Mathieu eliminates Sampras in second round

Agencies, Commack, New York

Paul-Henri Mathieu, the last of the 48 players to get into the main draw, stunned Pete Sampras 6-3, 6-7 (9), 6-4 in a second- round match at the TD Waterhouse Cup here on Tuesday night.

The 20-year-old, a pro since 1999, originally was scheduled to play in the qualifier but was moved up when Thomas Enqvist withdrew because of an upper respiratory infection.

Earlier this year, Mathieu reached the fourth round of the French Open in his native Paris, losing to Andre Agassi after taking a 2-0 lead.

"This is the biggest win of my career," he said. "It's a great feeling. I had the same feeling when I played against Agassi. You see them on television all the time, but I tried not to be in awe of them. I played my own game."

Sampras has not won a tournament since Wimbledon in 2000, the last of record 13 Grand Slam titles. The non-winning streak has reached 32 straight tournaments and next up is the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 26.

Sampras has won the Open four times and was the runner-up the last two years.

In a first-round match, Vince Spadea, battling to bet back to the No. 20 ranking he held in 1999, beat Magnus Norman 6-4, 6-3.

In another first-round match, Mardy Fish, fresh off his first ever Challenger championship at the Bronx Classic last Sunday, outlasted Olivier Bochus 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Younes ElAynaoui, ranked No. 17, slowed Richard Krajicek's comeback, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-4; while Alex Corretja, a two-time French Open finalist who won in Switzerland and Austria this summer, overtook Adrian Voinea 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

In women's tennis, top-seeded Venus Williams maintained her perfect record in the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, with a 6-2, 6-4 second-round victory over fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy.

Earlier Tuesday, second-seeded Lindsay Davenport defeated Iroda Tulyganova 6-4, 7-5 (3) to advance to the quarterfinals.

In first-round play, No. 6 Amelie Mauresmo beat Tatiana Panova, 6-2, 6-2; Daniela Hantuchova eased to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Jennifer Hopkins; Anastasia Myskina ousted Conchita Martinez 6-1, 6-4; and Patty Schnyder defeated Marta Marrero 6-4, 6-1.

Meanwhile, Australian Lleyton Hewitt and American Serena Williams were named the top seeds on Tuesday for the US Open Tennis Championships, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year which starts on Monday.

Hewitt will try to become the first man since Patrick Rafter in 1997 and 1998 to defend his U.S. Open crown. The world No. 1, Hewitt captured his second career Grand Slam title in July at Wimbledon.

Williams, the current world No. 1 and reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, will try to become the first woman to capture three Grand Slam titles in the same year since Martina Hingis in 1997.

In the women's draw, two-time defending champion Venus Williams - Serena's sister - received the No. 2 seed and is followed by fellow Americans Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport. This marks the first time since 1983 that Americans occupy the top four women's seeds.

Yugoslavia's Jelena Dokic is seeded fifth and followed by American Monica Seles and Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.

Amelie Mauresmo of France rounds out the top 10.