Sampras Is Again King of the Court

Pete Sampras seemed to explore every inch of the court at UCLA on Saturday--his momentum carrying him all over the place, even high up the backstop when he tried to chase down a lob in the second set.

After 55 shot-making minutes, the exploration ended and he found what he was looking for . . . a spot in the Mercedes-Benz Cup final today against top-seeded Andre Agassi. Agassi defeated Andrew Ilie of Australia, 6-4, 6-2, in the night semifinal.

There were greater implications for Sampras beyond his 6-0, 6-2 semifinal victory over Australian qualifier James Sekulov. It means Sampras will regain the No. 1 ranking from Patrick Rafter on Monday when the new ATP rankings are released.

What was a relatively routine win--his 16th in a row--against a kid wearing surfer shorts turned out to be a small slice of tennis history for the second-seeded Sampras. This week will be his 271st total week at No. 1, surpassing Ivan Lendl’s mark of 270.

“For me, it’s strictly ego being No. 1,” he said. “I don’t feel like I have to prove it to anyone or to myself I can stay there. I’ve done it. It’s kind of icing on the cake.”

On top of everything else, he had a peace-making session--by phone--with Rafter. On Monday, Rafter was critical of Sampras in a conference call and said, among other things, that Sampras failed to show respect to players who have beaten him.

Sampras, informed of these remarks, said he was a little bit shocked. The remarks fueled front-page headlines in Australia, including this one: “The Hate Game.” Rafter then decided to call Sampras.

“I just spoke to Pat the other day and we smoothed things over a little bit,” Sampras said. “I was surprised to hear the things he said. He’s not really that type of guy. Probably some people in the media twisted things around. I respect Pat as a player and as a person. It’s over.

“What kind of started everything was last year at Cincinnati. I said a few things after a tough loss [to him] and I think it got to him. And I apologized for that. After a tough loss, you go into a press conference and you say some things. You’re a little emotional at the time.”

Usually Sampras is answering questions about his old rival, Agassi. Oddly enough, he wasn’t asked once in the interview room about a final against Agassi. Sampras leads their series, 14-10. On the court, however, Sampras was asked on TV right after his match who would win between Agassi and Ilie.

“Who do you think?” Sampras said.

Agassi answered that question in an entertaining 67-minute match. The hard-hitting Ilie, wildly unpredictable, even had Agassi looking dumbfounded when he attempted to hit an on-the-run, between-the-legs shot in the ninth game of the first set.

“I’ve always practiced that shot. I’ve made it one out of five times,” Ilie said. “Andre hasn’t seen it yet.”

Said Agassi: “I thought my eyes went haywire. All I saw were legs and then I was thinking, ‘Wow. What has to go through a person’s mind to try a shot like that?’ You certainly have to lose perspective that you have game point and you’re about to go back to deuce. I knew somewhere along the line he had lost perspective of the match.”

Any match involving Ilie is like a reckless ride. He pulled off seemingly impossible shots against Agassi, and then self-destructed, for example, by double-faulting three times to lose his serve in the fifth game of second set.

Ilie prefers to take a long-term outlook.

“It [the show] does get better,” he said. “Andre stole the show. There’s always a next time. I live for the next time.”

Agassi also was looking ahead--to today’s final against Sampras. It will be their 25th meeting, and first since Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets in the Wimbledon final July 4.

“Talk about a heavyweight bout. You’ll see that tomorrow,” Agassi said.

For him, a match against Sampras is unlike anything else.

“It’s the only time you come to the park knowing if you play your best tennis you still might lose,” he said.

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Sampras vs. Agassi

Pete Sampras leads in head-to-head meetings against Andre Agassi, 14-10:

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Year Site Winner Result 1989 Rome (R32) Agassi 6-2, 6-1 1990 Philadelphia (R16) Sampras 5-7, 7-5, retired 1990 U.S. Open (F) Sampras 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 1990 German Championships (RR) Agassi 6-4, 6-2 1991 German Championships (RR) Sampras 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 1992 Atlanta (F) Agassi 7-5, 6-4 1992 French Open (Q) Agassi 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, 6-1 1993 Wimbledon (Q) Sampras 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 1994 Key Biscayne (F) Sampras 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 1994 Osaka, Japan (S) Sampras 6-3, 6-1 1994 Paris Indoor (Q) Agassi 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 1994 German Championships (S) Sampras 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 1995 Australian Open (F) Agassi 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 1995 Indian Wells (F) Sampras 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 1995 Key Biscayne (F) Agassi 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) 1995 Montreal (F) Agassi 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 1995 U.S. Open (F) Sampras 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 1996 San Jose (F) Sampras 6-2, 6-3 1996 Stuttgart Indoor (Q) Sampras 6-4, 6-1 1996 German Championships (RR) Sampras 6-2, 6-1 1998 San Jose (F) Agassi 6-2, 6-4 1998 Monte Carlo (R32) Sampras 6-4, 7-5 1998 Montreal (Q) Agassi 6-7 (9-7), 6-1, 6-1 1999 Wimbledon (F) Sampras 6-3, 6-4, 7-5

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INDEX: RR: Round robin; R32: Round of 32; R16: Round of 16; Q: Quarterfinals; S: Semifinals; F: Final.