BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Actress Kimberly Williams watches her boyfriend, Pete Sampras, in action.
(AP photo)
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MASON -- The computer rankings say he is No. 2. Yet, one by one, his peers parade before the media and refer to him as the best in the world. "It's flattering to have the respect from the other players," Pete Sampras said. "That, you know, they feel like I'm still the man."
They do.
Sampras, the defending champion of the Great American Insurance ATP Championship, coasted through his first match Wednesday, defeating Martin Damm 6-4, 6-2, in 1 hour, 13 minutes.
He has won six straight matches here and has not dropped a set since a 1996 quarterfinal loss to Thomas Enqvist.
Damm, the No. 68-ranked native of Czechoslovakia, didn't get in enough first serves to give Sampras much of a fight.
It was Sampras' first match since his three-set loss to Andre Agassi last weekend in Toronto, when he fatigued. Wednesday's match didn't last long enough for that possibility.
Sampras turned 27 Wednesday.
(Tony Jones photo)
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"It was nice to get out there and play," Sampras said. "I'm hitting the ball well. I feel like I'm pretty fit out there."
This much is no secret: His goal is to be in peak form for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 31. His next Grand Slam title will be his 12th and tie him with Roy Emerson for the most ever.
Sampras won the U.S. Open in 1990, '93, '95 and '96. The only major he hasn't won is the French Open.
While this has been an inconsistent year for the man who has finished No. 1 five straight years, he regained enough of his form to win his fifth Wimbledon title.
Still, after 102 consecutive weeks at No. 1, Sampras lost the top spot to Marcelo Rios for four weeks in the spring. Rios took over as No. 1 again Monday. ATP Tour officials said that because of all the upsets Wednesday, Sampras would have to win the ATP Championship this week to return to No. 1 even though Rios lost Tuesday night to Daniel Vacek.
Plenty of players, though, still refer to Sampras as the best.
"I'm not going to take anything away from Marcelo," Michael Chang said. "But if you're not winning Grand Slam tournaments, you'd better be winning everything else in order to get there."
"I think Rios has been playing the best tennis of the year," Agassi said. "But, still, you've got to win the Slam. It's just something that goes along with it. If he keeps playing the best, he will."
Sampras' second-round victory, which set up a match today against 21-year-old Jan-Michael Gambill, came on Sampras' 27th birthday.
He said he had few plans to celebrate.
"Go back, have dinner and get ready for tomorrow," he said, then added: "Have a little dessert or something, treat myself." No family here? Gonna celebrate by yourself?
He laughed.
Not exactly. Actress Kimberly Williams (Father of the Bride), Sampras's girlfriend, is in town.
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