TENNIS : SAMPRAS RETAKES NO. 1 SPOT.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Top-seeded Pete Sampras Peter “Pete” Sampras (born 12 August 1971), is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the United States. During his 15-year career he won a record 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles in 52 appearances. Sampras finished as No. defeated two-time defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre Michael Chang Michael Te-Pei Chang (張德培; Pinyin: Zhāng Dépéi; born February 22 1972, in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.) is an American former professional tennis player. 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Sunday to win the $328,000 Salem Open in Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. and regain his No. 1 ranking on the ATP ATP: see adenosine triphosphate. ATP in full adenosine triphosphate Organic compound, substrate in many enzyme-catalyzed reactions (see catalysis) in the cells of animals, plants, and microorganisms. Tour. Sampras took over the top spot from 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. , despite the Austrian's victory in Portugal later Sunday. ``It's nice to get the ranking here and I am going to Tokyo where hopefully I can hang on to it,'' said Sampras, who earned $43,000 for his 10th victory in 17 matches against his fellow American. ``But as I have said before, it is the rankings at the end of the year that count.'' Sampras, trying to attack Chang's second serve, broke the Chinese-American in the fifth game to win the first set, but Chang came back in the second set, breaking in the sixth game. Sampras won the match with a break in the final game of the third set, outdueling Chang at the net. ``I think winning the tournament is more important for me,'' said Sampras. ``We played a very high level of tennis for most of the match and it felt really good beating Chang in Hong Kong.'' ``You know that the Hong Kong fans are rooting for him. But you expect it here and you just have to shut it out.'' Chang, who earned $25,300 as the runner-up, was hoping to win the Hong Kong title for a third straight year. ``I realize that I played the best player in the world and that I have got the capabilities of beating him,'' said Chang. ``I think a lot of the other top players feel that I am not that far away.'' Muster master on clay: Top-seed and defending champion Thomas Muster of Austria defeated training mate Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in the hard-fought final of the $625,000 Estoril Open in Portugal. On the clay courts of the Estadio Nacional, Muster notched his 37th career title, the 35th on clay, and second victory of the season following his win in Mexico City. The two players, coached by Ronnie Leitgeb, have played nine times since 1993, with Muster winning six and Gaudenzi three. Muster now heads to the Barcelona Open, where he will defend his title. Black beaten: Top-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden overpowered o·ver·pow·er tr.v. o·ver·pow·ered, o·ver·pow·er·ing, o·ver·pow·ers 1. To overcome or vanquish by superior force; subdue. 2. To affect so strongly as to make helpless or ineffective; overwhelm. 3. third-seeded Byron Black of Zimbabwe 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) to win the Indian Open in New Delhi. The 22-year-old Enqvist, ranked ninth on the ATP Tour, served 18 aces to beat ex-USC star Black for the second time in five career meetings. Low seed succeeds: Irina Spirlea of Romania became the lowest-seeded player ever to win the Bausch and Lomb Championships when she defeated Mary Pierce, 6-7 (9-7), 6-4, 6-3 at Amelia Island, Fla. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Pete Sampras defeated Michael Chang in Hong Kong andpassed Thomas Muster as No. 1. Associated Press |
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