BY NEIL SCHMIDT AND DAVE SCHUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Pete Sampras leaps for an overhead smash during the first set Sunday.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
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MASON -- The capacity crowd of 10,682 roared with laughter while Chad Little, a 17-year-old ball boy from Indian Hill, was dumbfounded.
"I didn't know if I should go out and act like I was ready to receive or not," Little said. "I've been a ball boy for five years and nothing like this has ever happened to me."
It was after Pete Sampras broke Patrick Rafter's serve for a second time in the first set to take a 5-1 lead, that Little became the focus of attention.
Frustrated by the four outstanding shots by Sampras, Rafter threw his racket to Little while assuming the ball boy position deep in the end zone.
"Rafter told me to get out there and see if you can hit with him," Little said. "I started out toward the court and stood there before he came back."
Rafter said he thought he'd let Little have a go at Sampras.
"The crowd was having a good time so I thought it would be fun giving him the racket," Rafter said.
"Pete didn't look like he wanted to play the point," Rafter said. "Fair enough. Maybe he didn't want to break his concentration. Maybe it's not fair of me to do that to Peter either. I thought it would have been a bit of fun."
Sampras held serve and went on to win the first set 6-1 but ended up losing the next two sets, 7-6, 6-4.
"I wasn't really rooting for either player," said Little, who will be a senior at Indian Hill High School. "But Sampras is much nicer than Rafter."
Little plans to return as a ball boy again next season.
Healthy crowds
The 11 days of the 1998 Great American Insurance ATP Championship attracted 165,643 fans, including record crowds at the Seniors Championship final on Aug. 8 (9,380), the main draw semifinals Saturday night (10,702) and Sunday's final (10,682).
Total paid attendance was 1,097 ahead of 1997. The total last year was 169,619, but included an extra date. The Seniors Championship was shortened by a day.
Stolle: Laver best
When asked by several young women Sunday if Pete Sampras is the greatest tennis player of all time, Aussie great Fred Stolle was reluctant to answer.
"Pete has never won a big tournament on the clay like the French or Italian Opens," Stolle said. "Some say that Rod Laver was the greatest, but Rod will tell you that Lou Hoad was the best to play." Stolle also choked up a little when talking about Laver, who recently suffered a a stroke.
"I keep in contact with Rod's son and he tells me Rod is having trouble speaking," Stolle said. "Rod's still in the hospital and nowhere near ready to start rehabilitation. It's awful tough for me to handle."
Both natives of Australia, Laver and Stolle are close friends.
Where's the fire?
Patrick Rafter said he relaxed Saturday night. And how. There was a fire alarm at the hotel where he was staying, and the ATP Championship winner never heard it. He slept right through the ruckus.
A smashing success
The blast of 144 mph by Cincinnatian Ryan Carroll and another of 96 mph off the racket of Eby DeFresne from West Chester held up and the duo won Rado wristwatches, compliments of Richter and Phillips. These were the fastest men's and women's serves this week at the Rado Smash Corner, an annual event that raises money for Children's Hospital Medical Center.
"We reached our goal of $4,000 today," said Richy Rodriguez from Miami, Fla.
Oldie Goldie
One of the oldest fans at this week's tournament was 93-year-old Goldie Haucke, the grandmother of Gayle Guenther, whose husband, Tom, is one of three official tournament photographers.
"I brought grandma out to watch Pete (Sampras) but she wanted Andre Agassi to win," Guenther said.
Athletes cleaned up
One of the crews that kept the ATP Tennis Center free from debris this is made up of members of the Lebanon High School girls and boys volleyball teams.
"Our kids work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day," said John Brooks, the husband of girls coach Bunny Brooks. "The money we raised will be used for the community volleyball programs." Aussie anthem Bertie Helmick of the Cincinnati Opera sang the national anthem before the finals Sunday. She prefaced it with the Australian national anthem to represent Patrick Rafter's homeland.
Rafter was the first Australian to even reach the semifinals here, let alone win it, since the tourney moved to Mason in 1979. Ken Rosewall, an Australian, won the event in 1970 at Cincinnati Tennis Club, when the tournament was known as the Western Tennis Championships.
Mothers' rights
Doug and Karen McKinley's responsibilities Saturday included transportation of the physically impaired from the parking lot to the main gate.
"One lady told me she was able to walk but but couldn't breathe," said Doug McKinley, who's raising money for the Mason Fourth Grade Cheerleading Club.
"Overall, it's been a nice experience."
But Karen McKinley has taken the job one step further. "Any women with children under 4-years-old is handicapped," Karen McKinley said. "I also offer them a ride."
Sunday's results
Singles Patrick Rafter d. Pete Sampras 1-6, 7-6, 6-4. Doubles Mark Knowles-Daniel Nestor d. Olivier Delaitre-Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 2-1 (retired)
