NEW YORK -- Mopping his face between almost every point, four-time champion Pete Sampras slogged sluggishly through a slow-motion, first-round victory Monday as the U.S. Open got off to a sleepy start.

	Pete Sampras played with little energy Monday in the heat at Flushing Meadows, but his serve saved him.

As leaden as Sampras looked, he served well enough to overcome an even slower Martin Damm of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-4.

"I knew it was going to be tough," Sampras said. "He serves big, returns quite well. He came out and played great. I was really happy with the way I played."

It was a slow day at the National Tennis Center, when heavy, muggy weather took a toll on players and fans alike after nearly two hours of rain interrupted matches early in the afternoon. No seeded players lost.

In the cooler, breezier night air, top seed and defending champion Andre Agassi had no trouble dispatching NCAA champion Alex Kim of Stanford, a wild-card entry, 6-4, 6-2, 6-0.

Sampras, never happy when he has to play in heat and humidity, went through more towels and shirts in his opening match than he usually does in a week. He didn't run much, but he didn't have to, relying instead on his 22 aces and Damm's tendency to make the occasional inelegant error.

Back-to-back a common feat

Andre Agassi is attempting to become the third straight man to win back-to-back titles at the U.S. Open. Pete Sampras won U.S. Open titles in 1995 and `96 before Patrick Rafter won back-to-back titles in 1997 and `98. Since the Open Era began in 1968, only six men have won consecutive U.S. Open championships: John McEnroe in 1979-81, Jimmy Connors 1982-83, Ivan Lendl 1985-87, Stefan Edberg 1991-92, Sampras and Rafter. Last year, in attempting to win his third consecutive title, Rafter became the first U.S. Open defending men's singles champion to lose in the first round when he retired against Cedric Pioline at 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-0 because of a torn right rotator cuff. --Associated Press

Damm obliged in the first-set tiebreaker with an overhead he slugged long for a minibreak to 5-2, and once again a few points later on a double-fault at set point. Damm finished with 12 double-faults to only four by Sampras.

At 5-5 in the second set, Damm did himself in again when he chased down a baseline shot, hit an apparent winner, then watched like a spectator as Sampras flicked a backhand half-volley over the net. Damm's late sprint to the ball cost him the game, and Sampras pumped his fist in his one show of emotion in the match.

"First match out, not an easy one to get through," Sampras said. "A tough opening-round match. I think I can kind of build from this win and hopefully play a little bit better against Justin (Gimelstob)."

Seeded No. 4, his lowest position at the U.S. Open since 1991, Sampras is going for his 14th Grand Slam title after winning his seventh Wimbledon last month.

Torpid performances infected many of the matches, including No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov's 6-7 (5), 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 comeback against 116th-ranked Orlin Stanoytchev.