Sampras makes another early exit at Scottsdale tennis
March 8, 2002
Wayne Ferreira made Pete Sampras' stay at the $400,000 Franklin Templeton Classic another brief one.
Ferreira lost just 12 points on serve Thursday night and recorded a 7-5, 7-5 second-round triumph over the third-seeded American, who has not reached the quarterfinals in five visits to Scottsdale.
The unseeded South African broke Sampras in the 11th game of both sets and needed just 74 minutes to advance to a meeting with seventh seed Xavier Malisse of Belgium.
"I like to play against guys that serve and volley big," said Ferreira, who squared his career mark against Sampras at 6-6. "I've played well this year and I've worked hard on my game. My backhand and forehand have improved and I've changed my whole stance. I'm playing as well as I ever have."
Sampras was playing his first tournament since losing in the fourth round at the Australian Open.
"I didn't put any pressure on his serve and he played a solid match," Sampras said. "I can't seem to break through here and I've always struggled."
Ferreira has six wins over Sampras in 12 meetings, six of which have gone to three sets.
``I've had the most success against him, and people classify him as the best tennis player,'' Ferreira said. ``What more can I say? I can go later on in life and tell my kids and grandkids that I beat Pete Sampras six times.''
He never let Sampras get comfortable.
``I didn't have enough impact on his service game to put any pressure on him,'' Sampras said. ``The first match, I felt I kind of got going, but then maybe I played a little bit cautious, and at this level you can't afford to do that.''
Ferreira got the only service breaks of the match in the 11th game of both sets, each time taking advantage of a double-fault by Sampras.
Ferreira bore down each time on his next serve. In the 12th game of the first set, he had two service winners and finished the set with an ace while winning every point.
In the 12th game of the second, Sampras got to 30-40 with a net-skimming service return that Ferreira backhanded into the net.
But Ferreira won the next three points, ending the match with a forehand winner that passed Sampras at the net.
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