U.S. OPEN / WEDNESDAY’S MATCHES : Sampras’ Ankle Is Fine and so Is His Game

The most famous ankle since Cyd Charisse’s passed its first test here Wednesday, when Pete Sampras easily danced his way through a first-round match in the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

Sampras’ opponent was a qualifier named Kevin Ullyett of South Africa, ranked No. 206 in the world. But the real opponent was an injured left ankle that has kept Sampras out of competition since July 17 and has stirred up both speculation and hope on the men’s tour that the longtime star of their show may be tapped out.

Not so. This one was clearly a Broadway smash, as Sampras went through Ullyett, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, in 1 hour 25 minutes on the Stadium Court.

Sampras’ stellar matinee performance was followed up nicely by a packed-house evening session for Michael Chang and MaliVai Washington. And neither disappointed the gathered sellout of 20,529.

Chang, the sixth-seeded Californian, who lists his residence as Henderson, Nev., most likely for tax purposes, won a fourth-set tiebreaker to finish out the 3-hour 2-minute match well after midnight. The score was 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) and the long rallies that transpired were no surprise to anybody.

“People realize when they come and see us, that they’ll see lots of balls hit from the backcourt,” said Chang, who beat Washington here in 1992 in five sets.

After the Sampras match--since he appeared to be as good as ever and as far above the rest of the field as he has been in winning here two of the last four years--the discussion centered somewhat on perceptions.

Did he feel vulnerable going into the match?

“A little bit,” he said. “I felt a little vulnerable coming in here, but it’s like riding a bike. You’re not going to learn--you always remember how to play.”

Sampras remembered enough to hit 10 aces, 38 winners and take the point when he got his first serve in 95% of the time, or 36 of 38 points.

Ullyett, 22, making only his second appearance in a Grand Slam event, was asked if there was an element of awe involved in playing Sampras.

“Definitely,” he said.

Sampras’ injury has been diagnosed, most recently, as calcium deposits on the ankle, a condition that, while painful, should improve with time and not seriously impede his march toward a third title here. Sampras said afterward that the ankle was fine; the match said the same thing.

U.S. Open Notes

Seeded women Anke Huber (14) and Amy Frazier (16) were ousted, and the Nos. 2, 8 and 9 players passed tough tests. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario beat France’s Nathalie Tauziat with a second-set tiebreaker that went to 8-6; Gabriela Sabatini was pushed to 6-1 in the third against Meredith McGrath, and Mary Joe Fernandez got through a 7-4 tiebreaker in the third to advance past former Stanford star Patty Fendick. . . . Huber, of Germany, lost to Leila Meskhi of the Republic of Georgia, 6-2, 6-2, and Frazier, winner of the Manhattan Beach tournament three weeks ago, went out to Natalia Medvedeva of Ukraine, 6-2, 6-7 (7-3), 6-4. . . . Lori McNeil, who had been an upset victim Tuesday in singles, dropped out of the women’s and mixed doubles Wednesday with an injury. . . . Besides Pete Sampras and Michael Chang, the only other seeded men’s players scheduled were No. 8 Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine, who beat Gilbert Schaller of Austria, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0, and No. 14 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, who beat Jacco Eltingh of the Netherlands, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 6-3.