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Close call Sampras survives five-set scare at Roland Garros
Posted: Wednesday May 26, 1999 01:26 AM
PARIS (AP) -- Trying for the 10th time to win the one Grand Slam title that eludes him, Pete Sampras came to the brink of elimination Tuesday but pulled out a five-setter against a player who had never won a match in a major tournament. Sampras defeated No. 92-ranked Juan Antonio Marin of Costa Rica, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, closing out the match on a netted backhand by his opponent. His legs cramping, Sampras double-faulted at two key points -- including at match point in the fourth set. He appeared headed toward early elimination in the French once again, similar to his second-round loss last year to No. 97 Ramon Delgado of Paraguay. As he has so many times in Paris, Sampras came up against a player with nothing to lose, when he himself was clearly not at his best. Sampras double-faulted on set point before losing the first-set tiebreaker. But after coming back to take the next two sets, the fourth turned into an uphill fight, with the crowd trying to pump him up, yelling "Allez, Pete!" Between points, Sampras knelt low to loosen up his leg muscles. Serving at 4-5, he saved two break points to even the set at 5-5. Then, serving at 5-6, 30-15, he blew an easy volley for 30-30, but managed to take the game and force a tiebreaker. As Sampras' fans groaned in frustration, Marin built up a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker. Sampras saved three set points to reach 6-6, then saved a fourth to get to 7-7. A service winner gave him match point at 8-7, and it appeared he'd won a long rally with a cross-court winner. But Marin fired a backhand down the line to save the match. The crowd gave the Costa Rican a standing ovation as he raised his arms in triumph. Sampras had another match point at 9-8, but he double-faulted for 9-9, then netted a volley for 10-9, giving Marin a mini-break and a set point. Sampras then hit a forehand approach shot that he thought was good but was ruled wide, giving Marin the set. Sampras was loudly booed when he contested the call. In the deciding fifth set, Sampras went up a break for 2-0, but Marin converted on his second break point in the next game to bring the players back on serve at 2-1. With Marin serving at 3-4, Sampras had a break point, but failed to convert. He finally won the match when he broke Marin at 5-4, his first match point in the fifth set. In a good day for the top women, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport all advanced easily Tuesday at the French Open.
Also winning was Jennifer Capriati, just days after she won her first title in over six years. Graf, a five-time champion here, was making her 16th appearance on the red clay of Roland Garros, where she hasn't lost before the quarters in her last 12 tries. She had to skip the French Open last year due to one of her many injuries. After beating Magdalena Maleeva 6-2, 6-0, Graf indicated she isn't quite convinced she can return to the form that brought her 21 career Grand Slam titles. "Do I believe I can do it? I think I can, you know," she said. "I probably just need to believe in it a little more." Third-seeded Monica Seles, a three-time winner here, also advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Fang Li of China. Seles was asked about last year's disappointing loss in the finals to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. "Thank goodness my memory is not long," she said. "That day was very difficult. I tried to learn from it." Davenport, seeded second, made easy work of fellow American Jane Chi, winning 6-3, 6-1. And Capriati, making a comeback of sorts, also won easily over Virginia Ruano-Pascal of Spain, 6-2, 6-3. With an affectionate crowd behind him, former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten powered his way into the second round with a straight-set victory over Galo Blanco of Spain. Kuerten has been having the best year on clay of anyone on the tour, and it showed in his methodic victory, with sharp groundstrokes punctated by delicate drop shots. "It couldn't have been better today," Kuerten said after his 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win. "I played my best tennis, and everybody is treating me so well." In other play, the men's third seed, Patrick Rafter, dropped a set to Switzerland's Roger Federer but then had no trouble, winning 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2. But his countryman Mark Philippoussis lost to fellow Australian Jason Stoltenberg, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-1. 16th-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden advanced, as did his compatriot Magnus Larsson, who scored a minor upset over 11th-seeded Karol Kucera of Slovakia. Mary Pierce of France, seeded 8th, defeated Joannette Kruger of South Africa, 6-4, 6-3.
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