Tennis: Sampras takes it easy

Pete Sampras, the American world No 1, advanced to the quarter-finals of the Stockholm Open yesterday without playing a shot after his third-round opponent, Switzerland's Marc Rosset, withdrew because of flu.

Rosset, who beat Jim Courier in the final of last week's ATP event in Lyon, France, was seeded 15th.

Sampras will now face Magnus Larsson, of Sweden, in today's quarter-finals at the Globe Arena. Larsson, who beat the in-form South African, Wayne Ferreira, 6-1, 6-2, is the only Swede left after Stefan Edberg's 7-6, 6-2 defeat by Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Also through is Boris Becker, the three-times champion, who beat another Russian, Andrei Chesnokov, 6-4, 6-3. Becker now faces his German rival, Michael Stich, who beat Courier.

Another German, Sabine Hack, was on the receiving end of the latest teenage prodigy, Martina Hingis, in the women's tournament in Essen, Germany yesterday. The Swiss girl destroyed the fourth seed 6-3, 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals.

Hingis, who was 14 last month, showed superb accuracy and composure to beat Hack, No 18 in the world, in just 47 minutes.

Hingis said afterwards she knew little about her German opponent before the match. 'I played well but I was a bit nervous at the start,' she said.