Sampras After Fourth Wimbledon Defending Champion Could Face The ‘Scud’ In Second-Round Match

The game Pete Sampras has played to win the last three Wimbledon titles barely resembles the one Bjorn Borg honed just two decades ago to win a record five straight.

Sampras was only 4 years old when Borg won his first in 1976. The point was underlined for Sampras in a British television special on the Borg-McEnroe showdowns. Wimbledon opens its annual two-week stand Monday.

“The thing that amazed me watching it is … the game has really changed in the last 10 years,” Sampras said. “They seemed like they were playing in slow motion in some ways. I’m not putting them down. But with the rackets today, there’s so much speed and raw power. That’s what caught my eye the most.”

Sampras’ road to a fourth straight at Wimbledon could end abruptly. In Tuesday’s draw, the top seed and world No. 1 was pitted against American Richey Reneberg in the first round - and likely will find big-serving Mark Philippoussis in the second.

The 6-foot-4 Australian, ranked No. 30 in the world and nicknamed “Scud,” beat Sampras in three sets in January in the Australian Open.

“It’s not easy,” Sampras said. “Mark’s a very big hitter with a huge serve. Obviously he’s proven he can beat me in Australia. He’s got a big game, especially on grass. His serve is very tough to return. There’s no reason to look ahead, but this is a very tough draw.”

The next three seeds - Boris Becker, Andre Agassi and Goran Ivanisevic - got much more favorable draws. If form holds, the prospective men’s quarterfinals matchups are Sampras vs. Thomas Muster, Ivanisevic vs. Michael Chang, Agassi vs. Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and Becker vs. Jim Courier.

On the women’s side, defending and six-time champion Steffi Graf opens against Ludmilla Richterova, and No. 2 Monica Seles - in her first Wimbledon since being stabbed in 1993 - is up against Ann Grossman.

If the seedings hold there, the quarterfinals would be Graf vs. Jana Novotna, Conchita Martinez vs. Lindsay Davenport, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario vs. Chanda Rubin, and Seles vs. Anke Huber.

Sampras hopes to be rejuvenated by Wimbledon. He said he’s never felt worse than he did two weeks ago losing to Kafelnikov in the French Open semifinals. “I’m better now, but I think that’s the worst I’ve ever felt body-wise and mentally. It was a grind.”