Sampras Ousted in Quarterfinals

It is usually an encouraging sign of mental health when an athlete accepts losing as a possible consequence of competition.

But it’s alarming when a player ranked No. 2 in the world is as casual about losing to a player ranked No. 68 as Pete Sampras was in losing to Paul Haarhuis Friday.

Haarhuis, a hard-serving Dutchman, plowed over Sampras, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, taking strategic advantage of Sampras’ error-ridden performance in the quarterfinals of the Newsweek Champions Cup.

Such bad days happen, even to players of Sampras’ stature. He surely cannot be expected to maintain maximum intensity throughout a long season.

What was unexpected, however, was the top-seeded player’s nonchalance about the loss, which will prevent him regaining the No. 1 ranking next week.

Sampras’ lethargic performance was in sharp contrast to the level of play he sustained in winning at San Jose last month. Sampras called that his best tennis in years. But apparently he has found a new philosophy to deal with days such as Friday.

“Unfortunately, you have days like today where you wake up and it just wasn’t there,” he said. “So, c’est la vie.”

Sampras is usually a keen match analyst, but his explanations Friday were short on specifics and long on shrugs.

“I don’t know what happened, to tell you the truth,” he said. “Seemed like my shots, especially from the backcourt, were just flying on me. I really didn’t feel comfortable. I really didn’t feel like I could swing out and swing hard. I have never missed so many forehands.

“If you are not playing well, you are not going to win, I don’t care who you play. I just didn’t play well, plain and simple. The only person to blame is myself.”

Haarhuis will play Goran Ivanisevic in today’s semifinal. The sixth-seeded Ivanisevic defeated Carlos Costa, 6-4, 6-4.

In a semifinal match Friday in the State Farm Evert Cup, second-seeded Conchita Martinez defeated fourth-seeded Kimiko Date, 6-0, 6-4. Martinez will play top-seeded Steffi Graf in today’s women’s final.

Sampras’ loss ends a 13-match winning streak and ensures he will not defend the title he has won for two consecutive years.

Seldom does any player best Sampras in any serving category, but Haarhuis had the superior serve. He had 11 aces to Sampras’ 10 and also got in a higher percentage of his first serves. Sampras committed 38 unforced errors, to Haarhuis’ 24.

Sampras’ frustration gave Haarhuis openings that few players can hope to find against an opponent who is expert at dictating a match.

Haarhuis, 30, broke Sampras at 5-5 then held his serve to win the first set. The Dutchman said he realized early that Sampras was not on his game.

“I felt it in the first set,” he said. “He was missing some forehands, which he usually doesn’t. The couple of times he hit a forehand, he just wasn’t hitting a winner right off the bat. He really had to work for it.”

Sampras was marginally more active in the second set, although he squandered three break points in the sixth game. He rallied in the tiebreaker with emphatic serves, culminating with an ace on set point.

Haarhuis broke Sampras early in the third set and again in the sixth game. Sampras moved slowly around the court and was never a significant factor in the set.