Sampras falters on clay again

Associated Press

PARIS — Forget the strong serve, vicious volley, ferocious forehand and beautiful backhand. At the French Open, Pete Sampras has almost no shot.

Pete Sampras reacts after losing a point to Spanish journeyman Galo Blanco. Associated Press

The second-round drubbing was hardly a surprise, because any match on dirt is a struggle for Sampras. He was seeded fifth but admitted being lucky to survive the opening round against qualifier Cedric Kauffmann, who came within a point of his first victory on the men's tour before losing in five sets.

Dating to 1989, Sampras is 0-for-12 at the only Grand Slam tournament he has yet to win. He is 5-5 in matches at Roland Garros since 1996, when he made his best showing by reaching the semifinals.

"As the years go by, it gets more and more difficult," Sampras said. "This is the one that is my biggest challenge. All you can do is learn a little bit from this and come back next year."

At 29, Sampras owns a record 13 major titles, seven from Wimbledon alone, and a French trophy would bolster his place in history. But slow clay gives opponents extra time to counter his serve-and-volley game, so he's sometimes forced to stay at the baseline, where he has slim hope.

"Here is different, no?" said Blanco, ranked 76th. "I have more chances than on another surface against him."

When Sampras charged the net, he too often got passed. Staying back played into Blanco's hands.

"All the baseline points, he was controlling and dictating," Sampras said.

Andre Agassi, Sampras' compatriot and rival, watched part of the match before taking the court himself for a straight-set victory.

"It's never been easy for a game like Pete's to do well here," Agassi said. "On clay, you can't just explode for one shot and hit through the court. He's great at turning an entire point around with one shot, but on clay you can't. You have to fight off three or four, then slowly turn the point around, then slowly finish it."

Agassi, seeded third, plays that more patient style as well as anyone. He beat Julien Boutter, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, and may pose the biggest threat in Paris to No. 1-seeded Gustavo Kuerten.

No. 2 Marat Safin needed 3 1/2 hours to beat Alex Calatrava, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3.

In women's play, No. 6 Serena Williams beat qualifier Katarina Srebotnik, 6-0, 7-5, then tried to quell the latest controversy to involve her and sister Venus, who lost in the first round. The sisters withdrew from doubles Wednesday and Venus flew home to Florida, stirring talk of a rift between them.

"No, we never argue," said Serena, laughing off the subject. "Last argument we had was when I was about 6. . . . For us, family is No. 1. It lasts longer than a sport."

With five of the 10 top-seeded women already gone, No. 1 Martina Hingis and No. 4 Jennifer Capriati remained on course for a semifinal showdown. Hingis needed just 42 minutes to eliminate Catalina Castano, 6-1, 6-0. Capriati, bidding for her second Grand Slam in a row, beat Tathiana Garbin, 6-2, 6-1.

Three-time champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario lost 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to American Amy Frazier, leaving the that draw without a former title holder. Sanchez-Vicario, seeded 11th, threw her racket in frustration after the final point and walked off the court to jeers from the crowd.

Ten seeded women and 11 seeded men reached the third round.