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Early exits continue Agassi, Sampras among survivors Down Under
Posted: Wednesday January 19, 2000 09:02 AM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- The toll of seven seeded men ousted in the first three days added weight to Pete Sampras' warning that there are no safe matches on the Australian Open's slick courts. No. 1 Andre Agassi made a few adjustments. No. 3 Sampras coped by trying to get to the net on every point. While they advanced to the third round with victories Wednesday, No. 8 Todd Martin and No. 9 Richard Krajicek left the Agassi-Sampras half of the draw with gaping holes at the top, despite expectations that their big serves would give them an edge on the resurfaced courts. Both mentioned health or injury problems, but Krajicek said the fast courts were helping even players whose serves usually aren't considered dangerous. No. 16 Mark Philippoussis, another power server, gave the Australian home fans a scare when he lost the second set and his first service game of the third. He rebounded for a 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 victory over Dutch qualifier Raemon Sluiter, serving 27 aces at speeds of up to 132 mph (211 kph). Philippoussis, who beat Sampras in an exhibition tournament last week, had struggled through a five-set first-round match Monday against another qualifier, Israel's Noam Okun. On the women's side, 1999 finalist Amelie Mauresmo lost 6-4, 6-4 to Switzerland's Patty Schnyder, but Mauresmo's problem appeared to be more the burden of expectations after she beat three of the world's top five women in winning a warm-up tournament last week. Another French player, No. 5 Nathalie Tauziat, sprayed 38 unforced errors around the court in a 7-6 (3), 6-4 loss to Canadian qualifier Sonya Jeyaseelan. Jennifer Capriati, the 1992 Olympic champion, rebounded from a game with four consecutive double-faults and outslugged No. 14 Dominique Van Roost 6-1, 4-6, 8-6. Capriati broke in the final set's first game, but then lost the sixth game from 40-0 with the string of double-faults and an errant backhand. She finished with 10 double-faults, while Van Roost had 11. After three consecutive service breaks starting in the 11th game, Capriati finally serve out the match, ending with her only ace. Agassi beat Dutch player Sjeng Schalken 7-5, 6-0, 6-3, and Sampras followed in the main stadium with a 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory over Sweden's Mikael Tillstrom. Meanwhile, Spain's Fernando Vicente won 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-3,7-5 in Martin's second five-set match here, after Martin blew a 5-2 lead in the fifth. Nicolas Escude, a 1998 Australian Open semifinalist, beat Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champion, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. On the fast courts, "balls were flying all over the place. So each match is pretty dangerous out there," Sampras said. "It's even quicker than Wimbledon in a way," said Sampras, who has six championships on the Wimbledon grass among his record-equaling 12 Grand Slam titles. "These conditions are pretty ridiculous."
He predicted changes next year following this year's barrage of complaints. "I feel pretty good out there, but it's quick tennis. I tell myself I'm coming in on just about everything. It's not easy to pass out there," Sampras added. A good serve return will be important, he said, and "the guys that are going to do well here are the guys that move well." Agassi, who lost his first service game, said he had trouble trying to dictate against Schalken's deep, solid shots. "I made the necessary adjustments to overcome what could have been a real, real difficult day, and that's always a good sign for me," he said. Martin declined to elaborate on his health problems. Krajicek said he hurt his left knee with a wrong move, and had trouble reaching Escude's wide erves. "It's not only me, but the guys with lesser serves are tougher to break," Krajicek added. "I don't think Nicolas has a huge serve, but he was hitting a lot of aces." No. 11 Tim Henman advanced when Gemany's Rainer Schuttler withdrew with a pulled stomach muscle. Earlier losers in the Agassi-Sampras half of the draw included No. 6 Thomas Enqvist, a 1999 finalist, and No. 14 Karol Kucera. In the half headed by defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, No. 5 Gustavo Kuerten, No. 13 Cedric Pioline and No. 15 Albert Costa have lost. Mauresmo committed 48 unforced errors and suffered one disastrous game in each set in her loss to Schnyder. In the first set's ninth game, the seventh-seeded Frenchwoman started with two double faults and lost her serve at love. In the second set's third game, Mauresmo again lost her serve at love on two volley errors, a forehand into the net and a double fault. "Today was one of those days you should probably stay in bed," Mauresmo said. "Of course, I'm very disappointed, but it's one of those days where nothing is really working. Every part of my game was down." Last week, in a warm-up tournament in Sydney, Mauresmo beat No. 5 Mary Pierce, No. 1 Martina Hingis and No. 2 Lindsay Davenport on her way to the title. That earned her the No. 6 ranking, her highest ever. "It's different for me to come in as a favorite, it's difficult, but it's something I might have to get used to," Mauresmo said. In Wednesday's matches, Davenport beat American compatriot Marissa Irvin 6-4, 7-5; No. 4 Mary Pierce beat France's Amelie Cocheteux 6-2, 6-2; No. 8 Amanda Coetzer completed a 6-2, 6-3 first-round victory over Russia's Tatiana Panova; No. 9 Julie Halard-Decugis defeated Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 6-3, and No. 11 Anna Kournikova beat Belarus' Natasha Zvereva 6-1, 6-4.
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