Rios finds form on clay

Earlier, Pete Sampras beat the heat with icepacks and kept his spare rackets tucked away in the on-court fridge during a 7-6 7-3, 6-4 win over Thomas Enqvist.

With afternoon temperatures at the Foro Italico reaching 30 degrees centigrade, the world No 1 took precautions against the conditions 8212; for himself and his gear.

Sampras is bidding to win the French Open, the one Grand Slam title that has eluded him during his career.

US Open champion Patrick Rafter fell to a 6-3, 6-7 4-7, 6-4 upset loss against Sjeng Schalken, the world number 57. The Dutchman profited from the late injury pulloutof Marc Rosset of Switzerland. Australian Rafter was unperturbed.

The match was the Australian8217;s first on clay since the French Open semifinals last June. He will play in St Polten next week to prepare for Paris.

quot;I was giving 100 per cent all of the time,quot; Rafter said of his motivation.

Other 1st round results: Patrick Rafter Aus lost to 3-6 7-6 7-4 4-6; Sjeng Schalken Net Yevgeny Kafelnikov Rus bt Thomas Johansson Swe 7-6 7-5 6-2; Alberto Berasategui Spa bt Giorgio Galimberti Ita 6-4 6-2; Felix Mantilla Spa bt Jim Courier US 6-2 6-3; Cedric Pioline Fra bt Goran Ivaniseic Cro 6-4 6-4; Davide Sangunietti Ita bt Julian Alonso Spa 6-1 6-0; Vincenzo Santopadre Ita bt Karol Kucera Slo 6-4 6-3.

Davenport struggles

BERLIN: Lindsay Davenport, 25 pounds lighter than two years ago, is the world8217;s second-ranked tennis player. And she8217;s still surprised about it.

quot;Well I am. If you had asked someone several years ago, they probably would have laughed at you,quot; saidthe US player.

Davenport struggled past Slovakia8217;s Henrieta Nagyova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in almost two hours today to reach the third round of the 926,000 German Open on a day when few top players saw action.

A pair of seeds did play today, with No 15 Lisa Raymond of the United States beating Germany8217;s Jana Kandarr, 6-3, 6-3 and No 11 Testud ousting Belarus8217; Natasha Zvereva, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.