Safin, Sampras Advance to U.S. Open Final
N E W Y O R K, Sept. 9 -- Fourth-seeded Pete Sampras will compete for his fifth U.S. Open title after outlasting 19-year-old Australian Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets today in the men’s semifinal match.
Sampras’ win came on the 10th anniversary of his first U.S. Open championship victory against Andre Agassi. Now, Sampras will attempt to win a record 14th Grand Slam title.
Sampras, 29, worked his serve and volley brilliance on thelightning quick ninth seed to score a 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)triumph and reach a U.S. Open final for the sixth time.
There he will face 20-year-old Russian sixth seed Marat Safin,who disposed of a fatigued Todd Martin 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6(7-1), in the day’s first semifinal.
Sampras takes a daunting 13-2 record in Grand Slam finalsinto the championship match against the young Russian.
Safin Downs Martin
In the day’s earlier match, Safin displayed huge serves and a light touch on big shots to break down a weary Martin to become the first Russian to advance to a U.S. Open final.
“It’s nice to be in the final,” he said. “But something is missing. I want to win.”
Safin had Martin, 10 years older, gasping for air on a hot,humid afternoon at the National Tennis Center.
“I was tired,” Martin said. “But, gee, if I was at full speedthe score could have been the same.”
The youngster won the first set easily. When Martin rallied inthe second, winning three straight games to get to 5-4, Safin neverblinked. He shrugged off set point, pushed it to a tiebreaker andwon it 7-4.
Martin, the Open’s marathon man, shed his baseball cap for thethird set, but it didn’t help. His energy just ran out, his taskcomplicated by Safin’s lobs, drops and passes.
A finalist at the Open a year ago, Martin had flourished in longmatches, including an emotional five-set, 4-hour, 17-minute victoryover Carlos Moya in the round of 16. Then there was a four-setteragainst Thomas Johansson in the quarterfinals.
Related Stories
ABC News Live