Serena and Sampras roll on, Haas gives shirt off his back

Jim Slater, Agence France-Presse, New York

World number one Serena Williams and 13-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras advanced with ease here Wednesday at the US Open, while third seed Tommy Haas struggled to win and surrendered the shirt off his back.

It was that sort of strange day at the year's final Grand Slam tournament, one which ended in rain with four matches being postponed to Thursday, including the one fourth seed Lindsay Davenport led 6-4, 2-2 over Hungary's Petra Mandula.

Reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion Williams routed Russia's Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-1 to reach the third round while four-time US Open winner Sampras blasted Spain's Albert Portas 6- 1, 6-4, 6-4, in a first-round affair.

Germany's Haas, who has battled forearm tendinitis the past two weeks, had the best match of the blustery day, outlasting 61st-ranked Spaniard David Sanchez 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in three hours and 23 minutes.

Haas tried to wear a sleeveless shirt for the match but US Tennis Association officials would not allow it, forcing a change just before the start.

"I was looking forward to it," Haas said. "I'm the kind of guy that these sleeves annoy me for a long time."

Eight double faults proved more bothersome. In the final game, Haas double faulted three times in a row, twice on match points, but came back and claimed the match with a service winner.

"He handed it to me and I almost gave it back to him. It's just crazy," Haas said. "My legs were cramping up. And I'm a horrible wind player. I'm lucky to win. I wasn't playing my best tennis. The first set I won was really lucky."

Williams needed only 40 minutes to oust the 16-year-old Dinara Safina, the sister of 2001 US Open men's champion Marat Safin, and stretch her Grand Slam win streak to 16 matches.

Serena and sister Venus, the second-seeded defending champion, hope to meet for the fourth time in the past five Grand Slam finals -- trying to create a dynasty to rival that of the glory days of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

"We're trying to get there. That's our goal," Serena Williams said. "I don't think we're there the way Martina and Chris were. We are working hard. Venus motivates me. She makes me want to go home and work hard. Seeing her do this well make we really want to go out and work."

Sampras, who has not won a title since setting the all-time Slam singles record in Wimbledon at 2000, fired 10 aces and 33 winners to oust Portas in 93 minutes.

The 31-year-old American admits he has concentrated more upon his family and the upcoming birth of his first child more than the sport that once consumed his life.

Russia's Elena Bovina ousted Yugoslavia's fifth-seeded Jelena Dokic 6-3, 6-2, to reach the third round, taking advantage of 29 unforced errors by Dokic to win the battle of 19-year-olds in only an hour.

Britain's Tim Henman, the fifth seed, and compatriot Greg Rusedski advanced to the second round on the men's side. Henman ousted Finland's Tuomas Ketola 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, with no ill effects on his injured shoulder.

Rusedski dispatched American Alex Kim 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6- 3, and booked a date with Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, who beat American Prakash Amritraj 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.

Argentina's David Nalbandian, the surprise runner-up last month at Wimbledon, was ousted by Armenia's Sargis Sargsian 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.