TENNIS / AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Sampras Powers Past Lendl

Pete Sampras praised Ivan Lendl after burying him in a fourth-round showdown of big servers today at the Australian Open.

The top-seeded Sampras served 19 aces in a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) victory over the 15th-seeded Lendl, then paid tribute to the player who helped him develop his physical and mental toughness.

When he was 17, Sampras went to Lendl’s home in Connecticut to train with the man then ranked No. 2 in the world.

“Ivan will go down as one of the greatest of all time,” said Sampras, who rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the final set against Lendl. “I used to be in awe of him.”

Lendl had 14 aces against Sampras.

No. 5 Goran Ivanisevic also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) defeat of Grant Stafford.

Top-seeded Steffi Graf dropped only three games in leading three women’s seeded players into the quarterfinals. Graf took 55 minutes to defeat France’s Sandrine Testud, 6-1, 6-2. Graf, the only woman in the field who has won the Australian Open, is seeking her fourth title at Melbourne.

Graf has reached at least the quarterfinals in 30 consecutive Grand Slam events, a streak that began with the 1985 U.S. Open. The women’s record for consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals appearances is 34 by Chris Evert.

Joining Graf in the quarterfinals was third-seeded Conchita Martinez, who overcame an early deficit to defeat 17-year-old American Chanda Rubin, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Rubin led the first set 5-2 and wasted a pair of set points.

Martinez will next play No. 10 Kimiko Date, a 7-5, 6-1 winner over Ginger Helgeson, who held her serve only three times in 10 tries.

Fourth-seeded Stefan Edberg dropped only four games Saturday while defeating Fabrice Santoro and moving into the fourth round. No. 9 Todd Martin and No. 12 Alexander Volkov also won, but No. 14 Karel Novacek was ousted by Lars Jonsson.