Tennis: Sampras overcomes old rival Agassi
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi slugged through another two tie-breaks in a repeat of their epic US Open duel, but this time it was Sampras who came out on top at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne.
Sampras won the Australian Open warm-up tournament with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 win over his old rival in one hour, 48 minutes in swirling wind.
In one of the greatest of the matches between the two old rivals, Sampras beat Agassi in four tie-break sets without a service break in last year's US Open quarter-finals.
After Sampras' 19th victory in their 33 meetings, Agassi tried to gain the last word this time.
"At the end of the day, my wife can beat his wife," said Agassi, who married former women's number one Steffi Graf last October. Sampras married actress Bridgette Wilson in September 2000.
"I've got a touch more hair than Andre," Sampras retorted.
Agassi has won the last two Australian Opens and is again a favourite for the 2002 tournament, which starts on Monday.
Despite his defeat Agassi said the eight-man Kooyong tournament has given him an excellent week of preparation.
"It's easier to find confidence in an environment where you have done well in the past," he said.
Unlike in the US Open, the Kooyong final had service breaks - one by each player in each of the first two sets and the decisive break by Sampras' in the final set's second game.
Agassi won eight of the first 10 points and led 5-3 before Sampras broke back for 5-5 in the first set. He then led 3-0 in the tie-break before Sampras recovered.
Agassi won the second set's first three games, but again Sampras broke back, helped by two Agassi double faults in the seventh game.
Facing match point at 5-6 in the tie-break, Agassi took three straight points with a sizzling forehand, a service winner and a Sampras volley into the net.
"I didn't close out that first set, and it came back to haunt me," said Agassi, whose first service game of the final set was wrecked by three straight Sampras winners - a drop volley, a backhand crosscourt and an untouchable serve return.
Sampras rated himself a little sharper than last year, when he lost to Todd Martin in the Australian Open's fourth round. For the first time since 1989, he went a year without winning a tournament.
"Winning that 13th took a lot out of me," he said of his record 13th Grand Slam tournament victory, which came at Wimbledon in 2000, "It took a while to rebuild myself."
In the play-off for third place Scott Draper defeated 24th seed Thomas Enqvist 6-4 5-7 6-4, finishing with an ace.
