Sampras Gets Off to Fine Start

Introducing Pete Sampras, a refuge in a world of (tennis) chaos. In the context of what has happened--Lleyton Hewitt dropping verbal bombs on the ATP Tour, various misdemeanors against fashion, nude shots in the tabloids of Tommy Haas and the far right-wing leanings of Jelena Dokic--the normality of Sampras was almost reassuring.

The funny thing is this hasn’t been an ordinary year for him, featuring several coaching changes and the approaching arrival of his first child. He has not won a title since Wimbledon 2000.

“Tennis is still a big part of my life, but it’s not what it used to be,” said Sampras, 31, who expects to play the Australian Open in January, the first Grand Slam after the birth of his child. “I used to live and die with my wins and losses. I still get disappointed and frustrated, but when I hit 30, 31, there’s more to life than tennis. That being said, I’m still here.”

For him, the hope is the U.S. Open serves as the same jump-start it did last year when he reached the final. His first step was promising Wednesday. For the first time in months, the 17th-seeded Sampras won in straight sets, defeating Albert Portas of Spain, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round. “Today was a good start. You’re always a little bit nervous in your first-round match, trying to settle into the tournament,” he said.

Later, Haas, seeded third, showed his usual survival skills, winning despite severe cramps. He defeated David Sanchez of Spain, 7-6 (1), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, in 3 hours 23 minutes. His warm-up was disrupted when officials told him he could not wear a sleeveless shirt.

His coach, Red Ayme, was angered by the double standard, pointing out that Serena Williams wore a black form-fitting cat suit.

“It’s inconceivable,” he said. “I think those girls look good. But you ask the females out there, and they might have liked his shirt. Let the other guys have fun. Let them entertain.”

Quietly, unseeded Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand is having one of the better summers, winning at Long Island and losing in the final at Washington. He defeated USC’s Prakash Amritraj, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, in the first round. The wild-card entrant, Amritraj, the USTA’s 18-and-under national champion, was following his famous father Vijay, who played here from 1972-84.

Rain disrupted night play, causing several delays. Impacted the most was a second-round match between No. 4 Lindsay Davenport and Petra Mandula of Hungary. Davenport was leading, 6-4, 2-2, when play was suspended. Officials called the match at 11:30, and it will be completed today, weather permitting, after Jennifer Capriati plays Tina Pisnik of Slovenia.

The highest seeded woman to exit was No. 5 Dokic of Yugoslavia in the second round. Promising teenager Elena Bovina of Russia defeated her, 6-3, 6-2.

Dokic’s departure came after a summer filled with injuries, illness and controversy. The latest was her recent letter of support for right-wing presidential candidate, ultra-nationalist Vojislav Seselj in the upcoming Serbian election. “It’s my private thing,” she said. “I have the right to do that. It’s something I wanted to do.”

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Faced with mounting criticism from Hewitt, the world’s No. 1 player, ATP chief executive officer Mark Miles met in separate briefings with Australian and American reporters.

Hewitt denounced the men’s tour as a “circus” and accused certain staff members of lying, and hinted at legal action. He was fined about $100,000 for failing to do a pre-match interview with ESPN this month.

Evidently, the campaign being waged is working in regard to reducing the fine. Miles said the appeals committee probably would not meet until after the Open. “I believe they’ll make a reasonable decision, and I don’t think $103,000 would be reasonable,” he said.

Of these infractions, the highest fine paid was $29,000 by Yevgeny Kafelnikov, according to the tour.

“The people around Lleyton had a clear understanding that our staff were to decide what was expected,” Miles said. “I think they understood for days that it was expected he would do the ESPN interview, so they had it for his first match.”

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At a Glance

Highlights Wednesday of the $16.17-million U.S. Open tennis championships:

Weather: Cloudy, cool and breezy with a high of 74. Rain interrupted play in the evening.

Key men’s results: Winners: No. 3 Tommy Haas, No. 5 Tim Henman, No. 10 Sebastien Grosjean, No. 17 Pete Sampras, No. 26 Juan Ignacio Chela, No. 28 Fernando Gonzalez and No. 33 Greg Rusedski. Loser: No. 16 David Nalbandian.

Key women’s results: Winners: No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 8 Justine Henin, No. 13 Silvia Farina Elia, No. 15 Anastasia Myskina, No. 20 Daja Bedanova, No. 24 Iva Majoli and No. 26 Nathalie Dechy. Losers: No. 5 Jelena Dokic, No. 12 Elena Dementieva and No. 27 Tamarine Tanasugarn.

Stat of the day: Albert Portas served more aces (13-10) and had fewer unforced errors (26-27) against Pete Sampras, yet still managed to win only nine of 27 games.

Quote of the day: “It’s been a struggle this year. I’ve lost some confidence. But this is the U.S. Open.”--Sampras, after beating Portas.

Featured matches: Men, Justin Gimelstob vs. Andre Agassi (6); Lleyton Hewitt (1), Australia, vs. Noam Okun, Israel; Michael Chang vs. Roger Federer (13), Switzerland.

Women: Tina Pisnik, Slovenia, vs. Jennifer Capriati (3); Monica Seles (6) vs. Barbara Schwartz, Austria; Alicia Molik, Australia, vs. Venus Williams (2)