Upset of Sampras Is Par for Course

For the third consecutive year, Pete Sampras got a nice opportunity to play some extra golf during his annual week in the desert. The problem is, he was here to play tennis.

Sampras, currently in his 100th consecutive week as the No. 1 player in the world, got bulldozed by the Austrian bulldog, Thomas Muster. The 30-year-old former French Open champion, supposedly in the twilight of his career, beat Sampras under the lights Thursday night in a round of 16 Newsweek Champions Cup match.

The 7-5, 6-3 shocker left Sampras in jeopardy of losing, at least temporarily, his No. 1 ranking. If Petr Korda of the Czech Republic, who reached the quarterfinals earlier Thursday, wins this event Sunday, Sampras will move in tennis hierarchy from Hertz to Avis.

Sampras, ousted early here the last two years after winning in 1994 and ‘95, came out in front of a nearly packed house and immediately started firing bullets at Muster. In his first two service games, Sampras cranked an unheard-of eight serves at 130 mph or more, and four of them actually went in.

But Muster, ever the pit bull attached to his opponent’s pants leg, survived the early artillery and even a set point while serving at 4-5 in the first set. At 30-40, Sampras blasted a backhand passing shot down the line that missed by inches. Then Muster broke Sampras and punctuated the first set with a 124-mph ace on set point.

Sampras got up a break in the second set, but Muster broke back and eventually broke Sampras’ will.

“I don’t know what it is here,” Sampras said. “The last three years, the ball just seems to be flying on me here. I’m just sitting here, trying to figure out what happened. . . . It’s like I need a few beers, maybe half a dozen.”

As shocking as the Sampras result was in the evening, the day session in the men’s round of 16 had its own entertainment value. In fact, for groupies of all ages, there is good stuff going on this week. It’s kind of a rock show without deafness.

The lead performer Thursday was Andre Agassi, who at 27 years and 11 months is now the senior matinee idol.

Another one of the boys in the band was heartthrob Patrick Rafter, 25, the beer-drinking, ponytailed Australian who won the U.S. Open last year. With that victory, he caught lots of eyes--many of them female--and now generates as many squeals as ovations during his matches.

On rhythm guitar was the ultimate fresh face, newest heartthrob Jan-Michael Gambill, who won’t be 21 until June, who has blue eyes and blond hair, owns two Jaguars and was named after actor Jan-Michael Vincent. Gambill, the son of a real estate executive from Spokane, stood outside the players’ clubhouse Wednesday afternoon for nearly an hour, signing autographs for one cluster of teenage girls after another.

“I’ll usually sign as many as it takes,” he said.

Agassi and Gambill survived to be squealed at another day, while Rafter, for purposes of this tournament, was grateful but dead.

Agassi avenged his defeat at the hands of Rafter in the U.S. Open by winning, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in a match in which, at times, it appeared that Rafter was a puppet and Agassi was pulling the strings.

“Agassi likes to jerk you around the court. He is a master at that,” said Gambill, who will experience that firsthand again today in the quarterfinals, having gained that level in an ATP Super Nine event for the first time with a remarkably efficient 6-2, 6-4 victory over former No. 1 player Jim Courier.

“This tournament is the biggest I’ve ever done well in,” said Gambill, who was ranked No. 227 in January and hadn’t really done well in any tournaments of note until he got to the quarterfinals at San Jose and Scottsdale recently. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m kind of riding the wave right now.”

The ride has taken him to No. 126 last week, and likely into the top 100 after he departs here. It has also taken him into a third quarterfinal against No. 40 Agassi, who beat him at San Jose and Scottsdale and went on to win both titles.

In addition to Agassi-Gambill, today’s men’s quarterfinals shaped up into Muster vs. Andrei Medvedev, Thomas Enqvist vs. Greg Rusedski and Marcelo Rios vs. Petr Korda.

The Ukrainian Medvedev beat Ecuador’s Nicolas Lapentti, 6-1, 6-4; The Swede Enqvist took out last year’s finalist, Czech Republic’s Bohdan Ulihrach, 6-2, 6-7 (7-2); England’s Rusedski, last year’s loser to Rafter in the U.S. Open final, eliminated Spain’s Carlos Moya of Spain, 6-3, 7-5; Chile’s Rios defeated Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer, 6-4, 6-3, and the Czech Republic’s Korda, Australian Open champion, beat Germany’s Tommy Haas, 7-6 (7-6), 6-2.

Today’s Featured Matches

STADIUM COURT (10 a.m.)

* Thomas Enqvist, Sweden vs. Greg Rusedski, England.

* Marcelo Rios, Chile vs. Petr Korda, Czech Republic.

* Martina Hingis, Switzerland vs. Venus Williams.

* Thomas Muster, Austria vs. Andrei Medvedev, Ukraine.

STADIUM COURT (7 p.m.)

* Andre Agassi vs. Jan-Michael Gambill.