Still No French Toast for Sampras

The winner advanced by serving and volleying on his second serve, hitting a crisp backhand volley and watching his opponent’s backhand passing shot land in the net.

The loser wore clay on his shorts and shirt, along with a glazed, dazed and confused look, exiting the French Open on Wednesday with all the other second-round victims.

Guess which one was Pete Sampras?

Though the clay was long gone from Sampras’ clothes later on, the footprints of unheralded Ramon Delgado of Paraguay had trampled all over his psyche at the French Open.

In a startling development, Delgado, ranked No. 97, dismissed No. 1 Sampras, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 6-4, in 2 hours, 4 minutes at Roland Garros Stadium. The French Open remains the only Grand Slam event to elude Sampras, who has won four times at Wimbledon, four times at the U.S. Open and twice at the Australian Open.

Long-term, the names Sampras has been chasing are Roy Emerson and Jimmy Connors, seeking to carve out a singular place in tennis history. Now, the likes of Karol Kucera at the Australian Open and Delgado are stalling his final ascent.

Short-term, Sampras is in danger of losing his No. 1 ranking. Marcelo Rios of Chile, who is No. 3, could retake the top spot if he reaches the French Open semifinals. Rios was No. 1 for four weeks earlier this year.

“I’m just not playing well at the moment,” Sampras said. “It’s plain and simple. You look at other athletes, other professional players in their careers, they go through a little patch where they’re not playing well. I’m going through it right now. This is a time when I need to bounce back. Can’t think of a better time than Wimbledon.”

What hurt Sampras in particular was a two-hour rain delay--another of several interruptions in a day plagued by rain. Sampras was leading, 4-1, in the first set when the rain returned, and Delgado shook off his nerves during the stoppage and returned looking like a different player.

“I don’t know why I start under pressure,” he said. “I had nothing to lose. So when the rain came, we [Delgado and his coach] talked about that. Nothing about tactics, just the way I was moving.”

Delgado celebrated his victory by dropping to one knee and then pumping his fist in the air. His friends in the stands gave him Paraguay’s flag to wave to the crowd.

“I feel the people in Paraguay were supporting me, so that’s what I wanted to do,” Delgado said.

Sampras, in the aftermath of his latest French Open defeat, did not have much time to analyze the outcome. Still, the consequences were evident.

“Each year, you feel like it is a missed opportunity,” he said. “You know, the French Open doesn’t come around every couple of months--it comes around once a year.”

The disappointment was etched on Sampras’ face. For him, it’s one thing to lose to Michael Chang or Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the French Open . . . but Ramon Delgado? What in the name of Victor Pecci is going on?

Pecci was the last great player from Paraguay to make an impact in the pro ranks. He wore a diamond earring and lost to Bjorn Borg in the 1979 French Open final.

Delgado, 22, had made an impression upon Sampras four weeks ago, losing to him at Atlanta in the quarterfinals in two tiebreakers. Wednesday, he served better than he did in Atlanta, hitting 12 aces to Sampras’ 10. Sampras double-faulted six times, Delgado only once.

Sampras tried to look forward, saying: “I know I’m going to get out of it. I’ve got the game and I’ve got the heart to come back.”

Wednesday was a rough day for the American men. Two-time champion Jim Courier and Vincent Spadea lost in straight sets. Qualifier Jens Knippschild of Germany defeated Courier, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, and Fernando Meligeni of Brazil defeated Spadea, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.

Only three Americans remain: Jeff Tarango, Jan-Michael Gambill and Chang, who is seeded 11th.

The top women advanced, including No. 1 Martina Hingis, No. 3 Jana Novotna, No. 6 Monica Seles and No. 8 Venus Williams.

Hingis spoke about the similarities between herself and Rios, who beat Spain’s Emilio Alvarez, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

“Because we’re not as tall as the others, we don’t have the advantage of a big serve,” she said after defeating Germany’s Meike Babel, 6-1, 6-2. “We have to be faster than everybody if we want to win.”

She said he talks to her, which, apparently, puts her in exclusive company. “He’s nice to me,” Hingis said. “I don’t think he’s such a monster as everybody thinks he is. He’s just a simple guy. He probably has his own style of talking to somebody. So far, he’s been nice to me. What a surprise, no?”

And, possibly soon, Rios might have another thing in common with Hingis--a No. 1 ranking, now that the door has been left open by Sampras.

Today’s Featured Matches

MEN: Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russia, vs. Thomas Enqvist, Sweden; Rodolphe Gilbert, France, vs. Richard Krajicek, Netherlands; John Van Lottum, Netherlands, vs. Michael Chang.

WOMEN: Liezel Horn, South Africa, vs. Lindsay Davenport; Catalina Cristea, Romania, vs. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Spain; Conchita Martinez, Spain, vs. Rita Grande, Italy; Magui Serna, Spain, vs. Mary Pierce, France; Katarina Studenikova, Slovakia, vs. Anna Kournikova, Russia.