Tennis Player And Coach Tim Gullikson Dead At 44

Tim Gullikson, who coached Pete Sampras to the No. 1 ranking after a playing career with his twin brother Tom, died Friday of brain cancer in Wheaton, Ill. He was 44.

Gullikson became ill at the 1995 Australian Open and had to return home, where he was diagnosed with cancer. Sampras, concerned about his ailing coach, wept during his comeback victory over Jim Courier in the quarterfinals and went on to reach the final, where he lost to Andre Agassi.

Gullikson won four singles and 16 doubles titles during his playing career in the 1970s and ‘80s. Ten of his doubles victories were with Tom Gullikson, a record for brothers in the Open era. Tom is captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team.

At Hamburg, Germany, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez, the two top seeds, advanced to the semifinals of the Rexona Cup, while Mary Pierce ousted teenage sensation Martina Hingis. Julie Halard-Decugis is the other semifinalist.

Thomas Muster extended his winning streak on clay to 38 matches by outlasting Mark Philippoussis of Australia 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the BMW Open in Munich, Germany, along with Boris Becker, Carlos Moya and Slava Dosedel.