Sampras tunes up for French Open with win

American Pete Sampras tuned up for next week's start to the French Open by beating Sebastien Grosjean of France 6-3 3-6 6-3 at the World Team Cup on Thursday.

Sampras, looking to win his first French Open to add to his collection of 13 grand slam titles, broke open a tight match by breaking Grosjean's serve to take a 5-3 lead in the first set with a well-timed drop shot after a long baseline rally.

Grosjean, currently fourth in the ATP Champions Race, recovered strongly after losing the set, taking the second 6-3.

But the Frenchman had no answers for Sampras' smart play towards the end of the match. Sampras won eight of the final nine points.

Many leading players enjoy the relaxed atmosphere at the round-robin team tournament, which brings together the world's top eight nations, as they tune up their game on clay before Roland Garros.

In other matches Russia's Marat Safin broke open a tight match to beat Franco Squillari of Argentina 7-6 6-4.

France's Arnaud Clement defeated Jan-Michael Gambill of the United States 7-6 6-3.