When Andre Agassi spoke about Pete Sampras on Saturday in Paris, he sounded, as usual, like Solomon: "You have to be disciplined and methodical in how you set up your opportunities out there," he said. "You just can't go through somebody."
Agassi, more than anyone, knows the game of Sampras and hardly had yesterday's spectacle in mind as Sampras and Mark Philippoussis engaged in the first marathon of the competition. The American, fighting against the heavy serve and booming forehand of the younger Australian and trying to inch closer to a tournament he has never won, finally bowed out in dramatic fashion to a double fault at match point.
As the three-hour 39-minute match went to five sets, it was always going to be the slightest waver that tilted it one way or the other. Sampras first critically double faulted in the sixth game for 4-2 before hauling himself back in with a classic immediate break back. The match then went with serve with the Australian edging 7-6 ahead and to match point. Sampras remarkably again double faulted to hand the match to Philippoussis.
"He was tough to break," said Sampras. "I played well but not well enough. I didn't make enough of an impact on his serves. In the fifth set it comes down to nerves and on the day he had the better nerve. "If I'd gotten through I'd have been tough to beat in the next couple of weeks but I just came up short. I'm not surprised. He's been around a couple of years now and has played big games."
The French Open has been the Sampras Holy Grail although he has never applied himself totally to preparing on clay. Having won Wimbledon last year to equal Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam titles, the American has never been able to grind it out on the more physically demanding surface.
In stark contrast Gustavo Kuerten, the 1997 champion, made the biggest impression of the day with a three-set rout of Swede Andreas Vinciguerra. The wind played its part in the Brazilian's 60, 6-0, 6-4 win as gusts swept down onto the dry red clay. That the people in the ringside seats were blinded was of little concern to the Swede, a reluctant party to Kuerten's impatient rout.
"The guy knew I was playing well so he was under a bit of pressure. I see myself as being in good shape and hope to keep it like that," said the Brazilian afterwards.
Britain's Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski arrived as usual with little hope, their game built according to a blueprint meant for Wimbledon grass and simply perilous on clay. "Teem", as they call him in Paris, came through after a brief scare, with Rusedski falling at the first hurdle to Slava Dosedel. Henman cruised to an early 7-5, 7-5 two-set lead and was 3-0 up in the third before American Vincent Spadea fought back to 3-3. A toilet break threatened to upset the Briton's charge but he managed to prevail, 6-4.
"It is in the rules. He's perfectly entitled to do that but it's a stupid rule," said Henman of Spadea's lavatory interlude.
