PHILIPPOUSSIS STUNS SAMPRAS\Upset costs No. 1 perch.Byline: Christopher Clarey The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times In 1990, a remarkably composed 19-year-old of Greek origin played nearly flawless power tennis against his elders in his national tennis championship. After Saturday's stunning straight-set loss to Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis (born November 7, 1976) is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994 and as of 2007 resides in Nevada, United States. His background is a combination of Greek and Italian and he is well known for his powerful physique, standing at 6 ft 5 in the third round of the Australian Open
Philippoussis, a remarkably composed 19-year-old Australian whose father emigrated from Greece, was nearly flawless throughout his 6-4, 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-3) victory on center court. He served 29 aces, some as fast 128 mph. He covered the net like the goalkeeper his father once was and ripped winners and passing shots relentlessly off both sides. He also consistently attacked Sampras' second serve. Most remarkable of all was that he never cracked. From start to finish, he was rearing back, swinging for the lines and hitting them against the world's No. 1 player, who had won the past two Grand Slam grand slam n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. events. When Philippoussis walked off the court a winner, with 13,000 fans on their feet and screaming, the teen-ager who was born and reared in Melbourne was already the biggest thing to hit Australian tennis since Pat Cash. "Tonight was like nothing I've felt before," said Philippoussis, who is 6 feet 4 inches and 200 pounds and plays like it. "I felt so confident on the serve. I felt like I could just toss it up and hit an ace how I wanted to. It was an unbelievable feeling." Philippoussis, ranked 39th and nicknamed "Scud" for obvious reasons, has a long way to go to match Sampras, who rolled all the way to the 1990 U.S. Open The term U.S. Open is applied to "open" United States national championships in a particular sport, in which anybody, amateur or professional, American or non-American may compete. These include:
"If Mark can play at the level that he played tonight, he's got the capability to win here, sure," Sampras said. "But that's a big if." The indoor conditions certainly helped Philippoussis. With no wind to trouble his service toss or throw off his high-risk groundstrokes, he was able to keep a consistent groove. But it is one thing for a youngster to put himself in position to win a big match. It is quite another to close it out. "I was trying to keep my emotions back as much as I could," Philippoussis said. "I didn't want to get too pumped up." Saturday night's defeat was particularly damaging to Sampras because it will cost him the No. 1 ranking that he reclaimed from Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi (born April 29 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States who won eight Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. in November. Sampras needed to reach at least the quarterfinals to have a chance of holding onto the top spot. Now, either Agassi or Thomas Muster Thomas Muster (born October 2, 1967 in Leibnitz, Austria) is a former World Number 1 tennis player from Austria. At his peak in the mid-1990s, he was known as the "King of Clay". He is considered one of the finest clay court players that the game has produced. , a winner of 12 tournaments including the French Open last year, will be No. 1 when this tournament ends. "It'll take a little time to get over this, but I've lost before, and I'll have to bounce back," Sampras said. "But hopefully I can regain that No. 1 ranking. Certainly, I measure my year on the majors and this is pretty disappointing." Agassi pulled one more great escape today and grabbed a shot at swiping the No. 1 ranking. Pushed to five sets for the second time in defense of his championship, Agassi overcame Jonas Bjorkman 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 , 6-1, 6-2 and reached to quarterfinals against another beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. former champion, Jim Courier James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. (born August 17 1970, in Sanford, Florida) is a former world number one professional tennis player from the United States. During his ATP career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles – two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. . "If I don't win this tournament, I don't want to be ranked No. 1," said Agassi, who is now competing with Muster for the top spot. "I would fear playing Pete 99.9 percent of the time more than Thomas." Monica Seles changed her tennis outfit today. Nothing else changed, as she mowed down Nakao Sawamatsu 6-1, 6-3 in her fourth consecutive straight-set victory in the Australian. The world's No. 1 is so far beyond the other women pros that she has had to practice against men ranked in the top 100 to get a real workout. Other men who advanced to the fourth round Saturday included No. 4 Boris Becker, No. 6 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Enqvist, Woodforde, Brett Steven and MaliVai Washington. The ease of Becker's 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-3 victory over Magnus Larsson was partly because of the match being played indoors. Because of rain, the center court's retractable roof was closed for good early in the afternoon, and Becker remains one of the world's best indoor players. "Let's just say I wasn't unhappy that happened," Becker said. Other women to advance included No. 2 Conchita Martinez, No. 8 Anke Huber, No. 10 Lindsay Davenport, No. 11 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Yelena Likhovtseva, the Russian who upset Mary Pierce, and 15-year-old Martina Hingis, who beat Mana Endo 6-1, 6-1, in gale-force winds late in the morning. CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo (color) Pete Sampras shows his dejection dejection /de·jec·tion/ (de-jek´shun) a mental state marked by sadness; the lowered mood characteristic of depression. de·jec·tion n. 1. Lowness of spirits; depression; melancholy. during his loss to Aussie Mark Philippoussis Associated Press |
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