Sampras Loses to Berger in His First Match Since Winning the U.S. Open

Pete Sampras, who won the U.S. Open Sunday, was defeated by Jay Berger Thursday at the All American Tennis Championships.

Sampras, who lost, 6-0, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), had trouble on the clay courts.

The tournament was played on clay because one competitor, Michael Chang, will be on clay next week during U.S. Davis Cup play in Austria, officials said.

“Jay’s a very good competitor, especially on clay,” Sampras said. “I started off real slow. I had absolutely no timing.”

In other first-round action in the $210,000 tournament, Chang defeated Tim Mayotte, 6-1, 6-4, and Aaron Krickstein beat Richey Reneberg, 6-2, 6-1.

The event , which is now in its ninth year, only has American contestants. The field consists of eight men and four women.

Berger, the defending tournament champion, said of Sampras: “Clay is not his best surface.” Berger also said: “Pete has been through a couple of tough weeks and I’ve had a week off. And although he’s the U.S. Open champion, it was nice to see he hasn’t changed. There’s no aura around him like Lendl, mainly because I’ve known Pete for a long time.”

Women’s competition starts today, with U.S. Open quarter-finalist Mary Joe Fernandez taking on Amy Frazier and Ann Grossman meeting defending tournament champion Kathy Rinaldi, the Amelia Island touring pro.