Slam Dream Is Slammed by Courier : French Open: Sampras, seeking to win fourth consecutive Grand Slam event, loses in quarterfinals.

Pete Sampras’ quest to make tennis history was laid to rest Tuesday on the parched red clay of Roland Garros Stadium, where the harder the world’s top-ranked player hit the ball, the harder he fell.

Attempting to become the first man in 25 years to win four consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, Sampras misplayed the big points in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Jim Courier in the quarterfinals of the French Open.

In a repeat of last year’s five-set final, Courier will play Sergi Bruguera of Spain in Friday’s semifinals. The sixth-seeded Bruguera, who has yet to lose a set, rolled past No. 4 Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5, in the quarterfinals. Courier has a 4-1 record against Bruguera, the only loss coming here in last year’s title match.

Courier’s record against Sampras had been dismal.

With a chance to join Don Budge and Rod Laver as the only men to hold all the major titles simultaneously, Sampras was hoping for a breakthrough this week after losing in the quarterfinals here the previous two years.

Instead, he lost for the first time in 26 Grand Slam matches, giving a performance that if not quite lackluster, was definitely lacking.

“I’m kind of down and disappointed,” Sampras said. “To win four in a row would have been something that would have been written about for years.”

Courier, who had not defeated Sampras in 18 months, arrived on Center Court displaying the same dogged determination that had earned him French Open titles in 1991 and ’92. And he could not have been more pleased when Sampras played tentatively, content to stand on the baseline and bang away.

Big mistake.

Although Sampras is capable of powerful ground strokes, he is less effective on the clay than Courier.

Both players agreed that the surface made a difference, although the first summer-like weather in nine days of action made the courts quicker, which could have allowed Sampras to use his devastating serve-and-volley game.

But with his first serve deserting him, Sampras tried to compensate with big forehands, and that’s Courier’s forte. “I was in a lot more rallies and I was able to be the dictator rather than being the person dictated to,” Courier said.

Although Sampras had lost only twice this year, he was not necessarily the favorite. Courier has a 25-1 record at Roland Garros since 1991 and is on course to reach the final for the fourth consecutive year.

His play against Sampras could be one of those moments that turns a player’s career. Once the world’s No. 1 player, Courier has struggled for the past year as his intensity dropped along with his interest.

“It’s certainly a good one for my head,” Courier said. “It has been a long time since I have won a big match in a big tournament like this against a top player.”

Although neither player could find a comfortable rhythm at the start, Courier looked the more confident. And Sampras seemed to spend more time fidgeting with his rackets than trying to find a way to solve his opponent’s shots.

Sampras had seven new rackets for the match, and because of the warm weather, the string tension was soft. So, Sampras kept sending the rackets to the locker room to have the tension adjusted.

It was not racket tension that kept the match close, however. Sampras seemed to gain confidence by saving two break points that would have given Courier a 4-1 lead in the second set. Sampras broke service for the first time in the next game when Courier double-faulted and suddenly took command by tying the score.

But in the third set, his timidity returned. Then the match seemed to turn on the ninth game. Sampras took a 40-15 lead before Courier fought back. When Sampras double-faulted on game point, Courier saw an opening. He won the game on the second break point when Sampras hit a half-volley into the net, then served out the set with an ace on set point.

Sampras was not through, however. He started hitting the ball more crisply in the fourth set and looked as if he would rally. But in the seventh game, with Sampras serving to go ahead, 4-3, he double-faulted on game point again. Sampras saved three break points but hit a forehand long on the fourth and was broken.

“If we were to do it all over again, I’d come in more, play serve-and-volley more,” Sampras said. “The clay limited my serve and helped his forehand. . . . But I can win here one year. I really believe that.”