Another Would-Be No. 1 Bounces Out

Apparently, proximity to No. 1 in the world has created some sort of chilling effect on the men’s tennis tour.

How else would you explain Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia?

Kafelnikov needed merely to defeat Thomas Johansson of Sweden in the quarterfinals late last month in London to supplant Pete Sampras. He lost.

Here, he didn’t even get that close. Despite winning the first set at love, the second-seeded Kafelnikov lost to Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten in the second round Tuesday at the Newsweek Champions Cup. Kuerten, the 1997 French Open champion, beat Kafelnikov, 0-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

Earlier, another potential threat also fell by the wayside. Two-time U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter of Australia was not as close to No. 1 as Kafelnikov, but he still had an outside shot. It ended when Nicolas Kiefer of Germany defeated Rafter, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-5, in a 2-hour, 48-minute match.

Rafter, who has won one match in his last two tournaments, committed 41 unforced errors, double-faulted nine times and started cramping in the third set.

So, it has been a nice tournament for Sampras . . . and he has yet to step on the court for a match at Grand Champions Resort.

By the time he does tonight against Felix Mantilla of Spain, who knows, the final two pretenders to No. 1--third-seeded Alex Corretja and fourth-seeded Carlos Moya, both of Spain--could be out of the way. Today, the struggling Corretja faces Mark Philippoussis of Australia, and the faltering Moya meets Jim Courier.

Kuerten has a theory on the fear of No. 1, the number that seems to turn some men to mush.

“I think it’s because it is the one thing everybody wants,” Kuerten said. “It’s too much. When you get close, you really want to get there. Sometimes you put yourself under a little more pressure. Maybe you think, ‘Well, I’m sure I’m going to get it.’ You relax too much. It can happen many times.”

Said Kafelnikov: “I can’t really explain to you what happened. I just lost focus for a little while, that was the reason that I lost five games in a row. Don’t get me wrong, I was trying as hard as I could. Not many times you get an opportunity like that to win the tournament and become No. 1 in the world, you know.”

Then there is the ultra-relaxed Rafter. He has not spent his time obsessing about No. 1, preferring to enjoy himself. After the Australian Open, he went skiing and snowboarding--for the first time--in British Columbia, Canada.

“Whether it was stupid or not, I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve been so sheltered and tennis, tennis, tennis the whole time. Everyone told me not to do it.”

The only player to push Sampras from the top spot since 1996 has been Chilean Marcelo Rios, who grabbed it last year for six weeks.

“But the guy [Rios] never won a Grand Slam,” said Kafelnikov, who won the Australian Open in January. “Where is he ranked now? He’s No. 6. If he doesn’t do well in those two tournaments [Indian Wells and Key Biscayne], he’ll be 28. Nobody [will] even remember who was Marcelo Rios. But everyone will remember who Pete Sampras is.”

*

In women’s Evert Cup action, fifth-seeded Steffi Graf of Germany and sixth-seeded Mary Pierce of France moved into the quarterfinals in impressive fashion, losing one game each.

Graf defeated Ai Sugiyama of Japan, 6-0, 6-1, in 58 minutes and Pierce beat Rita Grande of Italy, 6-1, 6-0, needing a mere 45 minutes. Graf has lost four games in two matches.

In 1998, this was the second tournament of her comeback, which was going quite well until she suffered a strained hamstring in the semifinals against Lindsay Davenport. So Graf was asked if she viewed Indian Wells with any trepidation. “Well, I wouldn’t be playing any tournaments anymore [if I did],” she said, joking about her injury-riddled history.

Today, Graf will face fourth-seeded Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, who defeated qualifier Brie Rippner, 6-1, 6-4. Pierce will play Serena Williams, who swept Cara Black of Zimbabwe, 6-0, 7-5.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Today’s Featured Matches

STADIUM COURT, STARTING AT 10 A.M.

* Marcelo Rios, Chile (6) vs. Cedric Pioline, France.

* Martina Hingis, Switzerland (1) vs. Chanda Rubin.

* Alex Corretja, Spain (3) vs. Mark Philippoussis, Australia.

* Jana Novotna, Czech Republic (4) vs. Steffi Graf, Germany (5).

STARTING 6:30 P.M.

* Pete Sampras (1) vs. Felix Mantilla, Spain.