Pete Sampras was sensationally dumped out of the Tennis Masters Series in Cincinnati by Spain's Alberto Martin, who overcame the American 6-4 6-4 to advance to the third round. This latest setback means the seven times Wimbledon champion has failed to win on the professional tour since he last tasted victory at the All England club in July 2000.
Playing in heavy, humid evening sunshine, Sampras clearly had difficulty keeping a firm grip on his racket and controlling his traditional powerful swing, and was eventually undone by Martin, ranked 38th in the world. Sampras, coming to terms with his 16th tournament without success, admitted afterwards: "You never sleep well when you lose a match no matter what. No matter how many titles you won or what you've done in the game, all I care about is what I've done tonight."
Meanwhile, world number one Gustavo Kuerten struggled through the heat before claiming a 7-6 7-6 second round victory over Germany's Tommy Haas, while Briton Greg Rusedski also faced a tough battle against Gaston Gaudio of Argentina, conqueror of second-seed Andre Agassi in the first round. Rusedski, stung by a wasp on his shoulder in the second set tie-breaker, eventually won 7-6 7-6. Compatriot Tim Henman stormed to a swift 6-3 6-3 victory over Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea to move into the third round.
Filed by Shane Murray
