Martin Finally Ends Futility, Beats Sampras

Todd Martin was getting weary of playing Ringo Starr to Pete Sampras’ Paul McCartney. Maybe that accounted for his graying hair.

Thirteen consecutive losses to Sampras and six years of futility at venues ranging from indoors at San Jose to clay at the French Open finally got Martin to follow the advice of his two trusted gurus, Dean Goldfine and Jose Higueras.

Change his game plan? No.

For once, Martin did not adapt to Sampras and the years of frustration cleared away Sunday night at the Australian Open. The highly anticipated quarterfinal between Andre Agassi and Sampras--an expected rematch of last year’s semifinal classic--evaporated when Martin eliminated Sampras, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours 32 minutes in the fourth round.

Agassi did his part, advancing in four sets earlier in the day. He has started to look like the Agassi of 2000. The same cannot be said for Sampras--the form of the 2000 Australian Open was nothing but a memory in 2001. Through three hard-fought rounds, he looked ready to exit at any moment, appearing vulnerable against the likes of Karol Kucera, Bohdan Ulihrach and Juan Ignacio Chela.

Melbourne almost seemed like Paris for Sampras. At the French Open, nearly every victory is precious and difficult and a loss is not entirely unexpected. Sunday, he seemed flat against Martin and looked like he was running on fumes.

“You know, he played great,” Sampras said. “That’s the best he’s played against me in years.”

Martin limited Sampras’ opportunities, hitting 16 aces and committing only 12 unforced errors, including two in the final set under tense conditions. Sampras felt if he could have inched ahead with a service break, the complexion of the match would have changed. But Martin faced only one break point through the final three sets.

“It’s disappointing,” Sampras said. “It’s not the way I wanted to start off the year. I won’t say I learned a lesson. I was given a lesson.”

The loss raises questions about Sampras’ ability to win Grand Slam events at any venue outside of Wimbledon--not the worst problem to have, but unsettling for someone who has been at the top so long. His last Grand Slam title, other than Wimbledon, came four years ago at the Australian Open.

Sampras reached the final at the 2000 U.S. Open, losing to Marat Safin in straight sets. Afterward, he wasn’t asked about retirement. But the way he looked Sunday, it could mean he will be asked about the end of his playing career more often, especially now that he is married and 29 years old.

“I feel very eager to keep on going,” Sampras said. “I feel like I can still win majors, and I’d like to win a couple more before it’s all said and done. I know I can do it. It’s disappointing not to do it here, but I’ve got many years and many Slams ahead of me.”

It just won’t happen here in 2001 and the Martin-Agassi quarterfinal doesn’t quite have the same allure, the same drawing power as Sampras-Agassi.

“I would assume Andre Agassi is pretty darn pleased he [Sampras] lost today, and I wouldn’t doubt that a couple of other guys may be as well,” Martin said.

Considering Martin’s history--a collection of near misses and collapses on important occasions--he has been overdue for a breakthrough. During his 13-match losing streak to Sampras, Martin won only four sets.

“I’ve had much more emotional wins,” he said. “But as far as satisfaction of doing the job, it was right up there. It was a well-played match on my part--that sounds pretty self-gratifying, but it was.”

The duo of Goldfine and Higueras finally got through to him after all these years. Martin called himself “deceptively stubborn.” He listened to the words of his two coaches and it helped that the persuasive Higueras was here for the first time.

“I think I was sold a bill of goods and I was fortunate enough to believe it, and that was the big key,” Martin said, smiling. “Every time I’ve ever played Pete, I kept on making adjustments along the way rather than sticking to my guns and having a shootout with him.”

After the Martin surprise, fourth-round action on the men’s side returned to form today. Fifth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia defeated Andreas Vinciguerra of Sweden, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1, and No. 15 Arnaud Clement of France beat Greg Rusedski of Great Britain, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. Clement has not dropped a set in four rounds, and he survived a 19-ace performance from Rusedski.

Unseeded Carlos Moya, the 1997 runner-up, beat Rainer Schuettler 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4.

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Either the Davis Cup situation involving his brother John McEnroe is rather delicate or new Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe has suddenly become reticent with the media. Seated in the stands during the Sampras-Martin match, Patrick McEnroe was asked if he was going to select his older brother to play doubles against Switzerland for the United States next month in Basel.

“Oh no, I’m in the media section,” he said.

Afterward, there was the comic scene of the U.S. media contingent--a whopping three reporters--chasing McEnroe through Vodafone Arena. McEnroe finally addressed the topic.

“It’s a consideration. He [John] is in the mix,” Patrick said.

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COLLISION COURSE

Martina Hingis and Serena Williams dominated their matches and will meet in the Australian Open quarterfinals. D10