Sampras Struggles To Davis Cup Win; Courier Loses

Pete Sampras didn’t walk off the court after his grueling victory against Russia’s Andrei Chesnokov. He was dragged from it - his cramped legs limp beneath him - by two U.S. Davis Cup teammates seconds after a heart-stopping, hair-raising, 25-stroke match point that left the Russian crowd in an uproar and Sampras flat on his back in pain.

You might say he was lucky to get out alive.

And the American was doubly lucky to get out with a win for the U.S. in Friday’s first match of the Davis Cup finals against Russia. The world’s No. 1 player struggled through 3 hours, 38 minutes of sloppy forehands, spotty serves and noisy Russian fans to edge the super-tenacious Chesnokov 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 on the clay at Moscow’s Olympic Stadium.

As it turned out, the U.S. team badly needed Sampras’ win. In the second match Friday, Jim Courier lost in straight sets to Russian ace Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6 (7-1), 7-5, 6-3. The best-of-five Davis Cup finals - the first between the United States and Russia - is tied 1-1, with the doubles match set for today and the reverse singles - Sampras vs. Kafelnikov and Courier vs. Chesnokov - scheduled for Sunday.

While the Courier-Kafelnikov duel lacked the drama and suspense of the day’s first match, it was a far better exhibition of tennis.

The turning point came in the second set with Kafelnikov ahead 6-5 and both men on serve. Courier dug himself a hole with a double fault and a poor approach shot he followed into the net.