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| January 3, 2002 | Thursday | Shawwal 18, 1422 |
Sampras crashes to shock defeat
ADELAIDE (Australia), Jan 2: Former world number one Pete Sampras was a shock first-round loser to fellow American Todd Martin at the Australian men’s hardcourt tennis championship Wednesday.
The unseeded Martin, 31, won 3-6 6-3 6-4 as Sampras admitted he needed to start again in a bid to gain some confidence for the Australian Open starting on January 14 in Melbourne.
Briton Tim Henman, the top seed, advanced to the quarter-finals after winning the first set against Kenneth Carlsen 7-6 (7-2) before the Dane retired with a shoulder injury.
Fellow Briton Greg Rusedski, the sixth seed, overcame Australian wildcard entry Scott Draper 6-1 3-6 6-4.
Sampras, 30, who failed in 2001 to add to his career tally of 13 Grand Slam titles, had accepted a wild card entry for the event at Adelaide’s Memorial Drive and was the second seed.
Martin said it was obvious Sampras, who lost the U.S. Open final last year to Australia’s 20-year-old world number one Lleyton Hewitt, was not at the top of his game.
Earlier at Adelaide’s Memorial Drive, 1998 U.S. Open finalist Mark Philippoussis beat France’s Julien Boutter 6-3 6-4.
The big-serving Australian had led 6-3 1-0 overnight before rain stopped play.
The Australian men’s hardcourt is the first men’s tournament of the year and one of the main lead-up events to the January 14-27 Australian Open in Melbourne.
Results:
Second round: 6-Greg Rusedski (Britain) beat Scott Draper (Australia) 6-1 3-6 6-4; 1-Tim Henman (Britain) beat Kenneth Carlsen (Denmark) 7-6 (7-2), Carlsen retired with shoulder injury; Alberto Martin (Spain) beat Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) 6-2 7-5
First round: Todd Martin (U.S.) beat Pete Sampras (U.S.) 3-6 6-3 6-4; Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) beat Andrew Ilie (Australia) 6-3 6-1; Mark Philippoussis (Australia) beat Julien Boutter (France) 6-3 6-4; 4-Hicham Arazi (Morocco) beat Michel Kratochvil (Switzerland) 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-3)—Reuters
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