Watch out Wimbledon, the A-Rod is coming

Twelve years ago a little-known American with a sledgehammer serve and a murderous forehand took his first precarious steps on the lush green lawns of Wimbledon.

The 17-year-old's name was Pete Sampras, and the rest - seven men's singles titles later - is history.

More than a decade on and Sampras is still going strong but a new American pretender, armed with a similar lethal serve and forehand, stands ready to make his own explosive impact on the fastest surface of them all.

Andy Roddick prompts comparison with Sampras but if history is to repeat itself, the 18-year-old may not do too well on his debut at the All England Club next week.

Sampras struggled early in his career on the unfamiliar grass courts, losing in the first round on his debut in 1989 and at the same stage a year later before finally reaching the second round in 1991.

Gradually Sampras honed his now-legendary serve-volley game and in 1992 reached the semifinals. A year later he beat Jim Courier to secure his first Wimbledon title, and has added six more in the last seven years.

Roddick will have to scale a similar learning curve on a surface few Americans are exposed to in their youth.

The Florida-based teenager has made a spectacular impact this season, mainly on clay - not traditionally the best surface for the game's power hitters.

He put together a 12-game unbeaten streak on it earlier this year, winning two successive tournaments in the United States and reaching the third round of the French Open before being forced to retire hurt against Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

RODDICK TIPPED

Sampras and compatriot Andre Agassi, who has trained with Roddick, are among those to have tipped him as American tennis's next big thing.

The prodigy is not concerned.

"They've been saying that for a little bit so it doesn't really bother me too much. I've learned how to play with it and accept it," Roddick said at Nottingham this week.

A more expressive character on court than Sampras, Roddick brings a welcome dose of pizzazz to the men's game.

'A-Rod' was an instant hit with the French at Roland Garros after theatrically staving off cramp in a stupendous five-set second-round win over compatriot Michael Chang.

Ever the crowd-pleaser, Roddick celebrated by ripping his shirt in two at courtside and the American milked his audience again in the third round against Hewitt, memorably whirling his racket like a lasso at set point to crank up the noise before walloping down a thunderous first serve to snare the first set.

Youthful exuberance cost Roddick dearly in the third set when he tried to retrieve an ungettable Hewitt winner, turned his ankle and damaged a thigh muscle in a heavy fall which forced him to retire.

HIGHEST LEVEL

But clay court success proves Roddick has the consistent groundstrokes required to compete at the highest level and his forehand is a truly destructive shot, as Sampras himself found out in a straight sets loss to the youngster in the Miami Open quarter-finals in March.

Roddick's thunderbolt serve is itself enough to make a Spanish clay-courter weep - Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya and Alberto Martin are all in his section of the draw - and if he can demonstrate an ability to combine it with effective volleys, the world number 40 will be the most dangerous floater in the tournament.

"I just need matches to learn the ins and outs of grass," Roddick says.

"My first clay court tournament I lost second round to a guy ranked like 140 and then I figured it out.

"It's still too early to tell what the future holds on this surface, but there's no reason why my game shouldn't do ok on grass.

"I just want to play well and see what happens after that. It'll be my first Wimbledon -- I'm optimistic, I'm excited."

So are we.