Sampras Survives 120-Degree Scorcher Top-Ranked Sampras Trailed 19-Year-Old Slovakian In 5th Set

Pete Sampras summoned all his survival instincts Monday in a five-set scorcher at the Australian Open to outlast a teenager he’d never met but is unlikely to forget.

Dominik Hrbaty, a 19-year-old whose last name means “Hunchback” in Slovakian, drilled 20 aces past a sagging Sampras and held a 4-2 lead in the fifth set but could not quite put away the No. 1 player.

On a day when court temperatures again soared past 120 degrees, Sampras secured the 6-7 (7-4), 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 fourth-round victory in just under three hours in part because Hrbaty self-destructed under pressure - double-faulting three times in his last two service games for a total of 15 in the match.

But Sampras also won because he played smart tennis under brutal conditions, taking a lesson from his exhausting victory over Alex Corretja at the U.S. Open last year when Sampras suffered heat stroke and vomited on court.

This time, a day after No. 1 Steffi Graf was upset in the same sizzling heat, Sampras kept the rallies short throughout the match, not trying to run down every ball. Rather, Sampras relied on his serve - he had 17 aces - and went for winners. In the fifth set, Sampras took the pace off returns, slicing back shots, saving himself and letting Hrbaty try to power the ball back. When Sampras had the opportunity, he put the ball away.

Hrbaty, the youngest player in the top 100 at No. 76, showed he has all the skills to develop into a top 10 player.

Though not as powerful as the 19-year-old who beat Sampras at the Australian last year, Mark Philippoussis, Hrbaty has a much more developed all-around game.

No. 3 Goran Ivanisevic also toiled for three hours before beating Christian Ruud, 4-6, 6-2, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3, 6-3.

Ivanisevic trailed 0-40 on his serve at 3-3 in the final set, but slammed four aces and a service winner to go ahead 4-3, then went on to break Ruud and close out the match. Ivanisevic finished with 38 aces, but also had 16 double faults.

Several women players had to be treated for heat exhaustion after matches played Sunday.