No Five-Pete

Pete Sampras paid homage to the Duke of Kent, then noticed that his giddy young conqueror, Roger Federer, was walking hurriedly, almost skipping, toward the exit without the obligatory bow to the royal box. Federer, having played his first match on the All England Club’s Center Court, wasn’t familiar with the proper etiquette. Sampras touched him on the shoulder, motioned to the royal box and an embarrassed Federer bowed.

Until then, he seemed to know his way around Center Court every bit as well as Sampras. In fact, the Swiss player, seeded 15th, performed a convincing imitation of No. 1 Sampras--dominating on his serves, calm and composed when he was down and playing the crucial points masterfully.

Ultimately, Sampras was the one who succumbed, failing to hold serve in the final game of a 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 fourth-round loss Monday.

That ended Sampras’ Wimbledon streak at 31 matches and his chance for a fifth consecutive title and his eighth in nine years. It was his earliest elimination from the tournament since 1991 when he was 19, the same age as Federer now.

Sampras acknowledged that he knew his winning streak wasn’t “going to last forever,” but he talked about the possibility of starting a new one next year, at 30, although it’s evident that age and a younger generation are gaining on him.

Federer, the Wimbledon junior champion three years ago, has reached the quarterfinals of his second consecutive Grand Slam tournament--he lost in that round in the French Open to Alex Corretja--and is considered one of the most promising of the new wave of players on the men’s tour along with Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt.

Safin, who won the U.S. Open last year at 20 in a straight-set victory over Sampras, also advanced to the quarterfinals Monday with a 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Arnaud Clement. But Hewitt, 20, lost to Nicolas Escude, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Federer said after his match that he was not awed by playing on Center Court, but playing against Sampras was at times a different matter.

Describing Sampras as one of his former idols, Federer said, “Sometimes it was weird, you know. I looked on the other side of the net, I saw him, and said, ‘This is true. I’m playing against him.’ ”

The match, the second of the day on Center Court, lasted 3 hours 41 minutes, so long that the next match, between Tim Henman and Todd Martin, couldn’t be completed before dark. Before it was suspended, Martin was leading, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-4. It will not be completed until after the first match today on Center Court, assuring that British tennis fans will suffer plenty of anxious moments as they look for their first men’s champion since 1936.

Earlier, the other British player remaining, Greg Rusedski, lost to Goran Ivanisevic, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.

Ivanisevic, a three-time finalist who had fallen upon hard times and wouldn’t have been at Wimbledon without a special invitation, became the first wild-card entrant to advance to the quarterfinals since Pat Cash in 1986.

Other veterans advancing were No. 2 Andre Agassi, a 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 winner over Nicolas Kiefer; No. 3 Pat Rafter, a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 winner over Mikhail Youzhny; and No. 10 Thomas Enqvist, who eliminated Guillermo Canas, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. Agassi and Enqvist have yet to lose a set.

Agassi paid tribute to Sampras. When asked about the incredible upset, he said, “I think if you want to talk about anything that’s incredible, talk about how he’s won the thing seven times.”

Now that Sampras is out of the tournament, Agassi, by virtue of his seeding and his efficient play so far, becomes the favorite. But he rejected that role.

“Seems to me like Federer is the one to worry about now,” he said.

Some tennis experts were warning before Monday that Federer posed an upset threat to Sampras. Not only was Federer playing well entering the tournament, Sampras was not and had seen his world ranking slip to sixth. He hadn’t won a tournament since last year’s Wimbledon and struggled to beat Barry Cowan, the world’s 265th-ranked player, in a five-set match in last week’s second round.

Sampras, however, did what he had to do to win that match, and, until someone actually beat him, no one was going to count him out.

Federer had a scare in the second set when he had to be attended to by a trainer during a break for a strained leg muscle, then, suddenly, saw his serve fall apart in the 12th game. He survived three set points, but Sampras eventually broke him to even the match.

The third set was the most erratic. Sampras was broken in the third game, then broke Federer back in the fourth. Sampras was then broken again in the ninth game when he hit a simple overhead volley, one of his favorite shots, out of bounds. The crowd gasped. That was the first clear sign that perhaps he wasn’t going to pull this one out.

Sampras won the fourth-set tiebreaker easily. But anyone who believed Federer was fading was mistaken. He played with as much poise as Sampras, saving two break points in one game, and was particularly sharp in the final game, returning serves so well that Sampras could do nothing but flail at the ball. It was an odd sight to see, especially at Wimbledon.

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By The Numbers

31: Consecutive matches Pete Sampras won at Wimbledon before losing to Roger Federer

4: Consecutive Wimbledon championships for Sampras

62-6: Sampras’ career record at Wimbledon

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The Streak

Pete Sampras’ Wimbledon winning streak, which ended with Monday’s 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 fourth-round loss to Roger Federer:

1997

First round: def. Mikael Tillstrom, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2

Second round: def. Hendrik Dreekmann, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 7-5

Third round: def. Byron Black, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

Fourth round: def. Petr Korda (16), 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-7 (1), 6-4

Quarterfinals: def. Boris Becker (8), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4

Semifinals: def. Todd Woodbridge, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (3)

Final: def. Cedric Pioline, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4

1998

First round: def. Dominik Hrbaty, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2

Second round: def. Mikael Tillstrom, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5

Third round: def. Thomas Enqvist, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3)

Fourth round: def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Quarterfinals: def. Mark Philippoussis, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4

Semifinals: def. Tim Henman (12), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3

Final: def. Goran Ivanisevic (14), 6-7 (2), 7-6 (9), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

1999

First round: def. Scott Draper, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Second round: def. Sebastien Lareau, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3

Third round: def. Danny Sapsford, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5

Fourth round: def. Daniel Nestor, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Quarterfinals: def. Mark Philippoussis (7), 4-6, 2-1, retired

Semifinals: def. Tim Henman (6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

Final: def. Andre Agassi (4), 6-3, 6-4, 7-5

2000

First round: def. Jiri Vanek, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2

Second round: def. Karol Kucera, 7-6 (9), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Third round: def. Justin Gimelstob, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2

Fourth round: def. Jonas Bjorkman, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5

Quarterfinals: def. Jan-Michael Gambill, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4

Semifinals: def. Vladimir Voltchkov, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4

Final: def. Patrick Rafter (12), 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2

2001

First round: def. Francisco Clavet, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4

Second round: def. Barry Cowan, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 6-3

Third round: def. Sargis Sargsian, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5

Sampras’ 31 consecutive victories at Wimbledon are tied for second all-time with Rod Laver among male players. Bjorn Borg (1976-81) holds the men’s record of 41. Sampras’ previous loss before Monday was to Richard Krajicek, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4, in the 1996 quarterfinals.

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