Not even a drubbing from Pete Sampras could take the ear-splitting grin off Greg Rusedski's face.
Rusedski flashed his toothy smile throughout his fourth-round Centre Court match Monday against the two-time defending champion.When it was over, with Sampras a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 winner, Rusedski still was beaming.
While Rusedski tried his best to engage the crowd, Sampras never wavered from his serious demeanor as he went about winning his 18th consecutive match at Wimbledon to reach the quarterfinals.
"I was trying to wipe the smile off his face," Sampras said.
To which Rusedski replied, "I'm sorry to say he's never going to wipe that smile off my face, no matter what."
"I'm going to have fun out there," he said. "It doesn't matter. If Pete's not going to want to smile or show his emotions, that's fine by me."
The Canadian-born Rusedski, who switched his allegiance to Britain in May, instantly became the No. 1 player and crowd favorite in a country that hasn't had a Wimbledon men's champion since 1936.
"The people have been so wonderful and given so much to me these past few weeks," he said. "Every match had something special for me. It was just so great.
"Even to play Sampras today, to lose in three sets, was a dream match for me. I now know how it feels to play probably the best grass-courter in our generation on Centre Court. It's just been a wonderful experience, everything."
Rusedski said Sampras, who broke four times while never losing his own serve, "wanted to prove something today."
Sampras wouldn't say it, but he all but admitted he was eager to put Rusedski in his place. He tugged his cap over his face, smiled wryly and declined to comment when asked whether players thought Rusedski "was getting a bit big for his britches."
Sampras did find plenty to fault in Rusedski's game.
"I think there are some errors in his game that he might have to improve," he said. "He's obviously got a big serve, but if you get it back, he's pretty average. He doesn't really return that well. He's got some time to improve, but he has a couple of holes in his game."
Sampras' next opponent is Shuzo Matsuoka, the first Japanese man to progress this far at a Grand Slam event since Jiro Sato reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 1933.
Matsuoka, who fell onto his back in exhilaration Monday after beating Michael Joyce, is the outsider in a quarterfinal lineup that also includes the following matchups Wednesday: Top-seeded Andre Agassi against Jacco Eltingh of the Netherlands, No. 3 Boris Becker of Germany vs. Cedric Pioline of France, and No. 4 Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia against No. 6 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia.
Meanwhile, Murphy Jensen called his family today to report he was safe and well, a day after the flamboyant doubles player failed to show for a mixed doubles match.
The 26-year-old player disappeared without explanation before a mixed doubles match Monday and his worried family called police and local hospitals when he failed to return to their rented house Monday night.
But his mother Patricia, who is staying with Murphy's brother Luke at a rented house near the All England Club, said today, "He is safe and well. He telephoned his sister in Atlanta to say he is in London.
"He didn't make his match yesterday and he was defaulted and he decided to go off," she said. "We are not concerned about his safety anymore, but we want to know exactly what happened."
Mrs. Jensen declined to reveal her son's exact whereabouts in London.
Murphy Jensen was scheduled to join Brenda Schultz-McCarthy for a mid-afternoon match Monday against Kelly Jones and Katrina Adams. Umpire Roland Herfel waited the required 15 minutes before ruling the match a default.
"It's actually kind of frightening," Luke Jensen, his brother and men's doubles partner, said Monday. "All of his rackets are there, his plane tickets."
The All England Club fined Murphy Jensen $1,000 for the default. He was the third player to default, following the disqualifications of Britain's Tim Henman for slamming a ball that hit a ball girl and American Jeff Tarango for walking off the court in a dispute with French umpire Bruno Rebeuh.
Tarango on Monday defended his combative wife, Benedicte, and stuck to his charges against a "corrupt" umpire, despite sustaining the largest fine ever levied at Wimbledon.
"My wife and I had to stand alone and defend ourselves against some overwhelming pressures," Tarango said after getting hit with $15,500 in fines for his actions in stalking away from Saturday's match with Alexander Mronz.
Tarango said he was assured a proper investigation will be conducted by the Grand Slam Committee into his accusations against Rebeuh, who was slapped twice in the face after the match by Benedicte Tarango.
The women's quarterfinals were set for today.
Defending champion and No. 3 seed Conchita Martinez of Spain was up on Centre Court against No. 8 Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina, while No. 2 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain was paired against No. 15 Brenda Shultz-McCarthy of the Netherlands on Court One.
In later matches, top-seeded and five-time champion Steffi Graf of Germany was set to face No. 13 Mary Joe Fernandez, with No. 4 Jana Novotna of Czech Republic playing No. 6 Kimiko Date - the first Japanese woman ever to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.