Corretja-Sampras Rematch Snuffed

Forget about the Alex Corretja-Pete Sampras rematch, at least at this year’s U.S. Open.

There was much anticipation for Corretja-Sampras II, a reprieve of the memorable five-set quarterfinal a year ago that left both men physically and emotionally drained.

Until Saturday, they were on a collision course that could have led to a semifinal showdown, before the sixth-seeded Corretja was forced to withdraw because of a strained left quadriceps muscle.

Corretja first sustained the injury in 1995. It surfaced again during his four-set victory over Bohdan Ulihrach on Thursday.

“I started to feel some pain,” he said. “I thought it was not that bad, but at the end of the match, it started to feel much worse. I was thinking that maybe in one day it would be better. But yesterday it was quite bad. Today, it’s a little better but not enough to play.”

Corretja said he tried to warm up for his third-round match against Richard Krajicek, but realized quickly that he could not play.

ATP trainer Doug Spreen said the injury was a moderate strain and that Corretja would need a week or two off for it to heal.

Sampras hitting lofty heights

Sampras has won 10 Grand Slam tournament singles titles, more than any other active player and tied with Bill Tilden for fourth all-time.

Roy Emerson owns the record for the most Grand Slam singles titles with 12, followed by Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver with 11 each.

If Sampras were to win his third consecutive U.S. Open crown this year, and the fifth of his career, it also would be his 50th career title, which would put him in seventh place on the all-time Open Era list. Jimmy Connors leads with 109 titles.

Seles grants girl’s wish

Monica Seles has made a wish come true for 12-year-old Melissa Schweissberger of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

Schweissberger was an avid tennis player before she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, about the same time Seles was stabbed in April 1993. While undergoing treatment and surgery, Schweissberger gained hope after reading Seles’ biography and wanted to meet and hit with the tennis star.

Mary MacGyver, director of Program Services at the Los Angeles Make a Wish Foundation, contacted U.S. Open director Jay Snyder, who arranged tickets for Melissa, her parents and 9-year-old sister. Melissa and her family got a private tour of the new Arthur Ashe Stadium and a behind-the-scenes look at the Open.

Schweissberger also hit with Seles.

“It was neat for me to be able to make her wish come true,” Seles said.

Ashe Stadium a winner with fans

Pat and Jeanne Hurd had been prepared to resist the charms of the new Arthur Ashe Stadium. For more than a decade, the sisters had been watching the tennis matches of the U.S. Open inside the old, time-tested arena, and they felt an understandable fidelity to it. Perhaps it wasn’t young and stylish, but it had shown them the best of times.

But after five days in the company of a stranger, the Hurd sisters were smitten. They had been won over by the usual enticements: beauty, novelty and, of course, lavatories.

“There must be more of them, because there are no lines outside the ladies’ room,” Pat Hurd said. “At a sporting event, that’s a miracle.”

As the U.S. Open finished its first week in its expanded and renovated new digs in Flushing Meadows, Queens, the reviews started to trickle in, and there were plenty of raves.

Despite all the concern about luxury suites taking up prime seating space, so that many longtime fans suddenly found themselves too far from the court to make out the beads of sweat on Andre Agassi’s brow, many spectators had to admit being impressed by what they could see.

Inside the new arena, they said, everything practically gleamed. Outside, there was a bigger food court, prettier public areas and an easier view of the satellite courts where more matches are played.