in his first Wimbledon, Roddick was considered to have a better-than-even chance based on their form in recent months. Ivanisevic is still only 29, but a chronic shoulder injury has forced him to consider retirement. He was invited here as a wild card, meaning he hasn’t been playing well enough to earn a place in the draw.

But he looked like the Ivanisevic of old Friday, maybe better, by serving 41 aces and winning, 7-6 (5), 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Still, the match might have gone the other way if Roddick hadn’t hit an ill-advised drop shot during the first-set tiebreaker that Ivanisevic easily handled. It was an indication of Roddick’s inexperience. He wasn’t overpowered--he won the third set even with Ivanisevic connecting on 79% of his first serves--but was not as sharp tactically. That probably will come with time.

Ivanisevic was so relieved that he celebrated by ripping his shirt over his head and waving it on Court 1.

But now he must face another hard server in Britain’s Greg Rusedski, who defeated the No. 8 seed, Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-1, 6-1, 6-4. Ivanisevic and Roddick had first serves recorded at a high of 130 and 133, respectively. Rusedski’s best was 138.

The other remaining British player, No. 6-seeded Tim Henman, lost the first set on Center Court to Sjeng Schalken, but composed himself to win, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

If anything has been proven during the first week, it is that the men’s game is far deeper in competitive players than the women’s, although the impression probably is different because of the number of closely bunched players at the top of the women’s draw.

No. 1 Martina Hingis was upset on the first day by 84th-ranked Virginia Ruano Pascual. Since then, the highly seeded women have hardly been tested. No. 4 Jennifer Capriati, seeking her third Grand Slam title of the year, played one of her worst matches in months Friday but still defeated 32nd-seeded Tatiana Panova, 6-4, 6-4.

Capriati said she was lethargic because of the damp conditions. That was not a hindrance for No. 5 Serena Williams, who disposed of Emmanuelle Gagliardi, 6-1, 6-2, in 49 minutes.

She was asked about Capriati’s comeback. They will meet in the quarterfinals if they win in the next round. But Williams didn’t seem interested in the topic.

“I really wasn’t paying attention to the question,” she said. “Sorry. I don’t focus well.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Featured Matches

Today at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (Play begins on Center Court and Court 1 at 5 a.m. PDT); all other courts at 4 a.m.):

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* Lleyton Hewitt (5), Australia, vs. Younes El Aynaoui, Morocco

* Elena Likhovtseva, Russia, vs. Venus Williams (2)

* Hicham Arazi, Morocco, vs. Patrick Rafter (3), Australia

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* Patty Schnyder, Switzerland, vs. Lindsay Davenport (3)

* Jelena Dokic (14), Yugoslavia, vs. Barbara Schett, Austria

* Nicolas Massu, Chile, vs. Andre Agassi (2)