Pete Sampras overcame a lapse in concentration to beat Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3 7-5 3-6 6-4 to safely book his passage into the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne this morning. The former world number one, gunning for his 14th Grand Slam, lost the third set then failed to serve out the match leading 5-4 in the fourth before breaking the Argentine in the next game to seal victory.
Sampras, Australian Open champion in 1994 and 1997, needed five sets to beat Chela in last year's Australian Open and said he had expected another tough match. The 30-year-old, who plays either Nicolas Escude or Alex Calatrava in the next round, is the third highest seed left in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Russian ninth seed Marat Safin moved smoothly through, with a 6-2 7-6 6-1 hammering of Christophe Rochus to reach the third round. Safin is, with Sampras, one of only two players left in the draw to have won a grand slam title, and the 2000 US Open champion is fast becoming a favourite in Melbourne.
Germany's Olympic silver medallist Tommy Haas eased through with a comprehensive 6-1 6-2 6-3 over French qualifier Jean-Francois Bachelot. Thirteenth seed Andy Roddick withdrew after twisting his ankle in his second round match against Croatian Ivan Ljubicic while trailing 7-6 3-2 and France's Arnaud Clement, runner-up to Andre Agassi last year, went out to Argentine Gaston Gaudio. Another seed, Belgian Xavier Malisse, was blown off court by the experienced Todd Martin while another surprise result saw Moya, the 17th seed and runner-up five years ago, lose to German Rainer Schuettler in five sets.
Filed by Shane Murray & Amanda Fennelly
