Agassi Avoids Upset, But Sampras Doesn’t

Andre Agassi pulled one more great escape in the Australian Open on Sunday and grabbed a shot at swiping the No. 1 ranking Pete Sampras abdicated in a stunning loss to a giant Aussie teen.

Pushed to five sets for the second time in defense of his championship, Agassi overcame Jonas Bjorkman 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 and reached the quarterfinals against another beleaguered former champion, Jim Courier.

“If I don’t win this tournament, I don’t want to be ranked No. 1,” said Agassi, who is now competing with Thomas Muster for the top spot. “I would fear playing Pete 99.9 percent of the time more than Thomas.”

Courier, playing consecutive five-setters, edged Marcos Ondruska of South Africa 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The prospect of three former champions, all Americans. losing within 24 hours seemed real enough as Agassi and Courier struggled the day after Sampras’ abrupt departure.

As fast as 29 aces flew past Sampras, that wasn’t the only reason for a whipping that cost him the No. 1 ranking.

It was the way Mark Philippoussis, a taller, stronger, younger Aussie-Greek clone of Sampras, never relented in any manner, never gave Sampras a chance to take charge.

In a zone of his own throughout a 6-4, 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-3) third-round victory, the 6-foot-4 kid called “Scud” produced a stunning win.

The top-seeded woman, Monica Seles, had no trouble rolling into the quarters, winning 6-1, 6-3 against No. 15 Naoko Sawamatsu. Seles hasn’t lost a set so far, yielding only 14 games in four matches.

No. 3 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario also reached the quarters without dropping a set, beating No. 9 Mary Joe Fernandez 6-3, 6-3. Sanchez Vicario next plays No. 13 Chanda Rubin, who knocked off No. 6 Gabriela Sabatini 6-2, 6-4.

No. 5 Michael Chang breezed into the quarters, beating Jean-Philippe Fleurian 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. But one of the most dangerous seeds who could have stood in the way of Philippoussis, No. 10 Goran Ivanisevic, fell to Italy’s Renzo Furlan 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.