Second-seeded Pete Sampras plummeted out of Roland Garros this evening, falling to the big-hitting Australian Mark Philippoussis 4-6 7-5 7-6(4) 4-6 8-6.
It was a match that exhibited all the trademarks of a Grand Slam final, the two players leaving more than their fair share of divots on the soft red clay of Court Central by the time night had fallen and the match was completed.
Both born serve-volleyers, Sampras and Philippoussis rarely found the patience to rally from the baseline in today's first round encounter - together they ventured to the net on 96 occasions. In stark contrast though, the tall Australian belted down 62 winners (to Sampras' 36) and 23 aces (to Sampras' 15).
In the end, the Sampras serve folded under the strain of the Philippoussis firepower returns, and the American suffered yet another frustrating loss at the only Grand Slam seemed destined to never be his.
Match Facts
· Today's match was the 10th time Sampras and Philippoussis had played each other (Sampras leads 7-3).
· Sampras owns 62 career singles titles; Philippoussis owns eight.
· Sampras has never won the Roland Garros crown - it is the only Grand Slam singles title to elude him.
· Sampras holds the record (tied with Roy Emerson) for the most Grand Slam singles titles (12). He is the first player this century to win six Wimbledon titles.
· Sampras finished the year ranked No1 in the world for six consecutive years (1993-98).
· Today's victory was only Philippoussis' second clay court win this year.
· Last year, Philippoussis finished in the top 20 for the third consecutive season.
· Philippoussis' best Grand Slam showing was at the 1998 US Open, where he was beaten in the final by fellow Aussie Patrick Rafter.
· In 1998, Philippoussis was named in People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive list.
· Philippoussis sports an 'Alexander the Great' tattoo on his right arm.
FRENCH STARTS WITH HUGE UPSET - SAMPRAS OUT TO THE SCUD
(crosscourt)
It was quite a way to start off the French Open, the second seed in the mens crashing out on the first day, but in recent years Pete Sampras failing to go beyond the second round in Paris is common practice. Paris in the springtime is not something the American is too partial to.
In an incredible display of power tennis on a clay court, Mark Philippoussis dashed Sampras' dreams of winning the only Grand Slam crown to elude him. It was a match that lived up to its potential and after three hours 39 minutes a double fault from the American handed victory to Philippoussis who missed out on a seeding by just one place.
"It was definitely a great match and definitely a match that I'm very proud to win, but the most important thing is that I don't want to get too excited because it was (just) the first match I played, now I have to concentrate on the next round," said Philippoussis. "This is the French Open, this is big, so I just gave it my all out there and just came through."
It was never going to be an easy match but Sampras felt better about the fact that he was not facing a clay court specialist in the first round. When Philippoussis served a double fault when down set point in the first it seemed that Sampras may have had an in. But Philippoussis, who so often in the past has folded in such circumstances, remained calm and persisted with his attack.
The quality of the match remained at a constant...high and Philippoussis' power prevented Sampras from picking up a rhythm when he needed to. The Australian said he was particularly pleased with the way he concentrated because he admitted that before the French Open his mind had not been on the job. It was something that did not surprise Sampras.
"Mark has been out here a number of years, he's played big matches so I wasn't surprised," said Sampras, who has not gone past the second round the last three years now. "I felt he's a very experienced player and in the fifth set it comes down to nerves and he had the better nerve."
The result has once again frustrated the American's chances of winning the French Open and he must realise that the chances are slipping away. Most feel he is destined to never win this crown.
"I'm turning 29 this year, the years are going," he said. "I see myself playing this game for a lot of years, but certainly every year the French goes by and I don't win here, it's one opportunity missed. I'll be back next year and every year that I am playing, but when you're playing it and you want it now, at least get yourself in contention, and the last couple of years I haven't even got into the second week, it's a little discouraging."
The last time Martina Hingis played on Court Central at Roland Garros was the 1999 final against Steffi Graf when Hingis grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory and turned the final into an emotional roller coaster and mess. The teenager was booed and jeered off the court.
But today when she walked on with her head held high, she was well received. There were no tantrums and the petulance of twelve months ago was not there. Hingis brushed aside the Belgian Sabine Appelmans 6-0, 6-4.
"People remind about that all the time, when I look in the paper, or I see the magazine articles," said Hingis. "I laugh at the pictures because it was an unbelievable emotional thing last year. I think since then many things have changed. I am playing well now and that's what is the most important to me. I just try to have a good tournament. I am happy to have my first round down because it's never easy. It's always a special thing at a Grand Slam."
Hingis, who says that she has never been recognised in Paris as this last week since getting in early, added that if she is at her best she has a good chance but if there is someone better than her, "it's not a drama".
Jelena Dokic, who has also been known to be tempestuous, played a very solid mental match, a match that she came within two points of losing. The Australian, in her second French Open (she lost first round last year) rallied back to beat Tina Pisnik 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. The Slovenian player just could not close out the match and was mentally frail in the crunch, that's where Dokic was so good.
"My game altogether wasn't too bad but the conditions were tough," she said. "I had a slow start but it was tough mentally and physically. I was well out of the match but I believed in myself that I could actually come back and win - I took it a point at a time. I was tough hanging in and fitness wise, I like playing long matches. I can last."
The French player Julie Halard-Decugis was the first seed to fall, the number 12 lost to the American Meghann Shaughnessy in straight sets, while Nicolas Kiefer, the eighth seed, was the first of the mens seeds to crash out. The German has been battling with a foot injury sine the Ericsson Open in Miami in mid-March and probably wished he hadn't played in Paris. He was beaten by Jan-Michael Gambill 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.
Jennifer Capriati was very disappointing. After doing so well at the Australian Open this year, the 15th seeded American has seen her form slump and she was not really in the hunt against Fabiola Zuluaga, the Columbian who has been putting together some good results on the clay including a semifinal, in Rome, and a final, in Madrid, the two weeks before Paris.
In other results, fourth seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov survived a five setter with Ivan Ljubicic who beat the Russian earlier this year. Monica Seles was another winner and so were Tim Henman, Amelie Mauresmo, Alex Corretja and Mary Pierce.
While Philippoussis and Dokic advanced, two other Australians dropped away, Wayne Arthurs and Richard Fromberg, they lost to Sebastien Grosjean and Roger Federer respectively.
Sampras continues losing streak at French Open
SportsLine.com wire reports
PARIS -- Head down, shoulders slumped, legs heavy, Pete Sampras shuffled away from the French Open as he has year after year, frustrated, disappointed, yet doggedly vowing to try again for as long as he plays.
This is where Sampras goes each spring in search of a personal validation, proof that he can win on clay and capture the Grand Slam title that keeps getting away. Each year he leaves early, the victim of more punishment.
The beating came this time in the first round Monday against Australia's Mark Philippoussis, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 8-6, and it was all the more painful to the No. 2 Sampras because he played so well in defeat and because he knows that at 28 time is running out on him.
He knows, too, that his trend at the French doesn't look promising -- third round and out three years ago, second round the past two years, first round this year.
After more than 3˝ hours in blustery weather that kept shifting from hot to cold, from sunny to cloudy and back again, this match between serving titans ended in the most ignoble way at 2:06 p.m. ET, when Sampras double-faulted on match point.
Ever the stranger in a strange land at Roland Garros, Sampras had asked the umpire at 6-6 in the fifth set whether they play a tiebreaker now.
No, the umpire said, no tiebreaker. At the French, unlike the U.S. Open, the fifth set is played out in games.
Sampras never won another point. He watched Philippoussis serve his 23rd ace in taking a 7-6 lead at love before Sampras fell at love in the final game.
Sampras looked the picture of misery and weariness at the end, though he denied that fatigue was a factor. His legs moved slowly, his socks and shoes seemed caked with a couple of pounds of clay, and he had no punch in his game. When he tried to describe his emotions a few minutes later, his voice was as soft and weak as some of his shots in the final games.
"I'm sitting here very disappointed about what happened," Sampras said. "Very close match. Could have gone either way. I feel like I had some chances, but Mark, I give him all the credit. He served huge."
Sampras took solace in playing a solid, tough match that showed he can adapt his serve-and-volley style to a modicum of proficiency on clay. There weren't many long rallies, but there also weren't a lot of embarrassing gaffes, as there had been in Sampras' other early round exits.
In 11 appearances at the French, Sampras has lost in the first round twice, the second round four times, and the third round once. He reached the quarters three times and the semifinals once.
"I certainly haven't gotten the breaks at this event over the years," Sampras said. "One year, hopefully, I'll get those breaks.
"I feel like my game was there today. I didn't feel like I played poorly. I played fine. But it's frustrating flying home tomorrow. I was certainly hoping to be a threat here."
For some of the greatest players in tennis history, certain tournaments eluded their grasp. For Bjorn Borg, it was the U.S. Open. For Ivan Lendl, it was Wimbledon. For Sampras, it is the French.
And like the others in their time, Sampras won't concede that his game is ill-suited to this surface, that he can't win here.
"There's never been a question in my mind that I can play well here," he said. "I played fine today. I came up short. I feel like the court here is quick enough to serve and volley. I was doing well today. The game's there. It's just a matter of putting it all together and winning a close match like this.
"It's a tough draw to play Mark in the first round, to try to get your bearings ... against someone who gives you no rhythm and serves that big."
Sampras said he expects to keep trying at the French until he retires.
"I'm turning 29 this year and the years are going," he said. "I see myself playing this game for a lot of years, but certainly every year the French goes by and I don't win here, it's one opportunity missed. But I'll be back next year and every year that I'm playing this game."
Asked whether it would bother him if he never won the French, never completed the career Grand Slam as rival Andre Agassi did last year, Sampras replied:
"In a perfect world, a perfect career, you'd like to win all the majors, do everything in the game. I have a very high bar that I've raised. It kind of would be disappointing if I would not win it, but life will go on. It's certainly nothing to be ashamed of, not winning here. I would certainly one day love to do it."
The men's No. 4, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, blew a big lead but still edged Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4.
Gustavo Kuerten, the 1997 champion who is seeded No. 5, won the first 15 games and beating Andreas Vinciguerra 6-0, 6-0, 6-3.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2000, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Scud downs Pete in French marathon
By Julian Bristow- Paris 05/29/00
Mark Philippoussis more than made up for a tardy start to the clay court season when he defeated No.2 seed Pete Sampras in the first round of the French Open. Scud destroyed the man who has won all Grand Slams but this one, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), 4-6, 8-6.
"I'm sitting here very disappointed about what happened," Sampras said. "Very close match. Could have gone either way. I feel like I had some chances, but Mark, I give him all the credit. He served huge." It took Scud more than three and a half hours to wear done 28-year-old Sampras, who wasn't sure if the fifth set would be resolved in a tiebreaker and has to check with the umpire at 6-6.
No, came the reply, and Philippoussis sent down ace No.23 for a 7-6 lead. Sampras couldn't win another point, and double-faulted at the final moment. He looked downcast, exhausted and emotionally vulnerable after the marathon. "I certainly haven't gotten the breaks at this event over the years," Sampras said. "One year, hopefully, I'll get those breaks. I feel like my game was there today. I didn't feel like I played poorly. I played fine. But it's frustrating flying home tomorrow. I was certainly hoping to be a threat here."
In 11 years at the French Open, Sampras has only ever gone as far as the semi-finals, in 1996. He has lost in the first round twice and the second round four times, yet against Scud his serve-volley game looked well suited to the red dirt of Roland Garros.
"There's never been a question in my mind that I can play well here," he said. "I played fine today. I came up short. I feel like the court here is quick enough to serve and volley. I was doing well today. The game's there. It's just a matter of putting it all together and winning a close match like this. "It's a tough draw to play Mark in the first round, to try to get your bearings ... against someone who gives you no rhythm and serves that big."
Sampras, winner of a record-tying 12 Grand Slam titles, said he would never give up trying to crack the French. "I'm turning 29 this year and the years are going," he said. "I see myself playing this game for a lot of years, but certainly every year the French goes by and I don't win here, it's one opportunity missed.
But I'll be back next year and every year that I'm playing this game. In a perfect world, a perfect career, you'd like to win all the majors, do everything in the game. I have a very high bar that I've raised. It kind of would be disappointing if I would not win it, but life will go on. It's certainly nothing to be ashamed of, not winning here. I would certainly one day love to do it."
Scud ousts Sampras in five set marathon
(abc news)
Mark Philippoussis ousted second seed Pete Sampras in a not-too-unexpected upset at the French Open today.
It was only the second time in his career that Sampras had been ejected from Roland Garros in the first round and he did not go out without a fight.
It took Philippoussis more than three and a half hours to wear down the second seed and take the match 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, (4-7), 6-4, 8-6.
Philippoussis will play American Paul Goldstein in his second round match.
A double fault by Philippoussis cost him the first set against Sampras, despite the eight aces he sent down against the Wimbledon champion.
He took the second set with a series of powerful serves, including a 216 kilometre per hour monster in the closing game and forced Sampras to a tie break in the third.
Down two sets, Sampras got animated, bringing his powerful forehand into action and took the fourth set with his 11th ace.
Philippoussis forged ahead to lead 4-2 in the final set, but Sampras, who has never won Roland Garros despite his record-equalling 12 grand slam titles, was not going to leave without a struggle.
He broke back and slugged it out with Philippoussis in a duel of the big servers until his eighth double fault cost him the match.
Philippoussis, who had previously only won two of his encounters against Sampras, described today's match as one of his best victories.
"It was definitely a great match, obviously a match that I'm very proud of winning, but I don't want to get too excited," he said.
Sampras, who planned to catch a plane back to America as soon as possible, spoke of his disappointment after the match.
"He's very tough to break on any surface, especially when he's serving consistently that big and hard," Sampras said.
"I just didn't make enough of an impact on his serves and it's tough to beat someone when you're struggling in that area."
In other results, Australia's Jelena Dokic says her superior fitness and mental strength helped her through a difficult opening round match at the French Open.
But another Australian, Richard Fromberg, lost in four sets to Frenchman Sebastian Grosjean.
Women's top seed Martina Hingis cruised through to the second round with a straight sets win against Belgium's Sabine Appelmans.
Dokic lost her opening set 3-6 to Slovakia's Tina Pisnik, but fought back to win the next two sets 7-6, 6-4.
"I like playing long matches. I mean if it gets to it, I can last. I've never had problems," she said.
"I think fitness probably did have something to do with it, both mentally and physically."
Close call leaves Sampras disappointed again
(sportserver)
By STEVE WILSTEIN
PARIS (May 29, 2000 5:22 p.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Head down, shoulders slumped, legs heavy, Pete Sampras shuffled away from the French Open as he has year after year, frustrated, disappointed, yet doggedly vowing to try again for as long as he plays.
This is where Sampras goes each spring in search of a personal validation, proof that he can win on clay and capture the Grand Slam title that keeps getting away. Each year he leaves early, the victim of more punishment.
The beating came this time in the first round Monday against Australia's Mark Philippoussis, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 8-6, and it was all the more painful to the No. 2 Sampras because he played so well in defeat and because he knows that at 28 time is running out on him.
He knows, too, that his trend at the French doesn't look promising - third round and out three years ago, second round the past two years, first round this year.
After more than 3 1/2 hours in blustery weather that kept shifting from hot to cold, from sunny to cloudy and back again, this match between serving titans ended in the most ignoble way at 8:06 p.m., when Sampras double-faulted on match point.
Ever the stranger in a strange land at Roland Garros, Sampras had asked the umpire at 6-6 in the fifth set whether they play a tiebreaker now.
No, the umpire said, no tiebreaker. At the French, unlike the U.S. Open, the fifth set is played out in games.
Sampras never won another point. He watched Philippoussis serve his 23rd ace in taking a 7-6 lead at love before Sampras fell at love in the final game.
Sampras looked the picture of misery and weariness at the end, though he denied that fatigue was a factor. His legs moved slowly, his socks and shoes seemed caked with a couple of pounds of clay, and he had no punch in his game. When he tried to describe his emotions a few minutes later, his voice was as soft and weak as some of his shots in the final games.
"I'm sitting here very disappointed about what happened," Sampras said. "Very close match. Could have gone either way. I feel like I had some chances, but Mark, I give him all the credit. He served huge."
Sampras took solace in playing a solid, tough match that showed he can adapt his serve-and-volley style to a modicum of proficiency on clay. There weren't many long rallies, but there also weren't a lot of embarrassing gaffes, as there had been in Sampras' other early round exits.
In 11 appearances at the French, Sampras has lost in the first round twice, the second round four times, and the third round once. He reached the quarters three times and the semifinals once.
"I certainly haven't gotten the breaks at this event over the years," Sampras said. "One year, hopefully, I'll get those breaks.
"I feel like my game was there today. I didn't feel like I played poorly. I played fine. But it's frustrating flying home tomorrow. I was certainly hoping to be a threat here."
For some of the greatest players in tennis history, certain tournaments eluded their grasp. For Bjorn Borg, it was the U.S. Open. For Ivan Lendl, it was Wimbledon. For Sampras, it is the French.
And like the others in their time, Sampras won't concede that his game is ill-suited to this surface, that he can't win here.
"There's never been a question in my mind that I can play well here," he said. "I played fine today. I came up short. I feel like the court here is quick enough to serve and volley. I was doing well today. The game's there. It's just a matter of putting it all together and winning a close match like this.
"It's a tough draw to play Mark in the first round, to try to get your bearings ... against someone who gives you no rhythm and serves that big."
Sampras said he expects to keep trying at the French until he retires.
"I'm turning 29 this year and the years are going," he said. "I see myself playing this game for a lot of years, but certainly every year the French goes by and I don't win here, it's one opportunity missed. But I'll be back next year and every year that I'm playing this game."
Asked whether it would bother him if he never won the French, never completed the career Grand Slam as rival Andre Agassi did last year, Sampras replied:
"In a perfect world, a perfect career, you'd like to win all the majors, do everything in the game. I have a very high bar that I've raised. It kind of would be disappointing if I would not win it, but life will go on. It's certainly nothing to be ashamed of, not winning here. I would certainly one day love to do it."
SAMPRAS DOWNED BY THE SCUD
Matthew Cronin (www.rolandgarros.org/en/)
Monday, May 29, 2000
In yet another devastating defeat in his crypt called Roland Garros, No2 Pete Sampras was unable to muster up the big shots at crunch time and lost a 4-6 7-5 7-6 (4) 4-6 8-6 heartbreaker to Australian Mark Philippoussis on Monday.
Sampras battled gamely throughout the three hour and a 40 minute contest, but in the end, couldn't cover up his greatest weakness, his backhand.
Playing as if he was on his backyard hardcourt, the American frequently chip-and-charged and served brilliantly, smacking 15 aces and 35 service winners. But the 6"4' Aussie proved to be the better clay court player, controlling the vast majority of their baseline rallies with his huge forehand, outsteadying Sampras on the backhand side and only producing 41 unforced errors to 53 from Sampras.
"This is a big win for me," said Philippoussis, who entered the match with a 2-7 record against Sampras. "I competed well and hung in there."
Sampras felt like he let a great opportunity slip away. "I haven't gotten the breaks over years and I'm a little down and disappointed right now. I'm sure frustrated that I'm flying home tomorrow….. Playing Mark in the first round is a tough draw but I played fine today, not poorly like last year. If I would have gotten through this match I think I would have been pretty tough to beat the next couple weeks."
Philippoussis, one of the game's fastest servers, more than matched his opponent in the service department, cracking 23 aces and 20 service winners.
"He served really big," said Sampras. "It's tough to get any rhythm against him. I wasn't able to make much of an impact on his service games, which made the difference."
Sampras gutted his way into the fifth set, but at 6-7, was unable to calm himself and muffed a few volleys. The 12-time Grand Slam winner ended the contest on a sour note, double faulting on match point.
"The fifth set comes down to nerves and he had better nerves," Sampras said.
The 23-year-old Philippoussis' best result here was a fourth round showing in '96. However, the hard-hitting Aussie has the arsenal to do well on clay, with his ability to muscle winners from the back of the court and take over the net at opportune times.
With 12 Grand Slams titles and a record six year straight as the year-end No1, Sampras is considered by many to the greatest of all-time. However, although he reached the Roland Garros semis in '96, Sampras has never shown that he has the physical constitution or enough firepower from the baseline to win Roland Garros.
Sampras' Roland Garros record since '96 has been down right embarrassing. In '99, he was beat up in the second round by eventual finalist Andrei Medvedev in four sets. In '98, he stunned by Paraguay's Ramon Delgado in the second round. In '97, Magnus Norman blew him off the court in round three.
But the Californian said he will keep coming back for more.
"At age 29, every year another chance slips away, but I plan on playing for a number of more years and I'll keep coming back here and keep trying," Sampras said.
Tennis-Sampras beaten in French first round
By Ossian Shine
PARIS, May 29 (Reuters) - Huge serving Mark Philippoussis smashed second seed and world number two Pete Sampras out of the first round of the French Open on Monday in a five-set marathon.
The world number two was beaten 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 8-6 in three hours 39 minutes on Centre Court.
Four double faults at four crunch moments decided the clash, the final one coming as Sampras served facing three match points to hand the Australian victory.
``I am really disappointed,'' Sampras said afterwards.
``But all credit to Mark. I thought I competed well to come back from two sets to one but I missed a couple of volleys there at 7-6 and you know the rest.
``In the fifth set it comes down to nerves and he had the better nerve.
``One year, hopefully, I'll get those breaks here. I thought my game was there today and it's sure frustrating flying home tomorrow.''
Philippoussis said: ``I concentrated well...and I had to, the whole match. I am extremely pleased.''
Earlier women's top seed Martina Hingis and third seed Monica Seles cruised into the second round while men's fifth seed Gustavo Kuerten underlined why he is such a strong favourite coming into the tournament, blasting Swede Andreas Vinciguerra 6-0 6-0 6-3 in only 73 minutes.
Fourth seeded Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov avoided exit by scraping through in five sets past Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic 6-4 6-4 3-6 3-6 6-4.
BLUSTERY CENTRE COURT
Sampras began his match brightly enough, holding his own serve comfortably on a blustery Centre Court.
The pair, two of the biggest servers in the game, slugged it out toe-to-toe for the first set and Philippoussis eventually double-faulted at set-point in the 10th game to hand the American the lead.
Philippoussis stormed back, though, continuing to heap pressure on Sampras and forced the break for a 6-5 lead before serving out to level, clinching it with a crunching ace.
A tiebreak was needed to separate the two in the third set and a whipped passing shot handed the Australian the mini-break for 3-1 and then the set.
Sampras refused to buckle and a punched forehand volley saw him snatch a break for 4-3 in the fourth. It was all he needed as he served out three games later to send the match into a fifth set.
Philippoussis broke to go 4-2 up on a Sampras double fault but handed the advantage straight back and had to wait until the 14th game of the final set to clinch victory.
Swiss world number one Hingis banished the nightmares of her last appearance on the Parisian Centre Court by brushing aside Belgium's Sabine Appelmans 6-0 6-4 in just 52 minutes.
The runner-up in 1997 and last year looked completely at ease as she goes for her first French Open title.
She conceded just eight points in the opening set and it took 25 minutes for Appelmans to get on the scoreboard.
The Belgian came into it a little in the second set but Hingis closed the match out in a matter-of-fact fashion.
``It is really great to be back here...I am trying to forget all about last year.''
TEARS AND GAMESMANSHIP
In the 1999 final against Steffi Graf she allowed a seemingly impregnable position to slip in a flurry of tears and gamesmanship which led to her defeat.
``I learned a lot from what happened last year,'' said Hingis.
Kuerten's victory was even more emphatic that Hingis's and Vinciguerra offered little resistance as the Brazilian claycourt specialist ripped past him in double quick time.
``I got into a rhthym quickly like I have done in my last tournaments,'' the 23-year-old said afterwards.
``Once I got into the lead I could relax and start to try some shots.
German eighth seed Nicolas Kiefer and French 12th seed Julie Halard-Decugis became big-name casualties when they were comfortably beaten by two Americans, Jan-Michael Gambill and Meghann Shaughnessy.
American Seles cruised past Silvija Talaja, champion in Strasbourg last week, 6-2 6-2 while sixth-seed Mary Pierce delighted home fans by beating Tara Snyder 6-3 6-1.
14:35 05-29-00
Tennis-Sampras blows another French Open chance
By Steve Keating
PARIS, May 29 (Reuters) - It was a new stadium but the same old result as Pete Sampras made another early exit from the French Open on Monday, surrendering in five sets to Australia's Mark Philippoussis.
While it was only the second time in 11 visits to Roland Garros that Sampras had been bundled out in the opening round, his early departure was not a shock -- his poor results on clay in the build-up to Paris offered hints of an upset.
Yet it was a dejected Sampras who walked away from the rebuilt Court Central knowing he had squandered another opportunity at claiming the only grand slam title to elude him.
``I turn 29 this year, the years are going,'' said Sampras, following the 4-6 7-5 7-6 4-6 8-6 defeat.
``I see myself playing this game for a lot of years but certainly every year the French goes by and I don't win here, it's one opportunity missed.
``I'll be back next year and every year that I'm playing this game.
``You want to at least get yourself into contention and the last couple of years I haven't even made the second week.''
The dominant tennis player of the last decade -- with 12 grand slam and 62 tournament titles to his credit -- Sampras has never found his comfort zone on the Parisian clay.
INJURIES
Despite a season interrupted by a string of injuries, Sampras arrived in Paris talking confidently of collecting a record 13th major crown.
His best performance at Roland Garros had come in 1996 when he reached the semifinals, having played only two clay court matches in the build-up -- losing both.
But two days of rain and cool temperatures combined with blustery winds on Monday to make an already difficult task even tougher.
``I certainly haven't had the breaks in this event over the years,'' said Sampras, who had performed only marginally better in the previous two years, faltering in the second round. ``I'm disappointed, down on myself.
I felt like my game was there today. But it will be frustrating flying home tomorrow. It's unfortunate that I'm out.
``There's never been a question in my mind that I can't play well here. One year hopefully I'll get those breaks.''
In recent years the fates have not been kind to Sampras and appeared against the American even before the first serve was struck, when he was drawn against hard-hitting Philippousis in the opening round.
The Australian, with his booming serve on target, kept the pressure on Sampras throughout the match, pounding 23 aces past the American.
``You know it's a tough draw to play Mark in the first round but that's the way the draw goes,'' said Sampras, who will now turn his attention to Wimbledon. ``It was a very close match and could have gone either way.