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Continuing the trend Sampras wins, Kuerten becomes latest upset victim
Posted: Saturday July 01, 2000 10:40 PM
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Pete Sampras overcame a sore shin and slow start Saturday, playing with his characteristic brilliance on grass to overwhelm Justin Gimelstob 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 Saturday at Wimbledon. The third-round victory alleviated doubts about Sampras' ailing left leg. Acute tendinitis sent him to the hospital for treatment following a victory Wednesday over Karol Kucera. "It's sore," Sampras said. "It'll probably continue to be sore. I've just got to find a way to play on it." The top-seeded Sampras is bidding for a 13th Grand Slam title, which would break the men's record he shares with Roy Emerson. He gets a day to rest before playing unseeded Jonas Bjorkman in the fourth round Monday. "I'm here to complete the tournament, win or lose," Sampras said. The only other seeded player in his half of the draw is No. 9 Thomas Enqvist, and the elimination of French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten left only four seeded players in the other half. No. 4 Kuerten, bothered by a head cold, lost to unseeded German Alexander Popp 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, 6-1. Second-seeded Andre Agassi, who could meet Sampras in the final, beat Jerome Golmard 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. In the final match of the day, No. 10 Mark Philippoussis won the longest men's set at Wimbledon in the open era, beating Sjeng Schalken, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-4), 20-18. "I feel I've just been punched to death for five hours," Philippoussis said. "A match like that, it's tough for someone to lose." The match lasted about five hours. The previous longest men's set came in Paul McNamee's 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 1-6, 19-17 victory over Todd Nelson in the first round in 1987. British hopeful Tim Henman, seeded eighth, beat Hicham Arazi 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Following two days of rest, Sampras was rusty at the start against Gimelstob, double-faulting four times to lose the second game, falling behind 3-0 and looking tentative and listless. The Centre Court crowd, which included such legends as Rod "the Rocket" Laver and Bjorn Borg in the royal box, watched in dismay. "I looked up and saw Bjorn and the Rocket," Sampras said. "The first set I wasn't too proud that they were watching. At one point I wanted to throw my racket up there so they could play for me." Then Sampras began to play better. The six-time Wimbledon champion earned his first service break with a perfect backhand passing shot for a 5-4 lead in the second set. He served out the set, then broke again for a 2-1 lead in the third set. By that point, Sampras was moving quickly and covering the net beautifully. In one game he hit a trio of backhand volleys crosscourt for winners, including a lunging shot at ankle level so impressive that both he and Gimelstob cracked a smile. "I'd rather play him not injured than injured," Gimelstob said. "Have you ever seen him lose when he's injured? He's a great player. His game seems to thrive on playing injured." Gimelstob was unable to put much pressure on Sampras and had a few clumsy moments. Early in the third set, he raced forward to put away a backhand, but after hitting ball continued forward and tumbled over the net -- an embarrassing pratfall that cost him the point. Kuerten fared no better. He called for a trainer in the second set and looked sluggish the rest of the way against the 6-foot-7 Popp, playing in his first Wimbledon. "I wasn't too strong," said Kuerten, sniffling during a news conference. "I felt a little bit tired. I just feel sore a little bit. I had a bad cold for a few days, and it got me bad yesterday. Maybe because I lost the first set, I didn't see myself with a chance." Popp, 23, has an English mother and a British passport but claims German nationality and lives in Sandhausen. His ranking has climbed 300 places since the beginning of 1999, from 414th to 114th. "This is probably the nicest day of my life up to now," Popp said. "He really played better than me," Kuerten said. "He deserves to win." The loss ended Kuerten's bid to win the men's French Open and Wimbledon titles in the same year, a feat last achieved by Bjorn Borg in 1980. The defeat also napped Kuerten's 15-match winning streak, longest on the ATP Tour this year. The 6-foot-7 Popp's next opponent will be Marc Rosset, also 6-7. Rosset outlasted Tommy Haas 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 9-7. No. 12 seed Patrick Rafter beat Rainer Schuttler 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. "I'm very determined," said Rafter, who had shoulder surgery in October. "I'm very focused. It's been a while since I felt like that." In women's play, second-seeded defending champion Lindsay Davenport beat Paola Suarez 6-4, 6-2. No. 6 Monica Seles eased past Sarah Pitkowski 6-0, 6-3. Jelena Dokic, a surprise quarterfinalist last year, defeated American qualifier Brie Rippner 6-2, 6-1. Unseeded Jennifer Capriati, briefly distracted by music from a nearby brass band, rallied to beat Yayuk Basuki 7-6 (7-4), 6-0. No. 5 Venus Williams beat Nathalie Dechy 6-0, 7-6 (7-4). No. 9 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario rallied past Sandra Nacuk 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Capriati, playing on Court 3, fell behind 5-2 and refused to continue until allowed to speak with a tournament official. Assistant referee Tony Gathercole was quickly dispatched to the court, and Capriati complained to him about the brass band performing on the adjacent Centre Court. "I can't play with this stuff," she said. "Turn it off." "I'll see what I can do," Gathercole responded. The match resumed, moments later the music ceased, and Capriati began her comeback. She won three consecutive games to pull even. In the tiebreaker, Basuki took a 4-2 lead, then hit several errant shots as Capriati won the final five points. Capriati easily took the second set. She didn't blame the band music for her slow start but said it showed disrespect to players on the outer courts. "They're really maybe not thinking about the other players," she said. "I think they could choose another time maybe to do that kind of thing. It was pretty loud. I think it was pretty annoying for all the players." Capriati, 24, is enjoying her best at the All England Club since 1993. She'll play Davenport in the fourth round.
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