Pete Sampras salutes cheering fans as he leaves the court. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        MASON - Opponents used to parade into postmatch interviews and sound both frustrated and in awe after matches against Pete Sampras. That was then. This is now:

        Sampras, the 13-time Grand Slam champion, sat in a chair after his second-round loss Wednesday talking in glowing terms about Wayne Arthur's serve. The 31-year-old Australian knocked the 15th-seeded Sampras out of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

        “He really is one of the best servers I think I have played against,” Sampras said. “...And he backs it up with a big second serve. Tough one to lose. It was an awkward match. You get no rhythm out there. I am a little bit at the mercy of him. I don't feel like I had much control out there.”

        “It does delight me to hear maybe the greatest player ever say that about someone's serves,” Arthurs said. “It's a huge compliment for anybody.”

Sampras fans celebrate an ace. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Arthurs, who got into the main draw through the qualifying tournament, collected his fourth victory over a top-20 player this year.

        He lost his first five matches of the year and started 3-9, still reeling from a loss to France in the Davis Cup final. After replacing an injured Patrick Rafter, Arthurs lost the fifth and decisive match in four sets to Nicolas Escude.

        “I was a little mentally bruised after that,” Arthurs said. “It took me a while to get over that, probably longer than it should have.”

Wayne Arthurs (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Since April, the left-hander has been to the final in Nottingham, England, the fourth round at Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of two other events.

        It was a career-high fifth consecutive three-set match for Sampras, who turns 31 Monday. He had to battle past Tennis Masters Series Toronto winner Guillermo Canas Tuesday night, then play an afternoon match Wednesday.

        Sampras lost in Canada last week on a third-set tiebreaker - in the third round against Tommy Haas, double-faulting on match point. Sampras has not won a title in 32 tournaments and he's 20-16 this year.

Andy Roddick (left) watches with rock singer Dave Matthews (right). (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        “He's certainly not the Pete Sampras of the '90s, that's for sure,” Arthurs said. “Then again, you go out and you still have that aura when he's at the other end, but maybe the aura isn't as big as it used to be. Yes, maybe he's a little more vulnerable than he used to be.”

        Sampras, who won the championship in Cincinnati in 1992, '97 and '99, was eliminated in the second round for the second straight year and has not been past the third round since 1999.

        He plans to play one more tournament, Long Island (Aug. 19-25), before the U.S. Open, and feels he can make a run at a 14th Slam; he was runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt at the Open last year and lost to Marat Safin in the final in 2000.

Sampras heads off into the sunset. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        “I am looking forward to it,” Sampras said. “I feel like I am hitting the ball OK and my body is holding up quite well. I am ready to go. I am a little disappointed these two weeks didn't show more, but ... by the U.S. Open, hopefully I will be peaking at the right time and playing great.”

        Said Arthurs: “He probably wants to break more records, and he probably believes that he still can. It is possible. He can still go out there and win the U.S. Open. I don't think he's in the scrap pit yet.”

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