Sampras, Norman Advance in Open
N E W Y O R K, Aug. 30 -- Pete Sampras loves to deliver a message on thefirst point of a match, and the one he sent to Justin Gimelstob—a133 mph service winner up the middle—was emphatic.
It was a serve that left no doubt that Sampras was on, thatthere would be no upset tonight in the U.S. Open asthere had been the night before when two-time champion PatrickRafter tumbled out.
Sampras kept pounding out that message, game after game, neverlosing a service game, and when he served four aces in a row in thefinal game to run his total to 13, Gimelstob was gone, 6-3, 6-1,6-3.
“It was one of those matches where everything kind ofclicked,” Sampras said. “I was keyed up. You hope it carries overfor the rest of the tournament, but it’s pretty tough to keep thatlevel up. But it can be done.”
If he can, Gimelstob thought, nobody will beat him.
‘Too Good’
“I couldn’t hang with him,” Gimelstob said. “He just playedmuch too good for me. Even when I felt like I was on the ball, itwas just a little bit out of my reach. He was moving the ballaround well and placing it well and obviously hitting it hard. Itwas pretty impressive.”
Since he turned pro four years ago, the 6-foot-5 Gimelstob hascarried the promise, or the hope, that he would be the next greatAmerican men’s player, that he would inherit Sampras’ place in thegame. Now, at 23, with nothing better than a third-round finish inmajor tournaments, and with no year-end ranking higher than No. 80,there is no reason to believe he will ever come close to that goal.
At 29, Sampras, four times the U.S. Open champ, is still capableof making Gimelstob look like an awkward amateur. Even with a bumleg at Wimbledon, he beat Gimelstob in four sets. The way he beathim this time only emphasized the gap between them.
Stormin’ Norman
Away from the antics of an abrasive tennis dad and the mutteringof fans unhappy about a new statue at the National Tennis Center,Magnus Norman labored during the afternoon like a forgotten man inpursuit of the No. 1 ranking.
