U.S. Rallies Again In Davis Cup

Pete Sampras, already burdened by guilt from the worst loss of his Davis Cup career two days earlier, felt a searing pain in his thigh.

U.S. Davis Cup captain John McEnroe sensed his heart stop at the sight of Sampras pulling up after a running forehand.

Turns out there was no need to worry. Sampras wasn't about to quit on an American team whose hopes rested on him winning the decisive singles match Sunday against the Czech Republic.

"John would've choked me," Sampras said. "I could see it in his eyes when I told him I hurt my leg, he didn't want any part of it."

Sampras recovered and served 18 aces in a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Slava Dosedel to clinch a 3-2 victory and send the United States into the semifinals.

Earlier, Andre Agassi prevented the Czechs from clinching the quarterfinal by beating Jiri Novak 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to tie the series 2-2.

"It was a great day for American tennis," Sampras said.

The United States will play Spain, a 4-1 winner over Russia, on July 21-23 on a surface and at a site chosen by the Spaniards.

The Americans rebounded from a 1-2 deficit for the second straight round, and only the fifth time in U.S. Davis Cup history. They were in similar trouble against Zimbabwe in McEnroe's debut as captain before advancing.

After Agassi's win revved up 12,202 flag-waving fans at the Forum, Sampras took to the fast hardcourt and quickly broke Dosedel for a 2-1 lead.

Sampras secured the break with a running forehand, but he limped to his chair. On the changeover, McEnroe urged him to "suck it up so we can get out of here in 45 minutes."

The strained left thigh affected Sampras' movement on some shots in the next game despite holding for a 3-1 lead. But he resumed his serve-and-volley game to great effect.

Dosedel had no answer for Sampras' booming serve, which reached a high of 129 mph early in the second set. Sampras connected on 90 percent of his first serves and had 56 winners to Dosedel's 13.

"Adrenaline is an amazing drug that can get you through a lot of tough situations," he said.

"Slava was playing his best tennis, but it simply wasn't good enough for Pistol Pete," Czech coach Jan Kukal said.

Playing a fifth and decisive match for the first time in his seven-year Davis Cup career, Sampras hit a backhand winner off a 113-mph serve by Dosedel to win the tiebreaker 7-2 and set off a red, white and blue celebration in the crowd at the Forum.

Sampras climbed into the seats to embrace his father, Sam, who along with his mother, Geogia, rarely watch their son in person because of nerves.

After sharing hugs with teammates Agassi, Alex O'Brien, Jared Palmer and McEnroe, Sampras jogged around the court holding an American flag overhead as "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang blared over the loudspeakers. He passed the flag to Agassi for a lap, then McEnroe did the same.

Sampras played with energy and power, two ingredients sorely missing in his straight-set flop against Novak in Friday's opening singles. The 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-2 loss was the worst of Sampras' seven-year Davis Cup career.

"I was down in the dumps Friday and I wanted to redeem myself. I didn't want to lose two matches here," he said.

"I sensed there was something different today with Pete," McEnroe said. "He had some thump on his ball. Pete was serving so big."

Sampras broke Dosedel for a 5-4 lead in the second set when the Czech netted a forehand volley off a drop shot by Sampras. Then Sampras served a love game, punctuated by a 124 mph ace, to take the set 6-4.

With the crowd chanting, "Let's Go Pete," Sampras had two break points with the third set tied 4-4, but his two consecutive unforced errors allowed Dosedel to hold for 5-4. They stayed on serve until the tiebreak.

Dosedel sent a forehand wide to give Sampras the minibreak on the first point of the tiebreak. Dosedel closed to 3-2 before Sampras won the final four points by hitting winners to close out the match.

Novak stunned Sampras in straight sets Friday, then teamed with David Rikl to beat O'Brien and Palmer in doubles Saturday, giving the Czechs a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 series.

But after taking out the world's third-ranked player and top-ranked doubles team in two days, Novak ran out of gas during a prolonged baseline battle with Agassi, the world's No. 1 player.

"Every point I was running all the time to the right, then to the left. I was just getting tired," Novak said. "Andre was much better than me from the beginning of the match."

Agassi improved to 4-1 when the United States faces elimination in Davis Cup, including a 2-0 record this year. His victory in the reverse singles in Zimbabwe kept the Americans from being eliminated in the first round before Chris Woodruff pulled out a four-set win to give the Americans a 3-2 decision.

"The thought of Jiri Novak coming in here and winning in our backyard, three points against me and Pete and the doubles, I just didn't want that to happen," Agassi said. "I managed to just have a bit more on my rally shots and I controlled the points a little bit more."

With girlfriend Steffi Graf looking on, Agassi ran Novak back and forth in a match that featured extended rallies and a few effectve drop volleys by Agassi.

A cheering crowd at its most raucous in three days of tennis repeatedly had to be quieted by the chair umpire between points.

Novak's netted backhand gave Agassi the first set before both players dug in for a back-and-forth battle in the second. Six of the nine games featured break points.

Agassi broke in the second and sixth games of the third, then won the match with a 115 mph serve that Novak got a racket on, only to return beyond the baseline.

In other Davis Cup matches, Brazil joined defending champion Australia in the semifinals. Australia defeated Germany 3-2 and will next face Brazil, a 3-2 winner over Slovakia.

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