Martin sends Sampras packing

Alberto Martin caused a major upset at the Tennis Master Series-Cincinnati tournament on Wednesday when he overcame Pete Sampras 6-4 6-4 to advance to the third round.

The defeat to the Spaniard means that Sampras has now failed to win a title in his last 16 tournaments he has participated in.

Sampras, a three-time champion at this tournament, has been stuck in a title drought since he won his record 13th Grand Slam trophy and seventh overall Wimbledon crown in July 2000.

The former world number one seemed lost and unable to find his way on court against the 38th-ranked Martin, even tossing his racket towards his chair at one point in the match.

"You never sleep well when you lose a match no matter what," Sampras said.

"No matter how many titles you won or what you've done in the game, all I care about is what I've done tonight."

Playing in an evening where the humidity was extremely oppressive, Sampras clearly had difficulty keeping a firm grip on his racket and controlling his shot making.

"It was tough and muggy conditions and I had a problem holding on to the stick," Sampras said. "I was sweating profusely and I had a hard time even trying to keep the ball in the court."

Martin was successful in breaking serve once in each set -- in the fifth game of the first and second sets -- to win a match he had be able to turn into a baseline battle.

KUERTEN ADVANCES

Earlier, world number one Gustavo Kuerten struggled through the heat before claiming a 7-6 7-6 second round victory over Germany's Tommy Haas.

Kuerten admitted that he expected Haas to play confident tennis since the German recently reached the quarterfinals of Los Angeles and the semifinals of Montreal.

"He's playing pretty well and did last week and I expected he would serve well," said Kuerten, who now plays Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic in the third round. "I picked the right time to play well, especially in the first set."

The Brazilian, who served 17 aces in the match, trailed Haas 4-0 in the second set tiebreaker but kept his head and worked his way back to see off the German.

While Kuerten was being tested on the stadium court, Briton Greg Rusedski also faced a tough battle against Gaston Gaudio of Argentina, conqueror of second-seed Andre Agassi in the first round.

Rusedski, stung by a wasp on his shoulder in the second set tie-breaker, eventually won 7-6 7-6.

Fellow Briton Tim Henman captured a swift 6-3 6-3 victory over Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea to move into the third round.

SWIFT VICTORY

Henman, who said his troublesome back felt fine during the 71-minute match against Lee won all four of his service break opportunities.

Ivanisevic, seeded 14, appeared to be in better physical condition than in his first round match when he suffered from heat exhaustion. He overcame Nicolas Escude of France 6-3 6-4.

Wimbledon finalist and eighth-seeded Patrick Rafter expended little energy in winning 6-0 6-3 over Xavier Malisse of Belgium.

Andrei Pavel of Romania, who won last week's Montreal title in a surprise upset over Rafter, was sent packing in the second round by Max Mirnyi of Belarus 6-1 6-1.