Sampras Back in Clover (or at Least Grass) : Wimbledon: Defeat of clay can come later, for now he is quite at home on a greener surface, as Braasch discovers in first-round loss.

Like a man who has wandered too long in a barren, unforgiving land, Pete Sampras has found an oasis at the green, ivy-laced grounds of the All England Club--home to both the Wimbledon Championships and, figuratively, Sampras.

The two-time defending Wimbledon champion left memories of his disastrous clay-court season in the dust and, on Centre Court, won his first-round match Monday--something he was unable to do in the French Open, with its diabolical red clay courts.

His return to grass courts seemed to work like a tonic on Sampras, who left Paris frustrated and puzzled by his first-round loss to Gilbert Schaller, ranked No. 128 in the world. Sampras had dedicated the early part of this season to mastering clay and winning the French Open, the only Grand Slam event he has not won.

Sampras has already proved his mastery of grass, a fast surface that complements his powerful serve and offers tantalizing volley opportunities. That was emphasized again last week with his victory in the Queens Club grass-court tournament in London.

Sampras’ successful return to the familiar grounds here--on a sunny and bright summer opening day--had a noticeably buoyant affect on him.

So did his 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (7-2), 6-4, 6-1 victory over the pesky Karsten Braasch of Germany.

“I tried to forget about what happened at the French and what happened during the clay-court season, put it behind me and start fresh on grass,” Sampras said. “I got to Queens early. It gave me a lot of confidence to win both singles and doubles.

“It was pretty good to get on a grass court. I was on the clay for 2 1/2 months--which may have been too long for me. I’ll re-evaluate my schedule for next year and, hopefully, can play a bit better at the French.”

Small wonder that, for Sampras, grass is always the greenest surface. His determined clay-court campaign yielded a 3-5 match record--a frustrating outcome considering that he changed his schedule extensively to become more comfortable on clay.

But his record on grass suggests that he is more at home there. Sampras has won 23 of his last 24 matches on grass and 14 in a row.

Braasch, on the other hand, has lost his last eight. The draws at the Grand Slam tournaments aren’t helping Braasch improve his record. At the U.S. Open last year, he was bounced from the first round by the moderately ranked MaliVai Washington. This year he lost in the first round to 11th-seeded Wayne Ferreira at the Australian Open. At the French Open he drew top-seeded Andre Agassi, and lost in the first round.

On Monday, Braasch again ran into a top player, as those ranked No. 119 are likely to do.

Still, he extended Sampras to 2 hours 35 minutes and withstood a barrage of 20 aces from the tournament’s second-seeded player.

As Braasch plays top players and gains exposure, his serve becomes better known. His twisting service motion has been likened to windmill caught in a hurricane. It baffled Sampras and took away his normally sharp service return.

“He is a crafty player,” Sampras said, then used the word several more times to describe Braasch. “He’s got a pretty good lefty serve. It takes a while to get into a groove. It’s different. A little bit unorthodox. It’s got a good spin and it’s tough to read.”

Sampras started slowly and didn’t close out the first set until he faced his fourth set point. Braasch outplayed Sampras in the second-set tiebreaker and Sampras looked vulnerable.

“After I lost that second set, I wasn’t a happy camper,” Sampras said. “I needed to regain my composure and start to string in a couple of returns. I really didn’t get my rhythm out there until I broke him in the third.”

Sampras gained speed as the match progressed, so that the fourth set was a 22-minute foregone conclusion.

As a player, Braasch is limited. But as a personality, he is brash, confident and funny. He’s considered an eccentric because he has interests outside the game--such as smoking. Braasch, who looks the picture of athletic good health, is a voracious consumer of cigarettes.

A few years ago at the Australian Open, he was in the midst of a nerve-twisting match. When he sat down between changeovers, he did what smokers often do under stress--tried to bum a cigarette. From the chair umpire.

Braasch was told, in rather terse terms, that if he did manage to find a cigarette and chose to light it up courtside, he would be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Since there’s no specific rule against smoking on court, there was talk that the tour would draft a “Braasch rule,” prohibiting the practice.

Braasch also showed up to play in a tournament at Vienna, only to be told he wasn’t entered. Try Lyon, France, he was advised. He did. They let him play and to his relief, Braasch won his first-round match.