Sampras Beats Agassi for US Open Championship
September 9, 2002
NEW YORK - Two years, one month, 30 days.
That was how long it had been since Pete Sampras, the man with more Grand Slam singles titles than any man in tennis history, had won anything on a tennis court. Not just a major tournament, mind you. Anything.
With his age creeping into that tennis-geezer decade of the 30s and being in the midst of his worst year as a professional -- a first-round loss at the French Open, a second-round defeat at Wimbledon to some guy named George Bastl (George Bastl?) -- there were plenty of skeptics wondering whether Sampras could muster what it would take to win again.
But, while a champion's legs might grow a step slower, the joints a bit stiffer, a champion's heart never dies. Not while it's still ticking.
If there was one thing Sampras proved once and for all in his 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Andre Agassi on Sunday in the U.S. Open final, it was that.
The big serve that had won Sampras a record 13 Grand Slam tournament titles won Sampras the first two sets as he kept Agassi on his heels.
But, once he grew fatigued and let the third set slip away to Agassi, his lifelong archrival, it was his heart and guts that carried him to Grand Slam tournament No. 14 and his fifth U.S. Open title, tying him with Jimmy Connors for the most in the open era.
"This one might take the cake," Sampras said repeatedly when asked to size up this major victory with his others. "I never thought anything would surpass winning Wimbledon in 2000. But, to come through all the adversity, all the negative things people were saying, and play the way I played today was awesome."
It truly was an awesome two weeks for Sampras, 31. He was seeded 17th here, the lowest he'd been seeded since the late 1980s, when he was an up-and-coming teen-ager. He struggled mightily in a five-set thriller over hard-serving Greg Rusedski in the third round and had to go four sets in the next round to upset the third seed, Tommy Haas.
But, just as persistent rain during the middle of the tournament started causing a stack-up of Sampras' matches, he seemed to find his stride, knocking off both American upstart Andy Roddick (quarterfinals) and Sjeng Schalken (semis) in straight sets.
Against Agassi, Sampras came out firing 130-mph aces and over the first two sets looked as dominant as he was during the record six straight years he served as the world's No. 1-ranked player.
"I had a good warmup, and my serve was really clicking today," Sampras said. "I was hitting it accurate with a lot of speed, mixing it up well."
Sampras also tried to be aggressive on Agassi's serve and, finally, in the eighth game of the first set, two uncharacteristic Agassi errors and a Sampras forehand winner led to the first break of Agassi's serve and allowed Sampras to serve out the first set.
Two more breaks of Agassi's serve handed Sampras a quick 5-2 lead in the second set, and it looked as if the highly anticipated match between these tennis heavyweights would end too early for the full-capacity crowd of 25,210.
"I was having a hard time getting onto his serve, getting off the mark," said Agassi, who is now 0-3 against Sampras in U.S. Open finals. "That was allowing him to get loose on his return games.
"He was solidly better than me in the first two sets."
But Agassi didn't win seven Grand Slam tournaments of his own by giving up, and he began to hone in on Sampras just as fatigue began seeping into Sampras' legs in the third set. Sampras served his way out of two break points in the sixth game, but when he netted a forehand volley down break point at 5-6, Agassi had the third set and new life.
"I was able to get my nose in front in the third," Agassi said. "Then, I had my chances in the fourth set, but when I started feeling good about things, he stepped up his game even more."
Sampras had to dig deep to hold serve on two occasions in the fourth, surviving seven deuces and winning the fourth game of the set on the 20th point and saving a break point in the eighth game.
When he broke Agassi after three deuces for a 5-4 lead, all he had to do was pull out one more service game to win.
"I was feeling pretty tired in the third," Sampras said. "My legs were feeling it. I'd played a lot of matches. (Agassi) turned it up a little on his returns, made me work even harder.
"I hung in as well as I could and got the job done."
At the news conference nearly two hours after Sampras held the championship trophy above his head, after Sampras had time to let the magnitude of the accomplishment sink in, he was asked whether this match marked the end of Sampras-Agassi heavyweight bouts in Grand Slam finals.
"It's hard to say what the future is going to hold for us," he said. "You know, to meet in major finals... Players are too good today. This could be it for us.
"But, maybe next year, we'll do it again."