Sampras, Agassi Storm Through

L O N D O N, July 3, 2000 -- Defending champion Pete Samprasresumed normal service at Wimbledon on Monday, crushing Sweden’sJonas Bjorkman 6-3 6-2 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals.

Andre Agassi — second seed and last year’s runner-up -— stayed on track to meet him in Sunday’s final, beating Germany’s David Prinosil in equally convincing fashion 6-4 6-3 6-3.

In Wednesday’s quarters, Agassi will face 10th seed MarkPhilippoussis after the Australian extinguished hopes of a homevictory by beating eighth seed Tim Henman 6-1 5-7 6-7 6-3 6-4.

Sampras is yet to meet a seed in four rounds and could wellmake it to the final after playing only unseeded players.

Not since John McEnroe 19 years ago has a men’s championplayed a seed for the first time in the final.

Sampras’s next opponent is fellow American Jan-MichaelGambill who beat Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, the last seed left inSampras’s half of the draw, 7-6 6-3 6-3 6-4.

A painful leg injury had threatened the American’s bid for aseventh title in eight years last week, but it was not thewounded bear of Saturday but the Sampras of old who prowledCentre Court against Bjorkman.

Trademark Jumps

The top seed crashed down 17 aces, pulverised the ball onboth sides of the court and showed off his trademark jumps — asure sign Sampras’s game has returned to near 100 percentefficiency — to smash anything high and loose.

“I felt better about the way I played today. I had moreenergy,” Sampras said afterward. “The injury is sore, butit’s OK and I’m going to go out there and try my best underthe circumstances.”

Top women’s seed Martina Hingis set up a mouth-wateringquarterfinal against Venus Williams after both won in straightsets and Serena, the younger Williams sister, gave away just twogames as she thrashed Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand 6-1 6-1.

U.S. Open champion Serena now plays fellow American LisaRaymond who beat Olga Barabanschikova of Belarus 6-4 6-2.

The 18-year-old has lost just 11 games in four matches and,along with her sister and Hingis, has yet to lose a set.

Defending women’s champion Lindsay Davenport swept pastfellow American Jennifer Capriati 6-3 6-3 on centre court andshe now plays Monica Seles who defeated her old rival ArantxaSanchez-Vicario 6-3 6-4 in their first meeting on grass.

Hingis beat 11th seed Anke Huber for the 10th time insuccession, 6-1 6-2. “I was playing well, just kept thepressure on her all the time,” Hingis said. “I’m lookingforward to it (playing Venus), it is now the tournamentbegins.”

Venus went on a mental “walkabout” when leading 5-1 in thesecond set and with three matchpoints to her credit.

Clawed Way Back

She let Belgium’s Sabine Appelmans claw her way back intothe match before eventually closing out a 6-4 6-4 win.

“Yeah, it is really annoying. But I can raise the level ofmy game. I just have to get my mind there,” Williams said.

“There is no way these girls should be competing like thatagainst me in these sets unless of course I let them.”

Hingis has never beaten both sisters in one tournament andthe way Serena is playing, she will find it difficult here.

“I’m ready to play Venus or Hingis or whoever it will be,”said Serena. “I think I’m definitely playing better here than Iwas at the [U.S.] Open.”

Sampras suffered from acute tendinitis after beating KarolKucera on Wednesday and lost the first set against JustinGimelstob in abject fashion on Saturday.

He eventually beat his compatriot in four sets, but only at80 percent of his grasscourt ability. Another day’s rest onSunday brought his confidence—and feared service—back tofull capacity and he swept Bjorkman away.

Sampras’ Fragile Body

“My body has been fragile over the past couple of years,but this is the big one and I’m going to do whatever I have toto get through,” Sampras said.

Belarus qualifier Vladimir Voltchkov, a former juniorchampion here, reached the quarterfinals in Sampras’s half bybeating Wayne Ferreira of South Africa 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-0).

Voltchkov, ranked 237 in the world, beat sixth seed CedricPioline in the second round and could well reach the semifinalsat only his fifth Grand Slam tournament.

He now plays Byron Black of Zimbabwe who beat Gianluca Pozziof Italy 4-6 7-6 6-2 6-4.

Alexander Popp of Germany, inspired to take up tennis afterwatching Boris Becker win Wimbledon in 1985, beat Marc Rosset ofSwitzerland 6-1 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-1 in a high-altitude battlebetween the tallest two on the men’s tour.

Australia’s Jelena Dokic was in devastating form in her 6-16-3 victory over American Kristina Brandi before revealing shehad sacked her coach, Australian legend Tony Roche, tighteningthe grip of her volatile father on her career.

Unseeded Dokic, who caused one of the biggest upsets inWimbledon history when knocking out Hingis last year, now playsunseeded Spaniard Magui Serna who beat American Lilia Osterloh7-6 6-3.