Sampras starting to find his form

13 April 2012

Pete Sampras, the third seed, beat Austria's Alexander Peya 6-3, 6-2 to move into the quarter-finals of the Hamlet Cup at Long Island, New York.

The American, who has collected 13 Grand Slam titles, is aiming to win his first tournament in 15 attempts in the buildup to the US Open, which starts on Monday in New York.

It his first appearance in the Hamlet Cup since being beaten in the quarter-finals by Goran Ivanisevic in 1990 and he said: "I really felt my game starting to pick up out there. I hope I can stay this sharp for the rest of the week."

Sampras now faces another qualifier, world No 69 Felix Mantilla, of Spain, who beat Guillermo Canas, of Argentina, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Tommy Haas battled against dehydration and Spain's Tommy Robredo in a 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 victory.

The exhausted, sixth-seeded German was still having treatment three hours after his match ended.

"He's been receiving fluids," said ATP tour manager Andre Silva. "But we think he'll recover and be able to play his next match tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Jennifer Capriati reached the quarter-finals of the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven, Connecticut with a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over unseeded German Anke Huber.

It was the American's sixth win over Huber in seven career meetings. The pair also met last week in the semi-finals of the Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto, where Capriati won in three sets.

The 25-year-old Australian and French Open champion will now face Jelena Dokic in the last eight after the Yugoslav crushed American Lisa Raymond 6-3, 6-0.

Belgium's Justin Henin, who halted Capriati's Grand Slam bid in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, beat Barbara Schett, of Austria, 6-3, 6-2 and will now face 21-year-old American Venus Williams in a rematch of the Wimbledon final.

The French seventh seed Nathalie Tauziat, a semi-finalist a year ago, also reached the quarter-finals, defeating Kveta Hrdlickova, of the Czech Republic, 6-1, 7-6.

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