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Sampras struggles but Agassi still wary
2000-01-21
MELBOURNE - Calling on all his reserves of experience, Pete Sampras clawed his way back from the brink of defeat on Friday to topple Zimbabwean qualifier Wayne Black in the third round of the Australian Open. The American, who is striving to become the first man in history to win 13 Grand Slam singles titles after matching Roy Emerson's 12 at Wimbledon last year, recovered from a sluggish start to win 6-7 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-3. He will next meet Slava Dosedel of the Czech Republic. If he wins that he will play either Andre Agassi or Mark Philippoussis in the quarter-finals after they both won third round matches in devastating fashion on Thursday. Agassi said Sampras remained the player to beat despite his lacklustre showing. ``I have a hunch today's match is only going to make Pete that much harder to beat,'' Agassi forecast. Black, ranked 151st in the world at the end of 1999, looked on the verge of sending the third seed to an early exit as he raced to a two-set lead. But Sampras, already a two-time winner at Melbourne Park, slowly fought his way back and found his range with his booming serve, although he did not begin to look near his best until the final set. ``It's hard to say what's going to happen... but I'm still in it,'' Sampras said afterwards. PEAK FORM Ominously for Sampras, both Agassi and Philippoussis, the two men who stand as the biggest hurdle to his chances of making the final, looked in peak form. Agassi, the world number one, trounced Argentine Mariano Zabaleta 6-4 6-4 6-2 and is yet to drop a set in the tournament while Philippoussis, who beat Sampras in a warm-up tournament before the Open, was just as awesome in disposing of Andrew Ilie 6-4 7-6 6-1. With Russia's Anna Kournikova, named by local newspapers as his new girlfriend, watching on approvingly from the stands, Philippoussis crushed his fellow Australian in 95 minutes, serving at speeds reaching up to 221km/h. His clash with Agassi shapes as one of the pivotal matches of the tournament with the winner to face either Frenchman Nicolas Escude or Hicham Arazi of Morocco in the quarter-finals ahead of a possible semifinal with Sampras. Agassi said he wasn't looking forward to meeting the in-form Australian. ``You never want a match like that this early in the tournament,'' Agassi said. ``He's one of the biggest and cleanest hitters out there. He can muscle around the court.'' Sampras's biggest obstacle on the way to the semifinals could prove to be Tim Henman, the Briton he has twice knocked out of the Wimbledon semis. Henman kept the Union Jack flying with a workmanlike 6-1 6-4 4-6 7-6 victory over Sebastien Grosjean of France to reach the last 16 at Melbourne Park for the first time in five attempts. He plays American Chris Woodruff in the next round. ACCORDING TO SCRIPT The women's draw also went according to script on Friday although two seeded players had harder than expected matches. Kournikova, the 11th seed, had to fight back from a set down to beat Czech Kveta Hrdlickova 2-6 6-3 6-4. The 18-year-old picked up her game in the second set, where she reeled off the first three games against the 47th-ranked Hrdlickova. Kournikova sealed the match with an ace to set up a meeting with second seed Lindsay Davenport, the reigning Wimbledon champion who has made the fourth round in each of her last six visits to Australia but never the final. The American made it through this time with a 6-0 6-1 win over Russian qualifier Alina Jidkova in a lop-sided match that lasted just 45 minutes. ``I like to play against (Davenport). We've had some good matches in the past,'' Kournikova said. ``But definitely it's going to be a tough match.'' Frenchwoman Julie Halard-Decugis, the ninth seed, also came back from a set down to beat Elena Dementieva 3-6 6-4 6-2. She will play German Jana Kandaar. Former champion Mary Pierce quietly continued on her way, trouncing 99th-ranked Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands to set up a clash with Japan's Ai Sugayama. Former teen prodigy Jennifer Capriati produced her best Australian Open performance since reaching the quarter-finals in 1992 and 1993 when she beat China's Yi Jiang-Qian to set up a fourth round match against Switzerland's Patty Schnyder. Schnyder downed Russian Nadejda Petrova 7-6 4-6 6-2 two days after beating last year's runner-up Amelie Mauresmo.
Serena Williams Plays Today at U.S. Open (2002-08-28)Agassi wanting heat and wind; Kandarr's lucky run (2000-01-22)Sampras struggles but Agassi still wary (2000-01-21)Agassi wins at Australian Open (2000-01-21)9 (11285)
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