Tillstrom Upsets Muster, Advances to Quarterfinals

Thomas Muster, ranked third in the world, was eliminated from the Australian Open on Sunday, losing to lowly ranked Swede Mikael Tillstrom in a fourth-round upset and leaving Andre Agassi on track to regain the No. 1 spot.

The Austrian’s stunning defeat by the 105th-ranked Tillstrom followed Pete Sampras’s drubbing late Saturday at the hands of unseeded Australian teenager Mark Philippoussis.

Philippoussis’ run ended Monday, when he lost to fellow Aussie Mark Woodforde, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

Muster, a clay-court specialist, never looked comfortable against the finesse of Tillstrom, who sprinkled the court with drop shots and kept the third-seeded player on the defensive throughout the match to win, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Tillstrom advanced to a quarterfinal showdown with Michael Chang, leaving defending Australian champion Agassi needing a quarterfinal victory over fellow American Jim Courier to steal the No. 1 spot.

Under the complex ATP rankings system, Muster would take the No. 1 mantle if Agassi lost--something the Austrian feels he deserves despite his loss to Tillstrom.

Muster dismissed suggestions that he did not warrant the top position.

“Whatever the computer prints out, that’s No. 1,” he said. “I don’t think there is a No. 1 who doesn’t deserve it. It’s not as if you buy your points in a supermarket.”

Muster, like Sampras, gave no excuses for his early exit from the year’s first Grand Slam event and said an ankle injury in the previous round had not hampered his game.

“I can lose even without injuries,” he said, adding that it was Tillstrom’s subtle drop shots that had swayed the game.

On Monday, Yevgeny Kafelnikov blasted past MaliVai Washington, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals.

“I’ve got $10 that says you’ll win,” a television interviewer told Kafelnikov as he walked off court.

“Make it $100, I won’t disappoint you,” Kafelnikov responded.

Shyness and insecurity are not problems for Kafelnikov, even if players like Agassi say he ought to prove himself a little more before popping off.

“The player who I never won against is out of the tournament, Pete Sampras,” Kafelnikov said. “Everybody else, I beat them. So why can’t I win the Australian Open? I feel like I am in very good shape now. I am completely satisfied with the whole aspect of my game, and I’ve got enough confidence to win it.”

No. 7 Thomas Enqvist of Sweden also moved into the quarterfinals, beating Italy’s Renzo Furlan, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3.

Woodforde, ranked No. 67 in the world, hadn’t gone beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam event since he started in 1985, but he sliced and diced the 19-year-old Philippoussis. Philippoussis, who had 29 aces against Sampras, managed only 12 against Woodforde.

A frustrated Philippoussis had 45 errors to Woodforde’s 16.

In women’s fourth-round matches, No. 2 Conchita Martinez beat No. 10 Lindsay Davenport, 6-3, 6-1, and No. 16 Amanda Coetzer defeated Elena Likhovtseva, 6-3, 6-3.

Davenport had trouble keeping her groundstrokes in play and staying with the heavy top spin shots of Martinez. Davenport made more than three times as many unforced errors (34-10) and never really pressured the 1994 Wimbledon champion, who was a semifinalist in all four Grand Slam events last year.

Australian Open Notes

Nick Bollettieri says he is stepping aside as coach of Mary Pierce, who was routed out of the second round of the tournament by Elena Likhovtseva, 6-4, 6-4.