Sampras Gets Difficult Draw at U.S. Open

NEW YORK – Pete Sampras was drawn today to face Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, and the road to a fifth title could get tougher from there for the world's No. 1 player.

Patrick Rafter, the defending champion from Australia, could face Sampras in the semifinals if the draw plays out.

Sampras starts play with a relatively easy foe, Marc Goellner of Germany, in his bid for a record-tying 12th Grand Slam tournament singles title when the Open begins its two-week run next week.

But to reach the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sampras would have to get past 15th-seeded Alberto Berasategui of Spain in the fourth round, No. 8 Agassi and Rafter. He then could face No. 2 Marcelo Rios of Chile for the title.

Also with Sampras in the top half of the draw made today at the National Tennis Center are hard-serving Goran Ivanisevic, who is seeded 14th, and Britain's Greg Rusedski, last year's runner-up who holds the record for the fastest serve, along with No. 9 Karol Kucera of the Czech Republic and No. 12 Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden.

If the seedings hold, Agassi would play Kucera, Rafter would face Ivanisevic and Bjorkman would take on Rusedski in the fourth round.

The fourth-round pairings in the bottom half of the men's draw could pit No. 5 Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands against No. 11 Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, No. 4 Petr Korda of the Czech Republic against No. 13 Tim Henman of Britain, No. 7 Alex Corretja against No. 10 Carlos Moya in a battle of Spaniards, and Rios against No. 16 Albert Costa of Spain.

In the women's draw, top-seeded Martina Hingis will begin the defense of her title against a qualifier, while No. 2 Lindsay Davenport will play Romania's Catalina Cristea in an opening-round match.

If the seedings hold, the fourth-round pairings would be Hingis against No. 16 Ai Sugiyama of Japan, No. 6 Monica Seles against No. 14 Dominique Van Roost of Belgium, No. 3 Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic against No. 9 Irina Spirlea of Romania, No. 8 Steffi Graf of Germany against No. 11 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, No. 5 Venus Williams against No. 12 Mary Pierce of France, No. 4 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain against No. 15 Anna Kournikova of Russia, No. 7 Conchita Martinez of Spain against No. 13 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, and Davenport against No. 10 Nathalie Tauziat of France.

© Copyright 1998 The Associated Press

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