There will be no re-Pete at the RCA Championships.
Pete Sampras, the defending champion and No. 1 seed in the tournament, lost to Sweden's Magnus Larsson on Thursday, snapping the top-ranked player's winning streak at 13 matches.Sampras' reason why? He had trouble adjusting to the style of ball used at Indianapolis.
"The balls were flying on me all day," Sampras said. "It's tough to play when you're not sure where the ball is going."
Larsson, seeded 16th in the tournament and ranked 37th in the world, used a strong serve to eliminate Sampras 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).
"I knew I needed to serve really well, which I did," said Larsson, who had lost four straight matches to Sampras, the No. 1 seed. "Hopefully, this is the beginning of something good."
Larsson had 18 aces to Sampras' 11 in the 2-hour, 7-minute match. Larsson led 6-0 in the third-set tiebreaker, but wasn't shaken when Sampras rallied to 6-5.
"When you have beaten him once, you know you can beat him again, especially when he's not on top of his game," said Larsson, who last beat Sampras in the 1994 Grand Slam Cup.
Sampras said he was disappointed by the end of his winning streak, "but obviously I'm not going to win every week. You have to accept it, learn from it and take a little time off and get ready for the U.S. Open."
The victory sends Larsson into the quarterfinals against No. 10 Wayne Ferreira, a player he has beaten three straight times. Ferreira, the 1994 RCA champion, defeated fellow South African Grant Stafford 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Meanwhile, No. 14 seed Andre Agassi continued his strong play after months of frustration. He advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Alex Corretja of Spain, the third seed.
Agassi, who lost in the first round of three straight tournaments coming into Indianapolis, won his first match over a top-five player this year. He said the match was his best effort since last year's U.S. Open, when he defeated then-No. 2 Thomas Muster.
Agassi, who broke four of Corretja's last five services, said he felt his confidence building, but realizes that he's only at about 65 percent of his former self.
"If I managed to get two steps better, it was tonight," Agassi said. "A match like that helps you play the big points well."
du Maurier Open
TORONTO - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario is falling fast in the computer rankings.
One of only seven players to be No. 1 in the world since the WTA Tour computer rankings began in November 1975, Sanchez Vicario is now No. 11 - and slipping.
Her slide was hastened on Thursday when she lost to her doubles partner, Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-4, 6-3, in the du Maurier Open tennis tournament.
The Spaniard was ranked No. 1 for 12 weeks just two years ago. But her last tournament victory came in Hamburg, Germany, in May 1996. So far this year, she has reached only one final - at Eastbourne, England, in June. Jana Novotna was leading 6-5 in the first set when rain halted play and the match was declared abandoned.
She was ranked 11th in the world this week, the first time since 1989 Sanchez Vicario has been out of the top 10.
Sixth-seeded Mary Pierce also was upset on Thursday, falling to 69th-ranked Rita Grande of Italy 6-2, 6-2.
Pilot Pen
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - David Wheaton kept up with the ATP Tour by watching a lot of television when he was sidelined for seven months by an ailing Achilles tendon.
Wheaton is fully recovered now, as Mark Philippoussis can attest.
Putting on a show of stamina and strength Thursday, Wheaton won two matches, including an upset of the third-seeded Philippoussis 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Pilot Pen International.
The lone American still playing after four days of competition, Wheaton was one of several players who had to play twice to make up for time lost to Wednesday's near-washout.
Wheaton was out for nearly for nearly three months before he had surgery in March to remove a bone chip near his Achilles tendon. The Pilot Pen is his fifth tournament since returning last month.
Hours after beating Philippoussis, Wheaton faced Marc Goellner in another long match, outlasting him 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he will meet No. 5 Petr Korda.
The winner of three career singles titles, Wheaton rose to No. 12 on the ATP Tour ranking in 1991 and has lifetime earnings of more than $5 million.