French suspense is over

In 3 hours, 39 minutes on Day 1, Pete Sampras exits the Open with a five-set loss to Mark Philippoussis.

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 30, 2000

PARIS -- It is hardly a surprise to see Pete Sampras bid farewell to the French Open long before the last blow has been struck. At this stage of his otherwise brilliant career, it is a question of only how he will be eliminated and who will do the eliminating.

The answers came particularly early this year -- on Monday, the first day of play, against younger, more powerful Mark Philippoussis, who has given him trouble in the past on surfaces much more conducive to Sampras' game.

But this was European clay, the red, gritty stuff that sticks to Sampras' sneakers and in his craw. And though the second seed performed and served quite well in stretches on the center court, he did not play well enough when it mattered to avoid another bitter five-set experience in Paris.

Philippoussis prevailed 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6-4), 4-6, 8-6 in a match that required 3 hours, 39 minutes, and ended with Sampras losing his serve at love on a double fault.

"In the fifth set it comes down to nerves, and he had the better nerve," said Sampras, who also lost the second set and the sixth game of the final set on double faults.

"I was telling myself I haven't come all this way for nothing," Philippoussis said. "It was definitely a great match, a match I'm very proud to win."

Though Sampras has won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, tying him with Roy Emerson for the most ever, he never has advanced past the semifinals at Roland Garros Stadium. He got that far only in 1996, negotiating a brutal draw before running out of resources on a very hot day against eventual champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

With Sampras approaching his 29th birthday, that run increasingly looks like an anomaly. This time he was beaten at his own game by a big server who likes to push forward to the net and take risks from the baseline.

"I felt I had some chances, but Mark, I give him all the credit, he served huge," Sampras said after watching 23 aces go by.

Two other Americans fared better. Meghann Shaughnessy upset No. 12 seed Julie Halard-Decugis of France 7-5, 6-4. Jan-Michael Gambill ousted No. 8 Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 7-5, 6-1, though it might have been more satisfying if the off-form Kiefer had not missed most of the past two months because of ankle surgery.

But 15th seed Jennifer Capriati, still struggling since her split from coach Harold Solomon, fell to Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia 6-3, 7-5. Capriati was a Grand Slam seed for the first time since 1993.

Though Sampras is 7-3 against Philippoussis, he has lost to the Australian twice in Grand Slam events. The first time was in straight sets at the 1996 Australian Open when Philippoussis was a relative unknown. But though Philippoussis, with his short attention span and penchant for unforced errors, has not succeeded consistently on the tour, he has improved his ability to handle pressure (and short, low balls).

He was the key figure in Australia's Davis Cup victory over France last year on indoor clay. And he might have eliminated Sampras in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year if a serious knee injury had not forced him to retire with a one-set lead.

"Playing Mark in the first round is certainly a tough draw," Sampras said. "I certainly haven't got the breaks at this event over the years, but one year, hopefully, I'll get those breaks."

On the women's side, the defending champion traditionally opens play on center court. But this year the defending champion is retired, which means Martina Hingis, whom Steffi Graf beat in last year's final, got the honor of walking onto the court with a few hundred fans in attendance.

Suspense did not surround the outcome. Hingis, of Saddlebrook, beat Sabine Appelmans 6-0, 6-4 in less than an hour. What was in doubt was how the fans would react to Hingis after her histrionics in the '99 final, when she contravened etiquette by crossing the net to question a line call and later served underhand twice out of frustration.

Though Hingis may still have public relations work to do, the response to her Monday was restrained: light applause, scattered whistles. Hingis, as usual, chose to accentuate the positive.

"I'm here since Tuesday, and I never had so many people recognize me walking on the streets in regular clothes, never," she said. "So it was real nice."

Capriati, visibly heavier than during her resurgence from last summer to this March, has lost both her matches without Solomon, first to Anne-Gaelle Sidot in the Italian Open's first round.

"Harold was great for me and a great coach," said Capriati, who lives in Saddlebrook. "But I took myself back from that point to top 20. The coach is always just going to be the coach, but the player is the one that does all the work. I just don't want to make it seem like he brought me back and now because he's not with me, I'm going to go down."

Capriati blamed an Achilles' injury she said took her out for about two months. "I was in especially good shape and on my way to getting in great shape, and that kind of set me back," she said.

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