"I would have loved to have won in straight sets, but it feels good to get the first round out of the way in one of the majors," Sampras said.The No 2 seed next comes up against the new British hope, Tim Henman. "No, it was taught to me by some tennis teachers in my home town [Marl] I guess they were probably not very good. My attitude is that if it's working OK why should I change it?"I wish more people would describe playing me as a pain in the arse. If people don't want to face me or are afraid of me, that's got to be good for me."More kindly, Sampras described his opponent as "a crafty player". His floated returns to the forehand side often had the American hastily adjusting his footwork, and more encouragement came from the number of openings Sampras inexplicably failed to grasp.

In fact, he can be a pain in the arse to play."Seasoned commentators compete for the best description for a service manoeuvre that begins with a vigorous wind-up and knee-bend before the ball is smacked across the net in the fashion of someone chopping down oak trees He was asked after his defeat if it was self-taught. Karsten's service is certainly different and unorthodox, but it is effective He gives it a lot of spin and it is difficult to read. At 1-1 yesterday afternoon on a Centre Court bathed in sunshine, it was possible that another image of 12 months ago - that of Steffi Graf having her crown displaced in the very first round - would have intruded into the Sampras consciousness.At that point, he reported after his 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory: "I was definitely not a happy camper. The second set went to the underdog with a stunning display of tie-break tennis.As a gauge of the title-holder's form and mood back on his favourite lawns, it needs to be recalled that Sampras was well on his way to a semi- final victory over Todd Martin last year before he conceded his first set of an ultra-assured campaign. He has dropped 65 rungs on the ladder, yet there was enough to raise his hopes that this could have turned out to be his day for glory. He held a break-point for a 6-5 lead in the first set before a tentative Sampras rallied his game. Against a journeyman performer ranked 119 places below him, it should have been a stroll on the grass for the defending champion Instead, Sampras called it "a pain in the arse" So far it has not been a good year for Braasch. Had he been called upon to pen a review of the first six months the bespectacled German might well have pinched a line from Brad Gilbert, the coach of Andre Agassi, and entitled it "losing ugly".

For a few tantalising moments yesterday, it was feasible to envisage the Wimb-ledon hat-trick quest of Pete Sampras becoming entangled in the complicated machinery of a haphazard service action that makes Karsten Braasch a figure of fun on the men's Tour. Sheikh Mohammed's colt, formerly in the care of Henry Cecil, is now trained in the United States by Bill Mott.. If Celtic Swing is elsewhere, we will surely manage perfectly well without him.. Generous, who dominated the summer of 1991 with victories in the Derby, Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, is to remain at stud in Britain after shareholders in the stallion rejected an offer from the Japanese.

Reports in Britain and Japan yesterday suggested that the sire, whose first crop of juveniles are running this year, was about to join other recent winners of the Epsom Classic, Dr Devious, Commander In Chief and Erhaab in the Far East. But Philip Mitchell, the manager of the Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket where Generous stands, said in a statement: "The Generous syndicate committee confirms that a sizeable offer was received for the stallion from Japan."But following a vote among all shareholders the offer has been rejected and the stallion remains at Banstead Manor."n Last year's King George winner, King's Theatre, finished eighth of nine behind Sandpit on his second American outing at Atlantic City on Sunday night. Weld will also be represented by Humbel, who finished sixth to Lammtarra at Epsom. However, Michael Kinane, who partnered the colt at Epsom, is likely to switch to Definite Article. Lammtarra, after all, won the Derby impressively on firm ground, while Presenting, who finished strongly into third at Epsom after struggling down the hill, has a definite preference for a fast surface.Both Celtic Swing and Daraydan, bought by Savill to make the pace for his French Derby winner, will be left in the Irish Derby at today's forfeit stage, with a final decision on their participation expected shortly before the final declarations must be made, at 10.30 on Friday morning.Clive Brittain, Luso's trainer, will be represented at the Curragh by Korambi, 12th at Epsom, but "better than that" according to his trainer. Mark Johnston has booked Jason Weaver to ride Double Eclipse, who was just touched off in the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot last week.The prospect of a home-trained winner on Sunday will increase when Definite Article, trained by Dermot Weld, is supplemented for the Classic this morning. There is no jar in it at the moment and it's up to us to keep it that way."The amount of water currently pouring on to the track may not please everyone, of course. "There's no rain forecast and we're experiencing a heatwave," Kavanagh said yesterday, "so we've been watering since Wednesday on a daily basis and we stepped it up a bit yesterday."Obviously, some horses want firm ground and others want it soft, but we're in the hands of the weather in that respect and our object all along would be to provide safe ground.