Sampras develops feet of clay again

With the departures of Sampras, Hewitt and Ferrero, eight seeds have already hit the dust at the $2.95 million tournament, the fifth of this year’s masters series events.

Tim Henman and current ATP champions race leader Magnus Norman both avoided the seeds’ graveyard, however, on a day when wet weather held up proceedings.

British eighth seed Henman battled back from a set down to oust unseeded Frenchman Jerome Golmard 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 and book a place in the last 16 where he will face Zabaleta.

Norman, fresh from his win at Rome at the weekend, struggled initially before overcoming German wildcard Rainer Schuttler 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

The 25-year-old Henman, benefited from having the Centre Court’s sliding canopy roof brought into action when heavy rain fell after opening set, in which he said his tennis was `abysmal’.

The roof may have suited Henman — “I was delighted they closed the roof. It broke up the match and gave me the chance to talk things through” with coach David Felgate — but, metaphorically, it fell on Sampras, whose preparations for the French Open, the only Grand Slam he has yet to win, now lie in ruins.

However, for former world number one Marcelo Rios, battling to move back into the fast lane sent out a clear message to the Chilean’s rivals that the defending champion will not give up his title lightly with a 6-1 6-0 slaughter of German wildcard Michael Kohlmann in just 49 minutes.

Rios next faces former French Open junior champion Mariano Puerta of Argentina, who knocked out Sjeng Schalken of The Netherlands, conqueror of second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov on Tuesday.

Venus, Pierce advance

ROME: World number four Venus Williams started the defence of her Italian Open title with a forthright 6-1 6-2 defeat of fellow American Chanda Rubin on Wednesday.

Playing only her second tournament after a 5-1/2 month break due to tendinitis, Williams never showed the blistering form which gave her the title on Rome’s red clay a year ago.

Williams’s victim in last year’s final, Mary Pierce, survived a scare at the end of her first set against Germany’s Marlene Weingartner before easing to a 7-5 6-3 win.

Pierce now faces a repeat of the last year’s semi-final against compatriot and 12th seed Amelie Mauresmo, who crushed Kveta Hrdlickova of the Czech Republic 6-0 6-2.

In other matches of the day, Corina Moraryu upset No 8 seed Sandrine Testud of France 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 and Denisa Chladkova beat No 13 seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan.

Italian Tathiana Garbin threw a scare into Nathalie Tauziat before the Frenchwoman rallied 5-7 6-2 6-4. And Italy’s Rita Grande ousted Kristina Brandi 6-4 7-5 in a match pitting unseeded players while No 6 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario knocked off Nola Pavlina 6-3 6-1.

Grand double at Hamburg in offing

HAMBURG: Organisers of the $2.95 million Hamburg Masters Series event are considering the idea of bringing men and women together by having a simultaneous tournament for both sexes.

Current arrangements provide for the men playing here in mid-May while the women play the German Open in Berlin a fortnight earlier.

Hamburg Masters Series tournament director Gunter Sanders said he hoped to realise his dream of two tournaments for the price of one, an idea already floated in the past but thus far rejected.

“That’s always been my dream. We’d have to make a few structural changes but it would be a possibility in three years time. If we don’t manage it we could become a second-class event,” Sanders told The Bild

daily on Thursday.

The Rothenbaum Stadium authorities have previously envisaged building some new courts to expand the venue here, which also hosted the women’s Betty Barclay Cup last week.

To date, aside from Grand Slams, the paths of the elite men and women tend to cross infrequently at major tournaments but in cases where they do — Indian Wells and Key Biscayne — crowds have recently mushroomed.

According to Bild, ATP Tour Chief executive officer Mark Miles appears to back Sanders, commenting: “That’s the future. We should try it in Hamburg.”