Semifinalist Voltchkov Is Odd Man In

WIMBLEDON, England — Three of the semifinalists at Wimbledon account for 20 Grand Slam singles titles. Pete Sampras has 12, Andre Agassi six and Patrick Rafter two.

Then there’s shoeless Vlad.

Belarus’ Vladimir Voltchkov is the first qualifier to reach the men’s semifinals since John McEnroe in 1977. Voltchkov defeated Byron Black of Zimbabwe, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 6-4, in the quarterfinals Wednesday at the All England Club, joining Sampras, the second-seeded Agassi, a winner here in 1992, and the 12th-seeded Rafter of Australia.

Of the three well-known players, Sampras had the most-difficult quarterfinal, defeating Jan-Michael Gambill, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, in 2 hours 47 minutes. Sampras had 26 aces to Gambill’s 23.

Rafter, who will play Agassi in a rematch of the ’99 semifinals, beat Alexander Popp of Germany, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1). Agassi raised his level of play in impressive fashion, dismissing 10th-seeded Mark Philippoussis of Australia, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4, showing that the best returner in the game can survive against one of the best servers.

Top-seeded Sampras will play Voltchkov in the other semifinal, meaning Sampras will not have faced a seeded player in six matches. Voltchkov, the 1996 Wimbledon junior champion, did not plan on being around at this late stage.

“The thing is, I had a difficult financial situation before coming here,” he said. “I really couldn’t afford [it]. Let’s say, if I lost in the first or second round, I would probably go back home, practice on synthetic grass, then come back for Bristol.

“Again, things change.”

Voltchkov, who celebrated his 22nd birthday Wednesday, is not exaggerating his financial situation. Nike gave him two pairs of shoes for his match against Black. Adidas gave him one pair last week. His shorts (Adidas) did not match his shirt (Nike).

“Yes, there is a reason for that,” said Voltchkov, who reached the third round at Wimbledon two years ago. “I don’t have a clothing company. Whatever I have, I had some stuff left over from last year. I had these shorts, I guess. The shorts actually were from Marat Safin because I came here without any new clothes.”

Max Mirnyi helped out with housing.

Voltchkov’s tastes have been simple.

“I’m sure after winning a match in qualies [qualifications], you can afford to go to a restaurant, if you want,” he said. “My dad is really a good cook. Really, we stay at home most of the time. We just go out for a walk. I went to see ‘Gladiator’ four times already.”

Interestingly, his matches have become easier in later rounds. He needed to go five sets in each of the first two rounds and has not dropped a set in his last three matches.

“He’s a flashy player,” Black said. “That’s the frustrating thing. When I thought I had him, he would hit some great shots. When it was time for him to finish me off, he sort of hesitated. He plays up and down.

“I think with the way Pete’s playing, I don’t think this guy could really hurt him.”

Sampras was asked if he would lend Voltchkov some shoes.

“I’ll give him some hard-court shoes; I won’t give him any grass-court shoes,” he said, joking.

Sampras faced his most difficult test since injuring his left shin just before his second-round match. Gambill played quite well despite his own aches and pains--a hip injury suffered in the fourth round against Thomas Enqvist. He also was bothered by his shirt, which caused some bleeding from his chest area. “It was just weird,” Gambill said. “Never had that happen. Nothing you’d want to have happen to you on Centre Court.”

Said Sampras: “He was giving me lots of problems with his serve, his second serve especially, moving it around. I never felt like I was in control of his service games. I served well, taking advantage of his two-handed [shot] on the forehand side. But you’re looking at the future of American tennis.”

Gambill was asked if Sampras had a special aura in this setting.

“Well, I don’t think there’s a noticeable aura,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a force field around him or anything.”

Then again . . .

“Must be one because he keeps on winning,” Gambill said.

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Andre Agassi shows his game is too much for Mark Philippoussis’ muscle, writes J.A. Adande. Page 5