Sampras Shows His Illpower

It was a remarkable scene. A stadium full of New Yorkers longed to reach down and throw an arm around Pete Sampras’ shoulder.

No one who watched Sampras stagger and weave around the court in the fifth set of his quarterfinal match at the U.S. Open on Thursday night, who saw him vomit on court, was unmoved to his distress or unimpressed with his determination.

Outside the stadium, about 20,000 fans waiting to enter for the night matches milled around the grounds of the National Tennis Center and trained their eyes on the scoreboard and its story.

What was unfolding inside was stunning human drama. Sampras, ranked No. 1 and the defending champion, was struggling to hold himself physically together against unseeded Alex Corretja of Spain. Fighting a queasy stomach and then dehydration through a 4-hour 9-minute match--the longest of the tournament--Sampras somehow won, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7).

Sampras, who will face Goran Ivanisevic in Saturday’s semifinals, never did look right. Along with everything else, he was thinking of his late coach and best friend, Tim Gullikson.

Gullikson died May 3 of brain cancer and since then Sampras has been desperately trying to win a Grand Slam tournament for his late coach. It is the first season since 1993 that he has failed to win at least two of the four majors, and Sampras views a title as a fitting commemorative to Gullikson.

He offered his victory Thursday night to Gullikson, falling into the arms of his girlfriend Delaina Mulcahey and sobbing, “I did it for Tim, I felt him, Tim was with me.”

Gullikson’s birthday is Sunday, the day of the men’s final.

Paul Annacone, the former pro who has been coaching Sampras since Gullikson fell ill last year, said he has seen enough of Sampras to cease being surprised at his guts and heart.

“I don’t know what to say except there are certain things you can’t teach and some things you just sit back in awe of,” Annacone said. “What can you say? Special things happen to special people and champions can do things we can only dream about.”

The players had begun the match in the heat and humidity of midafternoon and rode it through the slanting shadows of late afternoon. They persevered as the lights were switched on, bathing the stadium in a bluish glow.

The crowd, hours overdue to leave, was rapt and equally drained by the rawness of what it was witnessing. By the fifth-set tiebreaker--tennis’ showdown in a dusty street--the venerable Stadium Court was roiling with emotion.

Corretja served first and lost the point with a backhand into the net. Sampras lost his first point on his serve and then walked unsteadily to the back of the court. He bent over and began retching. A concerned ballboy dashed to retrieve a towel, which he offered to Sampras.

Doubled over near the court’s blue backdrop, Sampras then vomited.

Bowing to the awful insistence of the rules, the chair umpire announced a time warning, for in his infirmity Sampras had used up his allotted 25 seconds to prepare to serve.

Sampras nodded and shuffled to the service line, won the point and took a 2-1 lead. Corretja served twice and won one point to send Sampras to the service line again, holding a 3-2 lead.

Clearly, gathering himself for the effort of serving was becoming Sampras’ primary focus. He lost the first point and was hit by waves of nausea. Sampras stepped back from the line, grimacing. He fired a 122-mph serve on the next point to take a 4-3 lead.

Mulcahey leaned out of the court-side players’ box and held her arms out to him. The scene was reminiscent of a match at the Australian Open in 1995, when Sampras played Jim Courier on the day he received the news that Gullikson was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Sampras was suffused with emotion on court that night in Melbourne and cried uncontrollably during the match.

It was a moment that redefined Sampras. Strengthened by his pain, Sampras grew out of his athlete’s isolation and grew up.

That maturity is what has fortified Sampras since then, in other difficult moments. Never so many as in the fifth set Thursday night.

Corretja won his serve to make it 4-4. On the next point the Spaniard raced to the edge of the court to retrieve a ball and slipped, giving Sampras the point and a 5-4 lead.

Sampras, with an opportunity to serve out the match, was now doubled over between every point, resting his hands on his knees. He lost one point, then connected with an overhead to gain match point.

Corretja strode to the service line while cheers rained down. Sampras could do no more than send a weak forehand to the net, knotting the score, 6-6.

Again the players changed ends and Sampras trudged to the far baseline to return serve. He could barely stand upright to receive. Corretja won the next point to bring him to match point.

His face beaded with perspiration, Sampras served and charged the net. Corretja drilled a forehand cross-court that looked like a winner, but Sampras’ lunging volley tied it again.

Serving at 7-7, Sampras’ first serve was an anemic 76 mph and flew out. Sampras worked his mouth in gasps. Some remote muscle memory surfaced and Sampras threw up a second serve that blew in at 90 mph for an ace. And a match point.

Then Corretja, who had been so sturdy through five sets, proceeded to double fault to lose the match.

The stadium erupted. Corretja fell to his knees. Sampras walked haltingly to the net and leaned on it. When Corretja joined him at the net moments later, the two men embraced.

Sampras looked heavenward and smiled.

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* A GRAND RUN

Edberg goes out just the way it would be expected, with class, in loss to Ivanisevic. C9