A tornado in the All England: Sampras, Agassi and Safin lost

The third Grand Slam of the year lived a total day of surprises and deceptions; both ex- North American champions fell before adversaries with little antecedents

LONDON. - Perhaps there was some imperceptible earthquake, perhaps untied to a strange hurricane or tornado that altered the coordinates of the logic, or in one of those Harry Potter it made some prank magical Who knows? Only the real thing is that the third day of Wimbledon was shaken with the brutal fall of several favorites - seven between men and five in ladies -, including the resounding eliminations of two ex- champions, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, and the Russian Marat Safin, 2° favorite.

The tremor that devastated with the main candidates had its epicenter in field 2, also well-known like the Cemetery of the Champions , because they fell there, sometimes, figures like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ilie Nastase, Boris Becker, Agassi and Pat Cash… This time was the turn of Sampras, 6° preclassified and seven times triunfador in the All England, that lost with Swiss George Bastl by 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6 and 6-4.

For Pistol Pete, the one of it was yesterday his worse defeat in Wimbledon in 11 years, since it did not lose in the second wheel from 1991, when one took leave before Derrick Rostagno. In addition, by second consecutive year it fell before a Swiss: in 2001 it lost in the eighth with Roger Federer.

"I was not in my better state but I felt that it could win. It will be difficult to return to house knowing that the match follows and that no longer I am in him ", admitted Sampras, that complained because the organization sent it to court 2: "After to have gained the title some times, it did not imagine that they were going to me to put to play aqui '".

Although Sampras did not arrive with the favoritism of other times, since it does not gain a title from Wimbledon in the 2000, surprised its elimination before a stranger. Who is Bastl? Lucky to loser (losing lucky person), 145° of the System of Access and 182° in the Race, that fell in the last return of the classification and entered the main picture in replacement of the Spanish Felix Mantilla. Bastl, of 27 years, will be the rival of David Nalbandian in the third wheel.

Sampras, owner of 13 titles of Grand Slam and with hardly 19 defeats in turf on 220 parties, could not with an adversary who until had yesterday only gained a party on grass, in a Challenger. A painful defeat, that ignites doubts on the future of one of the best players of history.

Nevertheless, Sampras insists on returning. "I am not going to finish with that defeat. I want to go to me with a victory and for that reason I set out to return. While it feels that I can gain matches and compete, I will continue playing ".

More forceful it was the fall of Agassi. And the fact to play in court central I do not help it either ': the 1992 champion fell before the Thailander Paradorn Srichaphan, 60° of the Race and 67° of the System, the same one that lost east year the end of the match of Chennai before Guillermo Canes, by 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) and 6-2.

"I am surprised and I disappointed. I do not have excuses since I am healthy and in form, but never found my rate. I played discreet before that it took the initiative and it deserved to win. What it surprised to me more was to see how sets lost in only three. I am not customary ", admitted the Kid of Fertile valleys. As if a supernatural force had flown over courts…

The bad gust of wind of the North Americans followed with the eliminations of Todd Martin (26°), semifinalist in 1996, and of James Blake (29°), who fell before the Dutch Richard Krajicek per 11-9 in the fifth Seth. Exactly, Krajicek, champion in 1996, are the only player who raised the glass of winner in Wimbledon and that still stays with life: if it gets to fall, the All England will have a new king between the men.

As traumatic as the previous ones it was the defeat of Safin, finalist in Australia, into the hands of the Belgian Oliver Rochus, a player much more under which he (the Russian measures 1,93m against 1.65 of the Belgian), by 6-2, 6-4, 3-6 and 7-6 (7-1). Safin, leader of the Race of Champions but that still did not gain a title in the year, preferred to reduce dramatic quality to him to the traspie ': "It was badly a day of office. It could not play well. I tried it and it did not leave anything to me ".

And there was place for more tropezones of the favorites. The Swedish Thomas Enqvist (14°) took leave before the Australian Mark Philippoussis, whereas the Czech Jiri Novak (12°) fell before the Australian left-handed person Wayne Arthurs.

As a balance, only they are left three of the eight first in race (Hewitt, Henman and Kafelnikov), whereas by the low part of the picture a semifinalist leaves these names: Bastl, Nalbandian, Dent, Arthurs, Pavel (15°), Lapentti (22°), Clement and Rochus.

In the feminine picture, they advanced with facility the Serena North Americans Williams (2ª) and Jennifer Capriati (3ª), whom also the equality of prizes between men and women requested. Everything, in a day dominated by defeats that moved the foundations of the All England.