BY PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- You see lots of things at the ATP Championship you don't see at any other sporting event around here. Smoked salmon in the food court. More Mercedes sedans than in the Bengals parking lot. High heels. Carl Lindner.
At the ATP, there's even a place to buy pearl earrings. I've always said that's what's lacking at Reds games: A good pearl earrings stand.
On Sunday, when the temperature on center court wavered between 91 and oven-roasted chicken, lots of women wore black dresses. Yeah, OK. I haven't seen so much black since JFK died.
Here's another thing you won't see anywhere else:
Pete Sampras losing it. Gentleman Pete going stark, raving McEnroe.
Well, OK. It wasn't like that. Not exactly. At match point, Sampras objected to an overrule by the chair umpire, on Patrick Rafter's serve. The lineswoman called Rafter's serve no good; chair ump Lars Graff said she was wrong.
Game, set, match, title. Rafter.
Hot-as-a-pistol Pete
Sampras went ballistic. For Sampras. As Rafter pumped his fist and jogged to the net, Sampras stood at the baseline, looking like somebody just stole his courtesy car. Rafter waited at the net. Sampras walked over to Graff. He informed him his call was "bullbleep." Graff was not moved, except to vacate his chair, to boos from the crowd. Boos at a tennis match.
Sampras took his complaint to another linesman, who was equally touched by Pete's problem. Rafter waited at the net.
"Wasn't sure if he was going to shake my hand," Rafter said. Because Sampras' conduct is generally above reproach, and because tennis is a darned civil game, Sampras' conduct was a combination international incident and post-apocalyptic meltdown. Good thing the tabloids weren't there.
"You guys think I'm some sort of robot out there," Pete said to the press later. We-e-l-ll. . .
"I felt good after I did it," said Sampras. "I never lose control unless it's completely obvious. That just tells you how bad it was." Rafter thought it was a swell call. "I hit that serve all the time," he said.
Graff wasn't around to explain himself. What's in is in. Maybe Graff was enrolling in the federal witness protection program. Somebody asked Sampras how John McEnroe might have handled it. "They would have had to call the ambulance," Pete said. Lovely. Rafter was a little ticked that Sampras kept him waiting. "Disappointing," Rafter called it, which, with McEnroe or Andre Agassi not available, passes for an incendiary tennis quote. A real flamethrower. "It's my occasion," Rafter said. "It's my time."
Rafter on a roll
No denying that. Rafter has won his last 10 matches and two tournaments in a row. He's ranked third in the world and will defend his U.S. Open title next month knowing he can beat Sampras.
He did it Sunday by withstanding a carpet-bombing in the first set, then hanging on Sampras' pants leg through sets two and three. Rafter didn't get a break point until 4-4 in the third.
Behind 5-1 in opening set, Rafter turned and handed his racket to a ballboy. Here, kid. You could do as well as I'm doing. At that point, Sampras was launching 130 mile-an-hour first serves and backhanding Rafter's volleys as if they were Little League fastballs. Things changed. Rafter adjusted, attacking Sampras' forehand. He hung around. He got some calls. Boy, did he ever. He waited at the net.
Someone asked Sampras what the gap was now between he and Rafter. Sampras is ranked No. 2 in the world and has 11 Grand Slam titles; Rafter is No. 3, with one Slam.
"Ten Grand Slams," Pete replied.
Ouch.
Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454.
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