Sampras Knocked Out of Australian Open
M E L B O U R N E, Jan. 21 -- Third seed Pete Sampras was knocked out of the Australian Open today, beaten 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-4 by unseeded American compatriot Todd Martin.
Sampras, winner of a record 13 grand slam singles titlesincluding two Australian Opens, crashed to a shock defeat intwo-and-a-half hours.
"I don't know what I could have done," Sampras said afteronly his third defeat by Martin in 20 meetings. "This is thebest he's played against me in many years.
"He played a great match and I give him all the credit inthe world for that."
Martin had never beaten Sampras in a grand slam and lost the1994 Australian Open final to him.
But the 30-year-old Martin, who also lost a U.S. Open finalto Andre Agassi, recovered from losing the first set in atiebreak to win.‘Just the Better Player’
He broke Sampras' serve four times and dropped his own onlyonce as the world number three started to show signs oftiredness after three tough matches earlier in the week. Martin will play Agassi in the quarter-finals.
"From 3-3 in the second set for the rest of the match he wasjust the better player," Sampras said. "I always felt like I wasunder pressure on my service game.
"I just felt he played better than me today. I've had myfair share of wins but today he played at a high level.
"It's disappointing. It's not the way I wanted to start theyear," said the 29-year-old Sampras who has won seven Wimbledonsand four U.S. Opens as well as his two Australian titles.
"But I feel very eager to keep on going. I think I can stillwin majors and I think I can win a couple more before I'mfinished."
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