MELBOURNE, Australia -- This wasn't Pete Sampras' usual way
of winning.
Sampras, who has used a formidable serve-and-volley game to win
13 Grand Slam tournaments, was broken six times before beating
Bohdan Ulihrach 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-5 Wednesday.
|  | | Australia's Andrew Ille and the crowd enjoy his victory over the No. 9 seed, Juan Carlos Ferrero. |
The No. 3 seed advanced to the Australian Open's third round
despite 12 double faults and 46 unforced errors in a three-hour
match.
Sampras missed on his first match point in the final set's 10th
game after some desperate retrieving by Ulihrach.
He had to overcome two double faults to hold for 6-5. Then, on
his second match point, he brought the Czech player up to the net
with a short volley and then passed him with a backhand volley down
the line.
Spain's fortunes suffered a big blow with a defeat by No. 9-seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Ferrero, vexed by the scrambling and spinning of Australia's
Andrew Ilie, lost 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.
Defending champion Andre Agassi thrashed fellow American Paul Goldstein 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.
Agassi, who won his second Australian Open title when he
beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the final last year, took just 77
minutes to reach the third round.
"I really believe that if I continue striking the ball and
moving like I am and concentrating like I am, I'll do all right,"
said Agassi, the No. 6 seed.
He won the first five games en route to taking the first
set in 23 minutes and fought back from a break down in the
second to win 12 out of the last 14 games.
Sampras gave credit to Ulihrach for putting pressure on his
service game and pushing him to double fault by trying for too
much.
"I felt like I was serving well, but he was returning and
passing me great," said Sampras, who converted six of nine break
points, matching Ulihrach's figure.
"I also felt like I was playing well enough from the back of
the court to break him."
Sampras wasn't the only men's seed who found progress difficult.
No. 2 Marat Safin, the U.S. Open champion, overcame initial
floundering and beat Romania's Andrei Pavel 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
"I didn't know what to do, where to return, what I had to do.
... He was playing great tennis," Safin said. "Finally I found my
game in the second and third sets."
No. 12 Patrick Rafter, a two-time U.S. Open winner, finally
overcame Russian qualifier Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6
(7-4). He failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the fourth set, but
reached match point in the tiebreaker with a drop shot and won
three points later with a tough serve.
"I never hit the ball well from the word go," Rafter said.
"He sort of kept me on the back foot a lot. ... I definitely saw
defeat there at some stages."
Rafter said he needed a quality workout ahead of his next match
Friday, but added, "I did what I had to do today, so that was a
good thing."
No. 13 Cedric Pioline struggled through some rough patches
before beating Czech player Slava Dosedel 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Ferrero, the hero of Spain's victory over Australia for the
Davis Cup last month, appeared to be back on track when he took
advantage of errors by Ilie and won the fourth set easily.
But Ilie, who finished last year at 55th, found his touch again
in the final set. He broke Ferrero at love for a 3-2 lead, scoring
his last two points with forehands down the line. He then saved two
break points with service aces, and lost only three points in the
final two games.
Ilie, who had watched his team's Davis Cup defeat on television,
said, "I found it very disappointing that I couldn't be there and
support the guys. I just wanted to do my bit today."
Advancing was easier for No. 8 Tim Henman, a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6
(9-7) winner over Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti, and No. 14 Dominik
Hrbaty, who won 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 against France's Francisco Clavet.
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