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Winning ways Sampras continues strong play in Toronto
TORONTO (AP) -- Pete Sampras' bid to tune up for this month's U.S. Open went much smoother Wednesday. A day after the No. 2 seed struggled through three sets to defeat Michael Llodra, Sampras ousted Karin Alami 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the second round of the $2.95 million Tennis Masters Series-Canada at the National Tennis Center. It was only Sampras' second time on a court since winning Wimbledon last month, his record 13th Grand Slam tournament title. He will now face Sargis Sargsian -- ranked 78th in the world -- on Thursday. "It wasn't easy," said Sampras, whose best finish in five previous trips to Toronto was second in 1995. "But after I won the first set, I think he got a little down on himself and I raised my level just a touch. It was a lot smoother." Planning to compete in one or possibly two more events, Sampras said the best way to gear up for the U.S. Open is to get on a roll. "When you win, it helps confidence. It builds an aura about yourself and guys know you're playing well so there's a little more fear in my opponent's eyes," he said. "That's my goal, to try to win here." Sampras, the Masters Series' all-time leader with 11 titles, is the clear favorite to win considering how the event's top seeds continue to drop out. Only two of the series top five seeds -- and four of the top 10 -- remain after top-seeded Andre Agassi and No. 3 Magnus Norman were knocked out in the first round on Monday. Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten -- seeded fourth -- was the latest to go, losing 7-6 (4), 6-4 to Canadian Sebastien Lareau. After falling behind 5-2 in the first set, Lareau -- a wild-card entry playing before a supportive crowd at center court -- rallied back against Kuerten, who won the Tennis Masters Series tournament in Hamburg, Germany, in May. "I was just so happy," Lareau said in knocking off the defending French Open champion. "It was just a great feeling to get my biggest accomplishment here in Canada. I was happy, relieved all of that at the same time." Lareau, from Boucherville, Quebec, entered the event ranked No. 137 in the ATP Tour's rolling 52-week rankings. Other top seeds to fall Wednesday were No. 7 Lleyton Hewitt, who lost 6-3, 7-6 (5) to Sebastien Grosjean, and No. 11 Nicolas Kiefer, who lost 6-2, 7-5 to Jiri Novak. Seeds advancing were: No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who beat Max Mirnyi 6-4, 6-4; No. 6 Thomas Enqvist, who beat Andrew Ilie 6-3, 6-2; No. 8 Marat Safin, who beat Andrei Pavel 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-0; No. 12 Juan Carlos Ferrero who beat Gaston Gaudio 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3; No. 14 Patrick Rafter, who beat Karol Kucera 6-3, 7-5; and No. 17 Nicolas Escude who defeated Cyril Saulnier 7-6 (5), 6-7 (8), 6-2. Rafter hasn't been surprised by the upsets. "Every time you walk on the court, you find it's going to be a lottery," Rafter said. "It's the way the men's tour is. You got 50 guys out there that anybody can lose to, especially on hard court." Against Alami, ranked 43rd in the world, Sampras looked in control throughout the match, never losing service while recording 18 aces. Sampras, who said he's over the shin splints that bothered him at Wimbledon, pulled away early in the second set when Alami ran into trouble. Tied 1-1, Sampras broke Alami's service when Alami double faulted. Ahead 3-2, Sampras then gave up only four points the rest of the way. "It was kind of touch-and-go there in the first set, but once I got it, I felt pretty good," Sampras said. "It's a good one to get through. Yesterday was a struggle, but I feel my game is where I want it to be."
In other matches: Wayne Ferreira defeated Thomas Johansson 6-4, 6-3; Marcelo Rios beat Arnaud Clement 6-4, 7-6 (5); Jerome Golmard, who eliminated Andre Agassi on Tuesday in the first round, beat Paradorn Srichaphan 6-3, 6-2; Richard Krajicek defeated Michael Chang 6-2, 7-5; Harel Levy beat Stefan Koubek 6-1, 6-3; and Sargsian beat Simon Larose 6-3, 6-2.
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