Sampras

WIMBLEDON, England - Maybe he'll be the next great American men's tennis player. Maybe he'll win Wimbledon one day. Maybe he'll live out all the dreams he nurtured while knocking a tennis ball in his garage. But whatever happens now in the career of Andy Roddick will be measured from yesterday, when he walked on to Centre Court for the first time in his career and walked off a star. It was only the first week, only the second round, but Roddick turned pre-tournament buzz into Centre Court noise when he rocked No. 11 seed Thomas Johansson, 7-6 (1)

WIMBLEDON, England -- Andy Roddick acts like most any other 18-year-old American kid on a European adventure. He wears baggy shorts down to there, tugs a grungy-looking baseball cap backward and uncorks a shout that can cut through a noisy night. But Roddick possesses one other thing that not many other American kids will ever have -- a tennis serve that shoots above 130 mph and sends fans scrambling for cover. Yesterday, Roddick used his frenetic energy and booming serve to introduce himself to Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-0)

WIMBLEDON, England -- At Wimbledon, the times really are changing. So are the grass lawns. And even the seeding system. As the world's most tradition-bound tennis tournament opens today, there are a few new wrinkles to go with some great old stories. They'll start an hour earlier in the main stadiums, play on grass courts planted with a hardier rye seed and move through a draw with 32 seeds, double the usual number. But for all the incremental changes at the All England Club, it's the plot lines that fire the serve-and-volley drama.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Here's the thing about predicting if Pete Sampras will ever lose his Wimbledon crown. Who, exactly, is going to beat him?. . . Still thinking? As Sampras prepares for tomorrow's opening-round Wimbledon match against Spain's Francisco Clavet, he remains the nearly unconquered, unchallenged grass-court king. Sure, the usual contenders will be trotted out, such as Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt and Tim Henman. The fans also will cast long looks at the new American phenom, Andy Roddick.

ATLANTA - For those who would pick Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi to win the Australian Open, be aware that one of them won't make the semifinals. The draw two days ago put the former two-time Australian champions in the same quarter of the draw for the first Grand Slam event of 2001, beginning in Melbourne tonight, which is tomorrow in the United States. Agassi says he is as sharp as a year ago, when he beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the final, but Sampras is in a funk. Sampras, seeded third, has lost six of eight matches since the U.S. Open final, and he will be endangered from the start in Australia, with Karol Kucera up first.

It was no surprise that competitive fire took over the Chevy Chase Bank Tennis Challenge at Baltimore Arena last night. When you have Pete Sampras, the game's all-time Grand Slam leader with 13 championships, and the always-ready Todd Martin, points are going to be earned no matter what the occasion. Martin took advantage of a rusty Sampras to score a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win in the 15th annual charity event founded by Pam Shriver. The event, which has raised $2.4 million in its first 14 years, added more than $300,000 to the causes of the Baltimore Community Foundation and area children's charities.

Eagerness is still a major building block in Todd Martin's career, even at age 30, even after 12 years of playing professional tennis. When Martin heard former pro Pam Shriver needed help a few days ago to complete the lineup for the Chevy Chase Bank Tennis Challenge at the Baltimore Arena tonight, he said yes - even though it meant he'd have to fly straight here from an exhibition he played over the weekend in Helsinki. Martin said he is eager to play some competitive tennis. Eager to help Shriver, who helped him with his own charity event in Lansing, Mich.

Pete Sampras is trying to remember the last time he played a one-night exhibition. "It must be eight or nine years ago," he says, speaking from his home in California. "This is rare." The "this" in Sampras' immediate thoughts is the Chevy Chase Bank Tennis Challenge at Baltimore Arena tomorrow night, when he will take on Todd Martin in Pam Shriver's annual benefit for the Baltimore Community Foundation and area children's charities. But he easily could have been talking about this year in his life.

Anna Kournikova isn't coming. Pete Sampras is. That's the latest word on the Chevy Chase Bank Tennis Challenge, being held at the Baltimore Arena next Tuesday. Originally, tournament creator Pam Shriver announced Kournikova would return for the second time in two years to play former teen star and current comeback kid Jennifer Capriati. But over the past several weeks, Kournikova has complained of fatigue and nagging injuries and indicated to Shriver she wanted out. "Late Saturday night, Pete's representative returned my call and said Pete would like to come here," Shriver said.

NEW YORK - Despite his meteoric rise this year in the computer rankings, despite his memorable summer winning tournaments around the world, Marat Safin of Russia knew the obstacles he was trying to overcome in yesterday's U.S. Open men's final against Pete Sampras at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Despite his recent victory over Sampras in Toronto, Safin clearly understood the challenge he was facing. Here was Sampras, the winner of 14 major championships and coming off his record-setting victory at Wimbledon.