Sampras Zeroing In on No. 1

Pete Sampras always looks forward to the Lipton Championships because he likes the stadium, the competition and the results.

A two-time champion and a finalist each of the past three years, Sampras advanced to the fourth round Sunday by beating Jakob Hlasek, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).

“Certain places I play well, and this is one of them,” Sampras said. “The Lipton has a grand slam feel. It gives you a test on how you’re really playing.”

Sampras has 19 victories in his past 20 Lipton matches. With top-ranked Thomas Muster losing his opening match Saturday to Nicolas Pereira of Venezuela, Sampras can regain the No. 1 spot by reaching the final and beating high-ranked players along the way.

Sampras could meet Andre Agassi in the men’s final for the third consecutive year.

On the women’s side, top-seeded Steffi Graf beat Gigi Fernandez, 6-3, 6-2, and Jennifer Capriati, who is unseeded, overcame 55 unforced errors to eliminate No. 10 Amanda Coetzer, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1.

Graf was surprised to learn she hit 35 winners--including serves--and only three unforced errors.

“Me? Really?” Graf said. “I felt great. I didn’t know I had those kind of statistics.”

Third-seeded Anke Huber held off Shi-Ting Wang of Taipei, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4. No. 7 Jana Novotna lost to Ai Sugiyama of Japan, 6-3, 6-3.

No. 4 Gabriela Sabatini beat Karin Kschwendt, 6-3, 6-2.