Aug. 25, 1999
NEW YORK -- World number one Pete Sampras
and two-time defending champion Patrick Rafter could be tested
right out of the gate after drawing tough first-round opponents
for the U.S. Open tennis championships on Wednesday.
SportsLine wire reports
Four-time champion Sampras, the top seed, begins his quest
for a record 13th Grand Slam singles title against dangerous,
big-hitting Russian teenager Marat Safin.
Related Links:
Lurie: Sampras is happy playing winning tennis T O P N E W S
The fourth-seeded Rafter, sitting out this week to rest an ailing shoulder, opens his title defense against 24th-ranked Frenchman Cedric Pioline, who reached the final in 1993 and has also been a runner-up at Wimbledon.
Women's top seed Martina Hingis, the 1997 Open winner, should be able to ease her way into the year's final Grand Slam, which begins Monday. The Australian Open champion drew 85th-ranked Czech Kveta Hrdlickova as her first victim as she looks to rebound from a disastrous Wimbledon.
Second seed and defending champion Lindsay Davenport must face her own doubles partner in the first round. The reigning Wimbledon champion opens against fellow American Corina Morariu.
Men's second seed Andre Agassi looks to have the smoothest start among the top contenders with an opening match against 104th-ranked Swede Nicklas Kulti and a qualifier awaiting him in the second round.
Since his surprise French Open victory, the resurgent Agassi has only lost to Sampras and Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov this summer, and he finds himself in a quarter of the draw with off-form seeds Carlos Moya (8) and Marcelo Rios (10).
Third seed Kafelnikov, the Australian Open champion who has come on strong of late, opens against Spaniard Alberto Martin. But he faces danger in the second round in a likely clash with Sweden's Thomas Johansson, who barely missed being seeded at 18th in the world.
The luck of the draw was with women's third seed Venus Williams, the 1997 runner-up who faces a qualifier in the first round. She also landed in the opposite half of the draw from seventh-seeded sister Serena, so the power-hitting siblings cannot meet before the final -- as they did this year at the Lipton Championships, won by Venus.
Fourth seed and two-time former champion Monica Seles drew German Barbara Rittner in the first round in the half of the draw that would make Davenport her semifinal opponent.
Venus Williams would meet Hingis in the semis in a rematch of the 1997 final if they live up to their seedings.
Of the top men, Kafelnikov may have the toughest time keeping his semifinal appointment, where he could meet Agassi.
If form holds, the Russian would face 13th-seeded Spaniard Alex Corretja in the round of 16 and either sixth-seeded Briton Tim Henman or former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek (12) in the quarters.
Sampras's potential quarterfinal opponents include ninth- seeded Briton Greg Rusedski, a 1997 finalist, and seventh-seeded American Todd Martin, whom Sampras has dominated in numerous past enounters.
Former world number one Jim Courier is also lurking as a potential fourth-round opponent for the top seed.
 | |
| Pete Sampras will face dangerous Russian teenager Marat Safin in the first round of the U.S. Open. (AP) |
Rafter and Sampras could again hook up in the semifinals -- as they did last year -- provided the charismatic Australian survives his early test.
In the quarterfinals, Rafter could run into 11th-seeded countryman Mark Philippoussis, last year's runner-up who is nursing a sore knee, fifth-seeded Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten or the ever unpredictable unseeded Goran Ivanisevic.
Sixth-seeded South African Amanda Coetzer may have the toughest first-round assignment among the top women with veteran Irina Spirlea as her opening opponent.
In a pair of intriguing first-round matchups, former champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, seeded 10th, and 11th seed Nathalie Tauziat of France drew the rising teens who made a big splash at Wimbledon this year.
Sanchez-Vicario will play 15-year-old Australian Jelena Dokic, while Tauziat faces Wimbledon semifinalist Alexandra Stevenson, daughter of basketball legend Julius Erving.
COPYRIGHT 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or
redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or
delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.