Thursday, August 01, 2002
Sampras encouraged by another victory
The Associated Press
TORONTO — Pete Sampras, seeking his first tournament title in over two years, beat Hyung-taik Lee 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 Wednesday night in a second-round match in the Tennis Masters Canada.
Sampras, the No. 13 seed and sentimental favorite of the 8,300 fans in attendance, advanced to face Tommy Haas in the next round.
Haas won for the second time since his parents survived a near-fatal motorcycle accident, defeating Sjeng Schalken 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 earlier Wednesday.
Sampras hasn't won a tournament title since capturing Wimbledon in 2000. He received a standing ovation after his featured night match that lasted 2 hours, 8 minutes.
“Here, I want to go out there and be positive and play with some energy,” he said. “My goal here is to do well and to win, but also to go out there with a positive attitude.
“I don't deserve to beat myself up. I don't deserve to torture myself any more than I do.”
Sampras, who fired 23 aces for the second night in a row, sees small signs that his game is turning around.
“It's just a general attitude,” he said. “I'm not getting down on myself, which I've done a little bit this year when things weren't going well, and things were snowballing, and I was starting to get deflated.”
Haas' parents, Peter and Brigitte, were seriously injured June 8 after the Harley-Davidson motorcycle they were riding collided with a truck in Sarasota, Fla. Haas' father spent 2 1/2 weeks in a coma and nearly lost a leg. His mother spent four days in intensive care.
This is his second tournament since the accident. The German was eliminated in his first tournament, last week in Los Angeles.
Haas hopes his success is medicine for his parents, who are rehabbing in a German hospital.
“I certainly hope that my parents can see me play on TV,” said Haas, who defeated Frederic Niemeyer in his opening-round match Tuesday. “That's why it's also good for me to be in another round here. But other than that, it's a tough situation.”
American Andy Roddick beat Nicolas Lapentti 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a controversial match.
Roddick, the No. 12 seed, called over a trainer while leading 5-4 in the third set with Lapentti serving. He had his calf muscles massaged, saying they were cramping, before resuming the match. Lapentti thought Roddick was exaggerating.
“Everyone has a different point of view, and I think tennis is a sport where you have to be gentlemanly,” said Lapentti, who was in Roddick's face arguing for several minutes after the match. “It's not the first time he's done this.
“A player cramping like he is, almost falling on the floor, can't run. So that's what upset me.”
Roddick was dismayed the match ended on a bad note.
“I wasn't intentionally trying to make him mad, I was just trying to win a tennis match,” he said.
Marat Safin, the No. 2 seed, beat defending champion Andrei Pavel 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a second-round match.
Safin won the 2000 tournament in Toronto before going on to win the U.S. Open later that summer. Pavel won the Tennis Masters Canada last year in Montreal.
“It is already history, two years and one year ago, it's already in the past,” Safin said. “You're coming here to win it again, and to win the tournament. It doesn't matter against who you're playing, you just go for it.”
Safin next plays Marcelo Rios, who beat Carlos Moya 7-5, 7-5.
Tennis Masters Canada Results
Sports Stories
Dodgers 11, Reds 5
Reds Box, Runs
Rare Wagner card found - maybe
White activated; Reitsma sent down
Getting Kearns out is almost a no-no
Reds Notebook: Chen's confidence up
Beltre leads Dodgers out of homer slump
Marlins 8, Cardinals 5
Mariners 5, Tigers 2
Red Sox 2, Angels 1
Contenders tweak rosters at deadline
Arbitrator could OK contraction
Louisville 6, Indianapolis 3
Wilson steps up in sack race
Kitna refocuses in QB competition
Autographs, fireworks tonight
Bengals Notebook: Rookies adjust to camp
NFL Notebook: Dallas mum on Smith's future
Ex-UC star Blount becomes a Bull again
Sampras encouraged by another victory
