Sampras earns comeback success

Pete Sampras completed a successful return from injury by defeating his fellow American Chris Woodruff, 6-4, 7-6, in a first-round match at the Hamburg Masters Series yesterday.

Sampras, the top seed in his first event since damaging a thigh muscle in the United States' Davis Cup victory over the Czech Republic in early April, showed glimpses of his best form in the first set, but then appeared to tire.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the No 2 seed, extended his poor run on clay when he was brushed aside, 6-4, 6-3, by the Dutchman Sjeng Schalken. The Russian winner of the French Open in 1996 has been beaten in the second round in Rome, Barcelona and Monte Carlo, and in the first round in Estoril in recent weeks.

Sampras, warming up for the only Grand Slam to elude him, the French Open, which starts 29 May, broke Woodruff in the third game of the match and looked on his way to a straightforward victory when he took his opponent's serve again in the third game of the second set. He went on to open up a 5-2 lead and served for the match - but his serve was broken.

Making many unforced errors, he allowed Woodruff to win the next three games and force a tie-break. Sampras wasted two match points before Woodruff hit a forehand wide on the third to Sampras to take the tie-break 7-5.

Patrick Rafter's comeback from injury suffered another setback when the 11th-seeded Australian crashed out, 6-4, 7-5, to South Africa's Wayne Ferreira.

The twice US Open champion suffered his second consecutive first-round defeat after losing last week in Rome. He has only recently returned from a month out nursing a recurrence of the shoulder injury which ruined his 1999 season.

The Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev - unseeded despite winning in Hamburg in 1994, 1995 and 1997 - overcame the 14th seed, Dominik Hrbaty, of Slovakia, 6-4, 7-6.

The defending champion, Marcelo Rios of Chile, alsoadvanced with a 6-4, 6-1 demolition of the Frenchman Nicolas Escude.

At the Italian Open, the women's world No 1, Lindsay Davenport, marked her return from a six-week injury lay-off with a crushing 6-3, 6-2 win over the Russian teenager Elena Dementieva yesterday.

Davenport, who has been out with a foot injury since her defeat by Martina Hingis at the Miami Open final in April, made only a 58-minute debut on the red clay of Rome. The American dropped serve once in each set of the second-round match - she had a first-round bye - and relied on her punishing forehand to push her opponent to the corners of the court.

"Six weeks off is a long time and it took me a while to get used to it out there, so it's nice to start the tournament with a good performance and a win." Davenport said.

"I didn't train at all for close to three weeks. But it was a good time to take a break after so many matches in the States. I'm coming to Rome not tired, feeling fresh and I'm trying to get used to clay."