Sampras makes tennis history when Rios pulls out Posted: Thursday November 26, 1998 12:55 PM HANOVER, Germany (AP) -- Pete Sampras made tennis history Thursday when Marcelo Rios pulled out of the ATP Tour World Championship, giving Sampras the No. 1 ranking for a record sixth year in a row. Rios pulled out with a back injury before his match against Greg Rusedski. "I waited until the last minute," Rios said. "I went to bed last night thinking I would play." "But when I tried to practice this morning, it was really sore. It made no sense to go out on the court and play two games," Rios said. "I am disappointed but that's the way it goes." "It's really, really sore, it's so sore that I can't go on court. Pulling out of a tournaments is always bad and you don't feel good," Rios said. Rios was the only man who could have threatened Sampras for the No. 1 ranking. By pulling out of the season-ending championship, Rios allowed Sampras to retain the top spot without having to battle for it. Sampras entered the tournament with a 33-point lead over Rios in the computer standings. Sampras shared the record of five straight year-ending No. 1 rankings with fellow American Jimmy Connors, who did it between 1974 and 1978. The new record is unlikely to be ever broken, Sampras said earlier this week. Sampras, who played Karol Kucera later Thursday, already has clinched a berth in the semifinals of the elite tournament he has won four times already. In the first match Thursday, Tim Henman beat Alex Corretja 7-6 (7-4), 6-7, 4-7, 6-2 to become the second player to advance to the semifinals. Rusedski was invited to the tournament to replace Andre Agassi, who dropped out late Wednesday, also because of a back injury. Rusedski played Albert Costa, the second alternate, in a later match Thursday. The US$3.5 million tournament brings together players with the best results over the year. But with Patrick Rafter and Richard Krajicek both pulling out before the event because of injuries and Agassi and Rios also now withdrawing, four of the best players in the world are missing. Rios had to do better than Sampras in the tournament to have a shot at dethroning the American. But Sampras came into the event highly motivated and had scored to quick and impressive victories in his opening matches. "It's certainly a good feeling to be here over the weekend," Sampras said after crushing Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday. "I'm also helping myself by winning. I can't really be too concerned about what Marcelo is doing," Sampras said. "I have to concentrate on my matches. If I take care of things myself and go out and win, then it should be hopefully good enough." Last year, Moya had upset Sampras in a group match, but Sampras went on to capture the US$3.5 million event for the fourth time. "Last year I must admit I felt a little flat. This year, with the ranking up for grabs, I just made a concerted effort to come here a little bit early and prepare as best as I can. "It's obviously a very big week for Marcelo and I. I just wanted to give myself the best chance possible to play well here," Sampras said. Sampras was not even aware that he had clinched a place in the semis and had to be convinced by reporters and ATP officials that he had made it. The way he is playing, he should not have any worries anyway. "It's not easy to play well like I have been today and yesterday. I was coming into today's match pretty confident," Sampras said. "I wanted to make sure I was coming in a little bit more than last year, chipping and charging, trying to put as much pressure on him as possible."
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