Pete Sampras will face an early hurdle in his bid for a fourth straight Wimbledon title.
The draw today presented Sampras with the prospect of a second-round match against Mark Philippoussis, the big-serving Australian who beat the American star in straight sets in the Australian Open.First, Sampras will face American Richey Reneberg, a doubles specialist who has lost in the first round four times and never advanced past the third. But then looms Philippoussis, if he gets past his tricky first-round encounter against Argentina's Javier Frana.
If Sampras gets through the first two rounds, he should have a relatively easy path to the quarterfinals, where he could face either 10th-seeded Michael Stich or No. 7 Thomas Muster.
The most intriguing first-round match is between Stefan Edberg and Guy Forget. Edberg, a former two-time champion who is seeded No. 12, is playing his final Wimbledon before retirement. Forget is a strong grass-court player who has reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals three times.
Three-time champion Boris Becker, the No. 2 seed, should get off to an easy start with a first-rounder against France's Jean Fleurian.
Andre Agassi, the 1992 champion and third seed, got the most favorable draw, with a qualifier in each of the first two rounds.
Goran Ivanisevic, the fourth seed and two-time finalist, drew Bernd Karbacher of Germany.
Among the women, defending and six-time champion Steffi Graf opens against Ludmila Richterova.
Monica Seles, seeded No. 2 for her first Wimbledon appearance since her stabbing in 1993, is up against Ann Grossman.
In an interesting American pairing, Lori McNeil will play Jennifer Capriati. McNeil is a grass-court expert who reached the semifinals in 1994. Capriati, a semifinalist in 1991 at the age of 15, is returning to Wimbledon for the first time since 1993.