South Korea’s Lee withdraws from San Jose ATP

SAN JOSE (California)—Fifth-seeded South Korean Lee Hyung-Taik withdrew from the 436,000-dollar ATP indoor tennis tournament here Monday with a back injury.
Lee pulled out before his first-round match against American Donald Young and was replaced in the draw by lucky loser Wayne Odesnik of the United States, who beat Young 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
Fans at the opening night session on Monday were treated to an exhibition by 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras, who cruised past Germany’s Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-2.
Sampras, who is planning an exhibition against current world No. 1 Roger Federer at Madison Square Garden in New York on March 10 after a successful series of exhibitions between the two in Asia, delighted the crowd but said he had no plans to return to the ATP Tour.
“To really come back, you need a reason,” Sampras said. “I don’t have a reason. I have a wonderful life with my wife and two kids. I don’t miss the limelight. I don’t need the money. When I retired (shortly after winning the 2002 US Open), I was emotionally spent. I had nothing left in the tank. And still, there are days when I wake up and the last thing I want to do is play tennis.
“This is all about the enjoyment of playing,” Sampras said of the exhibitions. “If I can play a few exhibitions now and then, it’s a way to stay in shape, be competitive, be focused on something. It’s fun for me. It’s a challenge. Nothing more than that.”
Earlier Monday, sixth-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria fell in the first round to Spain’s Guillermo Garcia Lopez. The 24-year-old Garcia-Lopez beat Melzer 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (8/6).
American Andy Roddick is the top seed, and will be back action this week for the first time since helping the United States open defense of its Davis Cup title.
Roddick skipped the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships last week after posting a five-set win over Melzer in the Americans’ 4-1 first-round Davis Cup winner over Austria the week before.
Roddick will be seeking to get his 2008 season on track after falling in five sets to Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round of the Australian Open.
James Blake is the second seed and will be bidding to rebound from a stunning loss to 18-year-old Japanese qualifier Kei Nishikori in the Delray Beach final on Sunday.
Nishikori became the first Japanese player to win an ATP Tour event since Shuzo Matsuoka at Queen’s Club in June 1992.
Nishikori will have a chance to build on that success after receiving a special exemption entry into the San Jose draw.—Agencies