Sampras Downs Martin
Pete Sampras took advantage of three double faults by Todd Martin, including two in the tiebreaker, to beat his occasional doubles partner 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) for the Kroger-St. Jude tennis championship at Memphis, Tenn.
Sampras, who has won two straight tournaments, is 12-1 in matches this year. His only loss was to Mark Philippoussis last month at the Australian Open.
He is 38-13 in finals in his career, and is the winningest player on the ATP Tour in the 1990s.
At Essen, Germany, top-seeded Iva Majoli of Croatia defeated defending champion Jana Novotna to win the Essen Grand Prix. The 18-year-old Majoli won the match 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6) to claim her second tournament victory this year.
At Antwerp, Belgium, Michael Stich of Germany beat Goran Ivanisevic 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) to win the European Community Championships and end the Croat’s winning streak at 14 matches.
At West Palm Beach, Fla., Andrez Gomez defeated John McEnroe 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win the Corel Champions men’s over-35 professional tennis tournament.
At Oklahoma City, Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, getting 16 aces off her booming serve, defeated Amanda Coetzer 6-3, 6-2 to retain her title in the IGA Tennis Classic.