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Almost Wayne's world Sampras escapes Black's upset bid; Agassi rolls
Posted: Friday January 21, 2000 12:00 AM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- At the start, Pete Sampras didn't like the way he was playing. At the end, Wayne Black didn't like the way Sampras was serving. Once again, Sampras saved a match after losing the first two sets, beating Black 6-7 (9), 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 Friday and advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open. "When you're not finding your range, you're going to struggle," Sampras said after keeping alive his chances for a record 13th Grand Slam tournament title. "But I still have to remember who I am and the fact that I've got one of the best serve-and-volley games in the world." He has a perfect record in five-set matches in the Australian Open -- 8-0 -- and has won five times after being down 2-0 in sets in Grand Slam tournaments. "It's nice to have that record and be able to go the distance. ... But I'd much rather make this a little bit easier on myself," he said. No. 1 Andre Agassi did make things easy on himself, breaking service early in each set in a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Argentina's Mariano Zabaleta. Zabaleta served at speeds up to 209 kph (131 mph), but some of his blasts came back at a pace he couldn't handle. Agassi, who has not lost a set in three rounds, gave up only one point on his service in the second set. As if breaking Zabaleta in the third set's first game were not enough, he began the next game by hitting a lob winner after sprinting right, left and right again to chase down attacking shots by the Argentine player. Agassi next faces another big server, No. 16 Mark Philippoussis, who beat fellow Australian Andrew Ilie 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-1. Against Sampras, Black held two break points at 1-1 in the third set, but Sampras saved them with an ace -- one of 36 for the day -- and a service winner. "He stepped up his serve. I just couldn't touch it for a set and a half," Black said. On those break points, "I panicked a little bit when I got them," Black added. But he said he came out of the match with a big boost in confidence. Sampras is likely to meet Black again in the United States' Davis Cup meeting with Zimbabwe next month in Harare. Asked what new Davis Cup captain John McEnroe might have been saying after a performance like his first two sets Friday, Sampras replied: "You're playing like the pits of the world." Sampras was shaking his head at times after 20 unforced errors in the first set and 12 more in the second on a court he said is the fastest he has ever played on, and much too fast for defensive play. One overhit shot wiped out one of two set points he held in the first set, and another set up Black's fourth set point. Black won the set by ripping a serve return down the line as Sampras charged in. "Wayne played smart," Sampras said. "He definitely kept me on my heels and made me do a lot of running." After losing two sets, Sampras served 25 aces in the last three. In all, he said, "I don't think I've ever served this many aces in a match. ... That's just a result of how fast [the court] is." Meanwhile, "I was hitting the ball better in the fifth set. ... Hopefully, that can continue to my next match." With nine of the 16 seeded men already gone, the third-seeded Sampras next faces Czech player Slava Dosedel, ranked 63rd at the end of last year. Then he might face No. 11 Tim Henman, a 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) winner Friday over France's Sebastien Grosjean. Also in the same half of the draw are Agassi and Philippoussis. Henman next plays American Chris Woodruff, a 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (6) winner over Australian Richard Fromberg. France's Nicolas Escude, who bet No. 9 Richard Krajicek in the second round, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 18-year-old Swede Andreas Vinciguerra. He will meet Morocco's Hicham Arazi, who beat Spain's Fernando Vicente 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. In women's matches, No. 2 Lindsay Davenport still has not dropped a set after trouncing Russian qualifier Alina Jidkova 6-0, 6-1 in 45 minutes. Jidkova received an ovation when she finally won the second set's fifth game. In the round of 16, Davenport plays No. 11 Anna Kournikova, a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner over Czech player Kveta Hrdlickova. No. 4 Mary Pierce also has not lost a set. She beat Dutch player Miriam Oremans 6-2, 6-4 and next faces Japan's Ai Sugiyama, a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 winner over Sweden's Asa Carlsson. No. 9 Julie Halard-Decugis defeated Russian Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Her next opponent is Germany's Jana Kandarr, who beat Canada's Sonya Jeyaseelan 6-2, 0-6, 6-3. Jennifer Capriati and Patty Schnyder, both making comebacks, will meet in the fourth round after Capriati beat China's Yi Jingqian 6-4, 6-4 and Schnyder downed Russian Nadejda Petrova 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2. Four seeded women are missing from their half of the draw. Schnyder knocked out No. 7 Amelie Mauresmo, the losing 1999 finalist who defeated Pierce, Martina Hingis and Davenport in a warmup tournament last week. Capriati beat No. 14 Dominique Van Roost.
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