TENNIS ROUNDUP : Sampras, Ivanisevic Both Lose in Indianapolis

Pete Sampras’ overpowering serve deserted him in the second set Saturday, opening the door for Bernd Karbacher to oust him from the RCA Championships at Indianapolis.

The 12th-seeded German advanced to his first career hardcourt final with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 1-seeded Sampras.

Karbacher will meet Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist in today’s final. Enqvist, seeded fourth, also pulled off an upset, ousting No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, in the other semifinal.

The key for Karbacher came when he broke Sampras’ serve in the second set. It was the first time Sampras had lost his serve in the tournament.

Sampras said he was shaken by losing the second set “and just didn’t really regain my composure in the beginning of the third.

“It’s a match I probably should have won if I could have just stayed on top of him a little bit more in the second,” Sampras said

Sampras, ranked No. 2 in the world, entered the semifinal match on a dominant streak, winning 90% of his first-service points. But that dominance ended late in the second.

“After he broke me in the second,” Sampras said, “he really felt like he could have a chance to win it.

“He just really hit some good returns, and I was just stuck flat-footed. I was kind of digging myself in a bigger and bigger hole. That was it.”

The 27th-ranked Karbacher had never before beaten a No. 2 player. His claim to fame before this was three victories on clay over Michael Chang.

The 13th-ranked Enqvist, meanwhile, has now beaten Ivanisevic four consecutive weeks. Ivanisevic, from Croatia, said Saturday’s match was was his worst performance of the four.

“We both played pretty bad,” he said, “but in the end he played better.”

Ivanisevic served up 12 aces, but Enqvist had 14.

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Andre Agassi continued his command of the hardcourts by defeating Mats Wilander, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the final of the Volvo International at New Haven, Conn.

Standing in the way of Agassi’s seventh title this year is Dutchman Richard Krajicek, who upset fourth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 6-4, 6-4, in the earlier semifinal.

Agassi wasn’t sharp in the early going against Wilander, a former No. 1 player, and his victory didn’t come as quickly and cleanly as did his first three victories this week at the Connecticut Tennis Center.

Agassi lost his service twice, doubling the number of breaks he has had in the tournament. He also missed eight of 13 chances to break Wilander, who survived with the help of seven well-placed aces, which ranged from as slow as 79 m.p.h. to as fast as 119 m.p.h.

Agassi found his rhythm in the second set and began delivering his returns with the power and precision that has made him almost unbeatable on the hardcourts.

Agassi is 45-2 on hardcourts this year and has won 19 consecutive matches.