No. 1 Sampras’ Well Runs Dry in Desert

One person’s paradise is another’s hellhole.

Few spots on earth seem to repel Pete Sampras as much as the lush, velvety Hyatt Grand Champions Resort and its sparkling, well-endowed tennis tournament, the Newsweek Champions Cup.

Despite having won the tournament twice, Sampras remains ill at ease in the desert conditions, where the air is so desiccated it propels tennis balls into the far reaches of a court. As has been demonstrated here in the past, an uncomfortable Sampras is a vulnerable Sampras.

In such a setting did Bohdan Ulihrach, No. 43 in the world, upset Sampras, ranked and seeded No. 1, during a second-round match Wednesday. The 22-year-old Czech put Sampras out of the tournament with his 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 victory.

Ulihrach also ended Sampras’ 20-match winning streak, which extended to last October. Sampras’ was the best start on the men’s tour since Ivan Lendl went 25-0 to start the 1986 season. Sampras had won the three tournaments he had played this year and, since the semifinals of the Australian Open, had lost only three sets.

But Sampras is a persnickety man who requires that his environment be just so. Shirts that fit a particular way, shoes that don’t pinch. Sampras doesn’t like to wear a cap, even in beating sun as Wednesday’s--he expends more energy fidgeting with the headgear than he saves by wearing it.

He’s not fond of the dry heat, for reasons of temperature and temperament. Sampras’ game is predicated on smacking the ball mightily, and in the dry desert air the ball travels unexpected distances. Every player here knows this.

Even though Sampras has been practicing on the courts for four days, somehow he has convinced himself he can’t play here.

“Well, it was pretty ugly today,” Sampras said, sparing himself nothing. “I’ve always had a problem [here], even though I’ve won here a couple of times. I never really felt like I played well here in Palm Springs because of the dry weather. I just played very tentative tennis . . . just didn’t play well, plain and simple. I didn’t perform at my best, nowhere near it.

“I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable playing here. I don’t know why. Never really felt like I could take a pretty good rip at the ball. It really flies. The two times I won here, I never really felt like I played that well.

Aside from the two years that he won, Sampras is 8-7 at Indian Wells. Last year he lost in the quarterfinals to Paul Haarhuis. He has failed to advance past the third round five times. There are few tournaments in Sampras’ career where he has performed as poorly.

Sampras may have gotten an inkling of the day’s fortunes when he lost the first-set tiebreaker when Ulihrach’s shot smacked into the tape at the top of the net and dribbled over. Luck was certainly not on Sampras’ side, but he did little to capitalize on what fortune he created: Sampras failed to convert on the three break points he had.

Even Ulihrach’s own modest play--he also admitted to not playing well--was superior to Sampras’ flailing and ineffective ground strokes. It was utterly uncharacteristic of Sampras, whose formidable baseline play is the bedrock of his game.

“The problem is the groundies and the returns,” Sampras said. “That’s how I’m going to win my matches, being very solid from the backcourt. I never really felt like I was in any sort of rhythm today.”

The desert claimed another victim Wednesday with the ouster of fourth-seeded Goran Ivanisevic. No fan of the slow-paced lifestyle here, Ivanisevic now has the free time to indulge in it. Wild-card entrant Jonathan Stark defeated Ivanisevic, 7-5, 6-3. Stark had 20 aces and one 138-mph serve.

Chris Woodruff upset sixth-seeded Thomas Enqvist, 6-4, 6-4. Also losing was 15th-seeded Alex Corretja, who fell and injured his right wrist. Slava Dosedel of the Czech Republic defeated Corretja, 6-4, 4-1, retired.

Spain’s Alberto Berasategui, who advanced Wednesday, is the only seeded player remaining in the top half of the draw.

In the State Farm Evert Cup, ninth-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez defeated second-seeded Conchita Martinez, 6-4, 6-4, in a quarterfinal match.